'ELVIS&The Colonel' by Darrin Lee Memmer

EIN Exclusive - photo of Elvis' little known girlfriend, Debra (Debbie) Watts: “Elvis, Lisa Marie Presley & Human Dignity: Lights Out In Memphis” is the latest soft cover by Darrin Memmer and amongst the ground breaking research featured within the 268-page book, is this EIN EXCLUSIVE Darrin has shared with our readers: a recently uncovered archival photo of Debra Watts!

EIN readers may recall our May 24, 2005 article titled, “Elvis and Debbie - the mystery solved?” by award winning journalist and noted Elvis author, the late Bill Burk:

Elvis and Debbie - the mystery solved?: "The sudden death of Haywood Watts last Wednesday (burial Friday) will have an effect on a future issue of Elvis World magazine... and here's how. I've told you how all alumni of old South Side High School get together for dinner each 3 months... and how many of this group had their moments with Elvis, in one place or another.

Well, we were standing in the buffet line at Piccadilly about last Fall and Haywood came in immediately behind us. Asked what I was doing these days and I told him: publishing Elvis World magazine, and Haywood began rattling off his encounter with Elvis and it's one of those "only Elvis" stories. We made a mental note to contact Haywood "soon" and get the full details for a future issue of EW. ALSO, three months before Elvis died, I had pretty reliable reports Elvis was dating a girl named Debbie and was told she was working as a bank teller on EP Blvd.

For months I'd go into this and that bank and to this and that teller and ask for change for a dollar, looking at the nameplates of each teller, trying to find this "Debbie." Never did. Then came the trial of Dr. Nick (that ended up with his losing his license) ... and I was looking at the list of witnesses and saw a "Debbie Watts" listed for the next day's hearings.

Not putting two and two together instantly, I called George Klein to ask who this Debbie Watts was and he said "You ought to know her. You played baseball with her father at South Side." Haywood Watts?! Debbie Watts?!! Father/daughter?

So, IN that Piccadilly line, I told Haywood I'd like to come to his house and do the interview and, if possible, have Debbie sit in with us; telling him what had been reported to me in 1977 and he assured me that was true. Well, only DAYS after that dinner, Haywood Watts was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered he had contracted a serious case of Diabetes 2 ... and that "maybe" they would have to amputate one or both feet. Haywood went into instant deep depression and, regretfully, I never followed up on his problem. He wound up losing only one big toe, but last week, still in depression, I was told, he was in his front yard and keeled over dead with a heart attack. I attended Haywood's funeral ... as I do as many Scrapper funerals as possible ... and I let Debbie know I'd still like to talk with her whenever she feels like it. That may be soon, later, or never ... but at least we're going to TRY! Haywood, like me, signed a professional baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Whereas he played 2 years of minor league ball before getting hurt, I never reported -- opting at the last minute to devote all of my time to flying (and coaching kids' baseball on the side)."

12½ years later....EIN brings you this image of Debra Watts as captured by Memphis Press-Scimitar Staff photographer Ken Ross on Sept. 4^th 1973:

"September Holiday — Debra Watts, senior at Hillcrest High School, spends her Labor Day holiday watching young fishermen from the dock at Audubon Lake, who, in turn, watched her. Debra plans to enter the Miss Teen-Age America pageant which has its national finals in Memphis next November. It was a warm, lazy day, just right for getting out to admire the late summer scenery." (Photo caption and image courtesy the UofM, Special Collections Dept.; Memphis Press-Scimitar Staff by Ken Ross; Sept. 4^th 1973)

More info from the book: Edward George Klein, Sr. was married to Ida Watts Klein. Ida had two sisters and two brothers, one of whom was named Haywood Watts. Mr. Haywood Oren Watts would marry Evelyn Lee and one of their children: Deborah Gail Watts. The late Bill Burk referred to her (in an EIN news article, May 2005) as “Debbie” — which biographer Alanna Nash does, as well — whilst the Memphis Press-Scimitar went with “Debra” in 1973. Ostensibly, Ms. Watts graduated in the Hillcrest High School Vikings class of 1973 and by 1977 was employed in Memphis as a bank teller. (Source: Darrin Memmer)

“Elvis, Lisa Marie Presley & Human Dignity: Lights Out In Memphis” is available now from Amazon USA and Amazon UK - see links above.

"Elvis, Lisa Marie Presley & Human Dignity: Lights Out In Memphis”'

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