Long live the King

Elvis lives on in the heart of South Bar fan

Sandy Heartz admits like the rest of the world he was ‘All Shook Up’ when news broke Elvis Presley was dead at age 42.

Presley’s girlfriend Ginger Alden found him slumped over in the bathroom at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977.

“I was in my log cabin I built by hand in Mira Gut when my best friend Ussa Libbus phoned and asked me if I was sitting down,” said Heartz, 76, of South Bar. “I couldn’t believe it, I was devastated. I loved him.”

However, Heartz not only loved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll — he performed like the king, lived like him and actually met him. Heartz was in Graceland seven or eight times and it was his second visit when he met Elvis.

“I was at the gates, there were bars there and I put my hand out,” Heartz said. “I couldn’t believe he was walking towards us. I was tongue tied at first to tell the truth. I told him he was the best thing I ever heard.”

Elvis asked Heartz where he was from.

“I said ‘Cape Breton’ and Elvis said ‘where?’ He had never heard of it.”

Heartz was born in New York and lived in Pictou until he was about 10 years old and then raised in Sydney. His fascination with Elvis began around 1954 when he was only about 13 or 14.

“I was listening to the radio when Elvis came on singing ‘That’s Alright Mama,’” he said.

“Oh gosh yes I fell in love with him. Everyone did.”

Heartz began to imitate Elvis and with other youth formed a band “The Lancers” noted for performing Elvis as well as other rock ‘n’ roll greats at the former Venetian Gardens in Sydney and later, across Atlantic Canada.

Heartz attended 15-20 Elvis performances over the years, including the only time Elvis performed in Canada, at the Maple Leaf Gardens on April 2, 1957.

Anyone walking in Heartz’s home would realize his love for Elvis lives on finding everything draped in gold and velvet.

“I have a gold chair, gold drapes, I like gold and there’s gold everywhere even in the bathroom,” he said.

In the corner is a Christmas tree that remains up year long, a tradition Elvis had. The decorations are in gold.

There’s an acoustic guitar Elvis once performed on, an uncut version of Heartbreak Hotel Elvis, a model of Graceland and even a cuckoo-style clock where Elvis comes out on the hour and sings.

Although there were rumours Elvis faked his death, Heartz never believed it

“My opinion is he had doubled up on the pills because of depression,” he said. “Not for eight days and not for eight months, but for eight years Elvis didn’t sing one song, he stayed in his house and never went on a stage to sing.” Heartz’s favourite Elvis song? Sometimes, a song speaks 1,000 words, as Heartz picked up his guitar and performed “In the Ghetto.”

*For more Elvis coverage, see page B6.

“I was in my log cabin I built by hand in Mira Gut when my best friend Ussa Libbus phoned and asked me if I was sitting down. I couldn’t believe it, I was

devastated. I loved him.” Elvis fan Sandy Heartz

SHARON MONTGOMERY-DUPE PHOTOS/CAPE BRETON POST Sandy Heartz, 76, of South Bar shows some of his Elvis Presley moves in his home draped in velvet and gold as a tribute to his life-long devotion to “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Heartz not only imitated Elvis on stage as a singer throughout the years, but also got to meet his idol at Graceland in the early 1960s.

A statue of Elvis is one of many keepsakes in the home of fan Sandy Heartz of South Bar.

Some of Sandy Heartz’s mementos including a photo (lower right) showing how much he resembled Elvis in his younger years and at home with a life size cutout of Elvis (upper left).