Elvis collection believed to be destroyed

Friday, Aug. 17, 2001 | 11:17 a.m.

An irreplaceable collection of jewelry and other memorabilia from late rock 'n' roll king Elvis Presley was believed to have been destroyed in the fire Thursday that destroyed 17 homes in the Spring Valley area of Las Vegas.

The fire at Presley's security guard Dick Grob's home on Heavenly Love Way occurred on the 24th anniversary of the singer's death at his Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn.

"I have not yet seen the damage, but from what firefighters have told me about where the fire started several items of jewelry that Elvis gave me probably were melted into a lump of gold," said Grob, as he ate breakfast today at the Regent Las Vegas where he was put up by the Red Cross for the night.

"I won't know the full extent of the damage until later today, but as president of the homeowners association, I can tell you there will be private, armed security guarding the homes."

Grob said he would begin the process of removing the salvageable memorabilia to an undisclosed but safe warehouse as soon as authorities let him back in the building. He said many of the items could not be insured and definitely are irreplaceable.

Grob's home was deemed uninhabitable by building inspectors as a result of Thursday's fire that damaged 17 homes, including nine under construction.

Grob, who usually goes to Memphis for a reunion of the famed Memphis Mafia -- the nickname of Presley's bodyguards and other pals -- stayed home this year because his son, Richard, was visiting with his family from Germany.

"We were going to celebrate Christmas tomorrow with Richard and his son, and my daughter and her six children, who were on their way here when the fire broke out," Grob, 62, said.

"I guess it won't be a good Christmas unless you like charcoal."

Grob has long been a critic of how his home and the others were built. He said the association filed a lawsuit two years ago alleging improper fire brakes in the walls and improper roof construction.

Grob, a former California police officer, worked for about a decade as Presley's bodyguard and chief of his security team. He published "The Elvis Conspiracy" in 1996, a book investigating the events leading up to the singer's death from an apparent drug overdose on Aug. 16, 1977.

Grob and Presley met in May 1967 outside the singer's honeymoon hideaway in Palm Springs, Calif. Grob was assigned to park outside the home and keep away crowds. Presley brought Grob a glass of lemonade. Sun reporter

Jeffrey Libby contributed to this report.