RICHMOND, Va. — Since opening its doors in 1927, Altria Theatre in Richmond has welcomed legendary performers — from Frank Sinatra and Jerry Seinfeld to Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
"This was a piece of architecture," said Richmond Magazine Senior Writer Harry Kollatz, Jr. "You name, it they probably came in here at some point."
But 70 years ago this summer, one of the most remarkable performances unfolded backstage — with no spotlights and not an audience member in sight.
On June 30, 1956, a relatively unknown singer performed two shows at what was then known as The Mosque. Freelance photographer Alfred Wertheimer had been hired by RCA to follow the 21-year-old phenomenon while on tour.
"One of the most unique photographs of Elvis was taken right here," said photographer and Elvis fan Mandy Lawrence. "Elvis! A young, young Elvis. Elvis Presley fresh on the scene in 1956."
"No boundaries. Alfred was a fly on the wall. He was a true documentarian," Lawrence said. "It ended up being probably the work that he is most famous for."
Between sets, Wertheimer captured more than he ever expected. Elvis and an unknown woman were photographed together just feet from the stage.
"At first, he gets a picture of them as silhouette in front of a window at the end of the hallway," Kollatz, Jr. said. "This was two people messing around in the stairwell. And it was Elvis."
As Wertheimer moved closer, he hesitated.
"As Wertheimer gets closer to them, a little warning light goes off and he thinks to himself, 'Should I be taking pictures of this?'" Kollatz, Jr. said. "This is very intimate."
The picture, known worldwide as The Kiss, would be called the most sensuous image in music history.
"It became part of the legend and the lore," Kollatz, Jr. said.
"Alfred's photographs were different," Lawrence said. "They were more of the man and in the moment not the stardom."
Lawrence, the founder of Elvis in the Wild, marvels at Wertheimer's artistry.
"It is a beautiful image and you look at that image, and you feel the joy and joyfulness of intimacy they had in that moment in that time," Lawrence said.
"That moment happened here, and Alfred Wertheimer captured it for us, that brief moment of light and shadow," Kollatz, Jr. said. "Had he not been there and take advantage of it. It never would've been recorded."
For decades, the identity of the woman in the photographs remained a mystery. The grainy images showed her sharing lunch with Elvis at The Jefferson Hotel, riding in a cab and ultimately embracing him in a stairwell.
"Again, there was the mystique associated with it. For the longest time you didn't know who the woman was," Kollatz, Jr. said.
Several female fans claimed to be the woman in the photos, but Wertheimer rebuffed them for 55 years — until Barbara "Bobbi" Gray stepped forward.
"Elvis turned around and I almost fainted. He was absolutely gorgeous," Gray recalled.
"He would ask their height. He ask what they did that day and nobody could quite tell the story exactly like it should've been told. Only Bobbi could," Kollatz, Jr. said.
Gray was just 20 years old when she spent the day with the budding singer in June of 1956.
"Elvis came out and he took me out in the hallway," Gray said.
In 2016, I shared a conversation with Gray at her home in Charleston, South Carolina.
"He was saying, 'I just want to hold you. I just want to kiss you. I just want to get to know you better,'" Gray remembered.
Gray accepted an invitation from Elvis to watch him perform in Richmond.
"He just reached out and hugged me. I didn't know what to say. It was like I was numb," Gray said.
Barbara never predicted she would become part of rock and roll royalty.
"And he was just quick enough to just lean forward and stick his tongue out, and that is how quick it happened," Gray said. "It was a very comfortable day. It was like I knew him all my life."
"It is really cool to see her get her flowers," Lawrence said. "I can't imagine what a day date with Elvis Presley was like in 1956. I'm sure it was a lot of fun!"
The day after his Richmond concert, Elvis appeared on the Steve Allen Show in New York. Barbara never saw Elvis again.
"Oh, it was wonderful and I'm sure every girl in the world would have liked to have been me," Gray remembered.
At Altria, just off stage, not much has changed since that June day in 1956.
"Even the texture on the wall. That is a part of the photos. Even that is exactly the same," Lawrence said. "I just assumed this space to look different. 70 years later it's going to look a little different. And it did not. It looked like I was walking back in time."
For Lawrence, the nondescript hallway holds a place in pop culture history.
"Gosh, it is such a little space," Lawrence said. "Like you feel what it felt like when she was in here. It is cool, even if you are not an Elvis Fan."
"It is just so special. And we are lucky to still have it," Lawrence said. "Anybody that looks at these photographs feels these photographs. They're just beautiful. They're beautiful to look at."
Barbara Gray, the one-time mystery woman in the famous photograph with Elvis, passed away on March 1, 2023. She was 87 years old.
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