MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Beverly Hills auction house began accepting bids Friday for Elvis Presley’s former personal planes, the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II.
The auction appeared to dump cold water on a social media-fueled campaign pleading with Graceland operators to keep the planes on display, as they’ve been for 30 years.
Graceland’s new owners stirred controversy last April by moving to end a joint venture with the planes’ owners, a Tennessee-based group called OKC Partnership. Graceland notified OKC that the planes had to be removed from Graceland on or shortly after April 26, 2015.
K.G. Coker, a representative of OKC, referred questions to Julien’s Auctions after the company announced the auction.
“I think the article speaks for itself,” Coker said. “I don’t want to confirm or deny any part of it.”
Officials at Elvis Presley Enterprises, which operates an entertainment complex adjoining the late singer’s mansion on Elvis Presley Boulevard, could not be reached for comment on the auction. The split with OKC comes as new ownership, New York-based Authentic Brands Group, plans upgrades including a new, 450-room Heartbreak Hotel.
Julien’s, which has sold celebrity items ranging from Marilyn Monroe love letters to James Bond memorabilia, believes the planes are worth north of $10 million and could bring as much as $15 million, an official said.
“It’s two planes but it’s not just any two planes,” said Julien’s executive director Martin Nolan. “It’s a really important part of Elvis and the King’s lifestyle and the final years of his life. They’re buying a piece of pop culture history.”
Julien’s will accept sealed bids from Friday through Feb. 2, and the successful bidder would be declared within 30 days of bid closing.
Presley bought the Lisa Marie, which he named for his daughter, from Delta Air Lines in 1975. While having the Convair 880 jet customized and refurbished in Texas, he purchased a Lockheed JetStar and christened it Hound Dog II.
The planes have been on public display at Graceland since 1984.
Nolan said the sellers hope whoever buys the planes will find a way to keep them on public display at or near Graceland.
In a YouTube video he taped in Memphis last week to promote the auction, Nolan said, “I voice my personal hope that these will remain within close proximity to Memphis so that the hundreds of thousands who visit Graceland every year will continue to have an opportunity to view the planes. The owners, they, too, would prefer that the planes remain on display at or near Graceland.”
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