Elvis Guitar Highlights Upcoming Heritage Music and Entertainment Auction!

Dallas, TX: "August 16, 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley," said Doug Norwine, Director of Music and Entertainment auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "whose legend has only grown over the past three decades. After all these years, fans still revere 'The King', both for his staggering talent and his heartwarming generosity. Now, with the commemoration of his death approaching, Heritage offers an outstanding Elvis guitar, screen-used in two of his best-remembered films. This instrument is an important artifact, characteristic of the man's musical brilliance and personal kindness, and comes complete with a touching personal history."

"Ralph Agnone was a prop master who worked on Elvis's Follow That Dream and Kid Galahad, both released in 1962," Norwine said. The two men became friends during Follow That Dream, and the star personally saw to it that Agnone was hired for Kid Galahad. When shooting wrapped, Elvis, as a sign of friendship, gave Agnone a gift - a guitar used in both films. In Follow That Dream, Elvis himself played this guitar as he sang the film's final song. In Kid Galahad, a musician was playing it behind Elvis, who at one point in the film touched the instrument."

Norwine continued, "Agnone, realizing the magic of this gift, gave it in turn to his young son, who hero-worshiped 'The King.' The son cherished the guitar for the rest of his life."

"Sadly, that life ended prematurely," Norwine said. "Upon her husband's death, the son's widow originally presented the guitar to the Warner Bros. Museum, housed at the Warner Studios in Burbank, California, where it proved a crowd-pleasing exhibit for eighteen months. Now, with the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death nearly upon us, the widow has decided to offer this wonderful artifact as a tribute to both Elvis and her husband - hoping someone will appreciate its distinction as deeply as her husband did."

"The Italian-made 3/4-style guitar has it all," Norwine said. "Highly visible use in two of Elvis's best films, a touching personal story, and unequalled provenance as an attraction in the Warner Bros. Museum. It survives as a memorial to Elvis's talent and generosity, and the devotion he has inspired in his legion of fans, both during his lifetime and long after his death."

Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the Elvis Presley Guitar in their upcoming Music and Entertainment Signature auction, to be held on April 14 & 15, 2007, at their headquarters in Dallas, TX.

View the Elvis Presley Guitar:
ESTIMATE: $40,000 & up

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of Entertainment, Celebrity or Hollywood memorabilia are invited to www.HA.com and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Doug Norwine at DougN@HA.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Nicole Jewell at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272, or visit www.HA.com to order by email.