Alfred Wertheimer, who took over 2,500 images of Elvis in a period of eight shooting days, divided in two groups, the first in March of 1956, at the specific request of RCA, and then in late September of 1958 on the day he left for Germany, as a soldier in the U.S. Army, in an interview with EIN's online page on April 30, 2011.

He was almost at the point where he was being recognized as a national star, but not quite. I'll give you an example. Once, in a railroad station in Chattanooga, TN, we were waiting to change trains. Elvis went over to a magazine rack and picked up a movie magazine. He found a photo of himself inside and says to me 'Al, can I have a pen?' I gave him one and he scribbled his name inside the magazine. Then he goes over to the two girls working at the rack. He had the spread open to his picture, showing it to them. He's also looking back at me with a huge Cheshire Cat grin. Their reaction was 'That'll be 35 cents sir'. Then Elvis said to them 'No, this is for you. I'm Elvis Presley'. In the meantime, I'm capturing pictures of all of this, which is really what I wanted.

— Alfred Wertheimer

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He was almost at the point where he was being recognized as a national star, but not quite. I'll give you an example. Once, in a railroad station in Chattanooga, TN, we were waiting to change trains. Elvis went over to a magazine rack and picked up a movie magazine. He found a photo of himself inside and says to me 'Al, can I have a pen?' I gave him one and he scribbled his name inside the magazine. Then he goes over to the two girls working at the rack. He had the spread open to his picture, showing it to them. He's also looking back at me with a huge Cheshire Cat grin. Their reaction was 'That'll be 35 cents sir'. Then Elvis said to them 'No, this is for you. I'm Elvis Presley'. In the meantime, I'm capturing pictures of all of this, which is really what I wanted." in the context of "Alfred Wertheimer, who took over 2,500 images of Elvis in a period of eight shooting days, divided in two groups, the first in March of 1956, at the specific request of RCA, and then in late September of 1958 on the day he left for Germany, as a soldier in the U.S. Army, in an interview with EIN's online page on April 30, 2011." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Elvis Presley" (Quotes about Elvis Presley: The last names, or first or given names by which people are best known and whose quotes are included below are arranged alphabetically, for ease of reference. When the person being quoted has a royal, or religious title, they can be found by looking for their first or adopted name. Examples: Bhumibol King of Thailand; Elizabeth II Queen of England; Albert II Prince of Monaco; Astrid, Princess of Norway; Deborah Duchess of Devonshire; Pope Benedict XVI ., W) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Elvis Presley

About Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley (8 January 1935 – 16 August 1977) was an American singer, musician, and actor. Popularly known by his first name as "Elvis," as "The King of Rock and Roll" or simply as "The King," he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century.