Scott's World -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Shed no tears for Elvis Presley on this 25th anniversary of his death.

He lived a joyous life, laughing, playing, entertaining and bedding uncounted beautiful girls.

Elvis was Peter Pan with a persistent priapism.

He didn't live for music, record sales, family life or money, much less immortality.

He lived for girls, lots of them, including screaming Presley junkies. He liked beautiful young women more than anything else. Women instinctively knew that.

Like Peter Pan, Elvis never grew up, never became a man, not when he died at age 42 from a drug overdose.

Like Peter, Elvis lived in a Neverland of his own making. He was monarch of Graceland in Memphis.

As did King Arthur, another legend, Elvis had his own round table consisting of his Memphis Mafia, pals, bodyguards and gofers: Red West, Sonny West, Chief Sitton, Gene Smith (his cousin), Jim Kingsley, Billy Smith, Alan Fortas, Rick Davis and others. He relied on Joe Esposito, an army buddy, for schedules, play dates and finances.

Apart and distant from these good ole boys was shadowy Col. Tom Parker, Presley's personal manager and agent, a wily con man with guileless blue eyes and suspect credentials who handled deals.

All were paid to bask in Elvis' reflected glory. Some became famous by association with the King.

The Memphis Mafia protected Elvis from wise guys, predators and mobs of fans, for which he plied them with lavish gifts. Many lived in his Bel Air and Las Vegas homes.

Elvis was unmistakably the boss, an easy-going tyrant whose pals never failed to do his bidding for fear of banishment.

At public appearances, Elvis assigned his henchmen to scout legions of adoring female fans, inviting the most beautiful to Elvis' ornate mansion for dinner or whatever.

"Whatever" commonly meant bizarre antics, sometimes involving two pretty girls clad only in their underwear playfully wrestling one another for Elvis' enjoyment.

And those were just the innocent games.

There was never a shortage of willing young females seeking intimacy with the King of rock 'n' roll, for which Elvis was duly grateful and generous.

It wasn't essential for Elvis to woo the young ladies. They threw themselves at him, delighted with quickie tussles of an intimate nature.

Elvis was a courtly, Southern Gentleman-type lover with impeccable manners. He never kissed and told, although the girls frequently did.

The Memphis Mafia was loyal, happy to settle for Elvis' rejects. The fall-out was an exceedingly extravagant bonus for their unique thralldom.

When not playing host to waves of eager-to-please young women, Elvis found time to star in some 30 movies, cut scores of records and albums and make hundreds of personal appearances.

It wasn't at all necessary for Elvis to grow up. He amassed millions of dollars and spent them gleefully on adult toys. He frequently gave new luxury automobiles to friends and sometimes strangers.

He lived the dreams of every down-home Southern boy who longed for bright lights, pretty girls, parties and, finally, drugs.

He did not fill out bothersome tax forms, worry over budgets, punch time clocks, tend to chores or shop for clothes.

He hired people to take care of such trivialities, freeing him from care to romp with his companions. His kind of fun: making music, watching TV horse operas, surrounding himself with gals and pals.

One of Presley's salient charms was his eternally boyish enthusiasm for life, an endearing quality irresistible to females of all ages.

Girls flat-out adored him. Young women wanted to make love (and did). Middle-aged women imagined affairs with him. Older women wanted to mother him.

His appeal was extraordinary and revealed astonishing examples of feminine lust. It was fascinating to see Elvis in action doing his naughty boy routine.

"Naughty" boy, not "bad" boy -- an important distinction to the gentler sex.

He thrived on surrounding himself with supplicating females.

Women and girls glowed with pink-cheeked self-consciousness when he fixed them with his gray eyes and hypnotic grin, a bold invitation to love from Apollo himself.

And now, 25 years after his death, his estate continues to coin millions by merchandising Elvis products of all kinds and from tours of the enchanted Graceland.

The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen -- none of them, nor any current musical idols, have his electric charisma.

To comprehend Presley's seductiveness you had to be with him relaxing out of camera range.

Nothing seemed impossible to Elvis. He laughed, made fun of his clothes and eating habits: his favorite meal was crisp fried bacon with mashed potatoes and thick gravy.

Elvis surely would have howled with laughter at the wacko imitators and Presley legends circulating since his death.

"What's all the fuss about?" he might well ask. "I was just a country boy having a good time."

He was indeed.