Barbara Gray | 50-Year Mystery

Photo by Marni Rothschild Durlach

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It’s not unusual for young girls to have wild adulation for pop hunks, and Barbara did… it’s just that she didn’t know who he was at the time. In 1956 young Bobbi spent a pre-rock-royalty day with Elvis Presley, who happened to be shadowed by a photographer at the time. Caught horsing around and flirting, the iconic photo that outlasted her rendezvous was simply entitled “The Kiss.” (A misnomer if you ask Barbara, who maintains that they weren’t.) Although the photo has finally brought her recognition, it’s been bittersweet—“Elvis was such a small part of my life!” Although she makes small Elvis appearances, like one scheduled in early January in Richmond for his birthday, today Barbara’s focus is on other worthy causes, namely starting a shelter for women, a cause that’s close to her heart. “My granddaughter runs The Restoration Home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and we want to have something wonderful like that here.”