Pat Boone Recalls Friendship with Elvis
By Movieguide® Contributor
Entertainment legend Pat Boone discussed faith and his friendship with Elvis.
While many stars have come to fame and fallen victim to the greatest temptations of the world, Boone has remained faithful to Christ and has used his platform to spread the Gospel.
“I was so blessed…This platform was given to me miraculously—and for a reason,” Boone told Christian Headlines. “I sensed it. I knew that God gave me a platform from which I could express my own faith and my own life, my lifestyle, without having to make explanations.”
This confidence led him to work on projects at the height of his career that many people would consider professional suicide. In the late 1950s, Boone released an album of hymns, “Hymns We Love,” which ended up selling over 1 million copies.
“I knew I was having an influence on millions of kids to make sure that that influence—was best I could manage with God’s help—was a good one,” he said.
Boone’s influence went beyond the masses, however, and throughout his career, he has impacted some of the biggest stars. The most prominent, perhaps, is Elvis, whom Boone befriended.
“We were two Tennessee boys,” Boone said. “I was from Nashville, and he was from Memphis.”
Later in his career, once Elvis was an international phenomenon, the star lamented that he could not follow the same path as Boone.
“After one of his shows, he said, ‘I wish I could go to church like you do.’ And he meant it,” he recalled. “And I said, ‘Well you can—why not?’ [Elvis replied,] ‘Oh no—if I go to church, the kids are going to scream for autographs and they’re going to distract from the sermon and the preacher.”
“[Elvis] wanted a wife and kids and family and church,” he continued. “His record—his whole career—made him a prisoner from sort of the things that he most wanted.”
“In the latter part of his career, he was singing ‘How Great Thou Art,’ and he sang it in a way that we didn’t know he could sing,” Boone added.
Looking back, Boone believes Elvis was a believer at the time of his death.
Elvis wasn’t the only celebrity that Boone has impacted. He had a close friendship with Ronald Reagan and hosted Bible studies for Hollywood stars at his house.
“More than one [Bible study] ended in baptisms in our pool,” Boone said. His wife, Shirley, told him that over 300 stars had been baptized in total.
Despite an exhaustive career, Boone is not done yet. On the eve of his 90th birthday, he is still working on new projects. He recently released a new 25-track album, “Country Jubilee,” and is playing Thomas Jefferson in an upcoming movie, AN AMERICAN MIRACLE.
Boone’s story is a testament to the reach and impact celebrities can have when they stick to Christ and trust Him with their lives rather than falling for the temptations of this world.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Hollywood legend Pat Boone recently discussed several upcoming projects, his recent book IF, and his recent hit movie, THE MULLIGAN.
At the age of 88, Boone said he is excited to use his final years for the glory of God.
“I’m just asking God to use every minute, and every ounce of energy I have, in this last part of my life,” Boone said of his accomplishments, old and new, on a recent episode of the Strang Report.
THE MULLIGAN is a recent faith-filled movie that emphasizes family through the lens of golf.
Movieguide®’s founder Dr. Ted Baehr recently sat down with Boone to discuss his focus on family-friendly projects.
