Graceland publicist David Beckwith has died: 'He was a beautiful human being'

David Beckwith, a nationally renowned publicist whose glamorous client list included Elvis Presley's Graceland and Prince's Paisley Park, forged two long-term relationships on June 7, 1982, in Memphis.

The first was professional. Promoting Graceland for the international public relations agency Rogers & Cowan, Beckwith joined Priscilla Presley, Graceland executive Jack Soden and other dignitaries for the historic opening of Elvis' home mansion to the public. Priscilla approved, and Beckwith continued to represent Graceland for the next 42 years.

The second was personal. Later that June day, on the recommendation of a mutual friend, Beckwith met Mud Island river park promotions manager Dietrich Nelson for a drink in the lobby of The Peabody. "And the rest was history," Nelson said Wednesday. The two remained together from that day forward, finally marrying 15 years ago in Beverly Hills — "and the only reason we waited that long is because that's when it became legal in California," Nelson said.

But wait, let's back up a bit, to that second paragraph. The word "professional" is insufficient, apparently, because both relationships that began on that fateful June date were personal, according to those who knew Beckwith best.

"David didn't live in Memphis, but he sure was a member of the Graceland family," said Soden, now chief executive officer of Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO.

"He just adored Graceland," said Nelson, 73, from the couple's home in Phoenix. "It was the greatest opportunity he ever had."

Beckwith, 67, died Friday, Jan. 19, at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix after being stricken with sepsis, a dangerous response to infection, following Jan. 2 hip-replacement surgery, Nelson said.

"For a long time, he was a real part of the Graceland family," said Joel Weinshanker, managing partner and majority owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, who said he was "fighting tears" as he remembered Beckwith. "He was a beautiful human being who had amazing relationships with the Presley family."

Soden said that he, Priscilla Presley and Beckwith were part of the team that transformed Graceland into the tourist mecca and internationally recognized household name that it is today.

"We first met David in May of 1982, a full month before Graceland opened, so to say he was here from the very beginning would be an understatement," Soden said. "Let's face it, nobody knew what the future would be. On the day it opened, we didn't know what to expect."

In fact, the opening day was a hit, with all 3,000 tickets selling out. "So we all kind of grew up together, learning how to guide and shape it as we went along," Soden said. "He was right there, strategizing with Priscilla and Lisa as their lives evolved." (Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla, died Jan. 12, 2023, at 54.)

Longtime Elvis friend and Graceland associate Jerry Schilling said he considered Beckwith "part of that founding family, at that critical time when Graceland was opening. From the very beginning he was there, and he knew his stuff, on a professional and even on a personal level."

An Oklahoman who first came to Memphis to attend Memphis State University and eventually became a producer of electronic press-kit media, Nelson said he sometimes accompanied Beckwith on trips to Graceland, even sharing a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream near the Jungle Room with Elvis' "Aunt Delta," Delta Mae Presley Biggs, who lived in the mansion until her death in 1993. "David dedicated 42 years of his life to Graceland," Nelson said. "He loved it."

A native of Nebraska and graduate of the University of Oregon, Beckwith rose to the level of Senior Vice President at Rogers & Cowan. He left the agency but kept Graceland as a client in 1991 when he founded his own agency, The Beckwith Company.

His Elvis experience helped him land another client with a similar agenda. Since 2016, Beckwith has represented Prince's Paisley Park, the studio-estate that opened as a tourist attraction six months after the Minneapolis musician's 2016 death.

Even without Elvis and Prince, The Beckwith Company's client list represented a Who's Who of glamor. People, companies and institutions Beckwith worked with included celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck; the Moët & Chandon winery; Dewar's Scotch Whiskies; the Golden Globe Awards; and Spago Beverly Hills.

Of course, every client wasn't elegant: Beckwith also represented the Big Boy restaurant chain.

"He had great instincts," Soden said. "Be truthful with the client, be truthful with the media, whether it was good news or bad news. He had a dedication to the truth, and he always took the high road."

Along with being an influential publicist, Beckwith was "a pioneer in the LGBTQ+ community," and "instrumental" in the founding in Los Angeles of Outfest, the world's largest LGBTQ+ film festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He also served on the national board of the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy and lobbying group.

In addition to Nelson, Beckwith's survivors include four pets, Nelson said. They include Edie, "a 12-year-old Sheltie rescue"; Arlen, "a white cat, probably Persian, that showed up on our wall in the Hollywood Hills"; Daisy, a Maine Coon cat, inherited from David's late brother; and "the newest addition," Doris, "a 4-month-old black Pomeranian with sharp teeth."

Nelson said any donation's in Beckwith's name should be made to the Arizona Animal Welfare League.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: David Beckwith, longtime Graceland publicist, dies: How he's remembered