The Actress Who Claimed She Had A Saucy Affair With Elvis Presley

Canadian actress Anne Helm's career was in the ascendency at the start of the 1960s. Having worked various small acting roles and modeling contracts as an ambitious teenager, in her early 20s she was finally beginning to earn leading roles on both TV and in movies. And in 1962 she received her biggest role yet — the love interest in the movie "Follow That Dream" opposite none other than Elvis Presley, whose immense success as a rock 'n' roll pioneer made him a huge box office draw.

At the time, Presley was engaged to Priscilla Beaulieu, a teenager he met while stationed on a U.S. Army base a few years earlier. They married in 1967. However, it has emerged that Presley's agreement with Beaulieu didn't stop him from pursuing the other women in his life — including his co-star. Even though Presley and Helm had previously denied having an affair on the set of "Follow That Dream," 30 years later, the King's co-star finally lifted the lid on their time together, claiming that the two were indeed involved in a steamy romance that took place on-set.

As recounted in "Down at the End of Lonely Street" by Peter H. Brown, Anne Helm's affair with Elvis Presley got off to a quick start on the set of "Follow That Dream." The movie was being shot in Crystal River, Florida, with the actors and crew spending each night after filming cooped up in a nearby motel. Presley made an impression on Helm by knocking on her door on the first day of filming to greet her with a bouquet of roses — a charm tactic he reportedly used on all his leading women. It certainly worked on Helm.

Everyone on set loved Presley and doted on him, and though the King was often mobbed by fans, back at the motel the actors and crew formed a tight-knit group who played poker together and performed practical jokes on each other. Helm found herself adolescently infatuated with her iconic co-star, later admitting that she would spend her time writing poetry about the "Jailhouse Rock" singer. Their affair became well known on set — even though it was rumored that Presley was engaged — and Helm claims to have felt guilty for staying the night in the rocker's room. The pair continued to see each other after filming, but after an argument in Hollywood that ended with Helm slamming the lid of a piano down on Presley's finger, he never called her again.

As far as Anne Helm's story goes, her relationship with Elvis Presley ended shortly after the filming of "Follow That Dream," but she nevertheless looked back upon it fondly. According to "Drive-In Dream Girls," at the time of writing, she regularly appeared at Elvis conventions to talk about her experiences with the King. And her career continued long after her association with Presley ended — indeed, "Follow That Dream" was just one of five movies she shot in 1962, which propelled her through the rest of the decade and ensured she received a decent income.

Helm herself married twice, first in 1968 to the author John Sherlock, with whom she had a son, though they divorced the following year. Her second and final marriage came in 1971 to "Valley of the Dolls" actor Robert Viharo. They remained married for eight years and had a daughter. She had a recurring role in "General Hospital" in the 1970s — a job that lasted two years — and took a break from acting before attempting to resurrect her career a decade later. However, she retired soon after and put her efforts into making art and has also written several books for children.