Lisa Marie Presley was just 9 years old when
she lost her famous father, Elvis. Now she
is mourning the passing of her 27-year-old
son Benjamin Keough, who has reportedly died
from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Calabasas,
California.
According to a statement to Variety issued
through Presley's manager,
"She is entirely heartbroken, inconsolable
and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong
for her 11 year old twins and her oldest daughter
Riley. She adored that boy. He was the love
of her life."
People has reported that Presley was particularly
close to her son, with whom she shared a matching
tattoo. She revealed on Twitter back in 2012,
"It is a Celtic eternity knot. Ben (my son)
and I got it together in the same place on
Mothers Day 3 years ago."
Benjamin Keough was also the son of Presley's
ex-husband, musician Danny Keough, and brother
to Riley, an actress who has appeared in several
movies and TV shows.
Benjamin is also the grandson of music legend
Elvis Presley, one of the most successful
singers of all time, and actress Priscilla
Presley.
Though he kept a low profile, there were rumors
that a then 17-year-old Benjamin had reportedly
cut a deal with Universal Music for $5 million.
The report was later denied by Universal's
Executive Vice President Peter LoFrumento,
who told People, quote, "The story is totally
untrue."
Regardless, Lisa Marie Presley was happy to
leave Ben to find his own way. She told HuffPost
in 2012,
"He's doing his own thing right now. I'm going
to let him decide when he wants to go out
and do what he wants to do."
She reiterated that stance again in 2013:
"I mean, he loves music, but I kind of don't,
that's a lot to put on him, you know? So I'm
trying to let him do his thing without pushing
that on him."
Benjamin did get to spend some time in the
music spotlight, as the subject of Lisa Marie
Presley's 2012 song "Storm and Grace," which
referenced how quickly Lisa Marie thought
Ben was growing up. The song, which was the
title track of Presley's third album, also
referenced Ben in another way, with "Storm"
being his middle name.
Benjamin Keough also played a part in a tribute
song Lisa Marie Presley recorded for her father
in 2012. The track, called "I Love You Because,"
features a duet that blends vocals from Lisa
Marie and a recording of Elvis from 1954.
The video shows some home videos of Elvis
and Priscilla Presley with Lisa Marie, as
well as footage of Lisa Marie with her four
children.
Lisa Marie told CMT in 2012,
"Every five years, I try to do something special
for the fans as a tribute. I thought, 'OK,
I really want to focus on the fact that I
think his spirit lives in his grandchildren,
very much.' I thought it would be special
for the fans to see that, to focus the attention
on that, which made it intimate and sweet,
because the song is like that. It felt really
right."
It is in the video where we see Benjamin as
the spitting image of his famous grandfather,
and fans were quick to comment on the resemblance.
Presley has admitted in the past that she
noticed the resemblance too. She told CMT,
"He does [look like Elvis]! He was at the
Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage!...Everybody
turned around and looked when he was over
there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo
because it is just uncanny. Sometimes I am
overwhelmed when I look at him."
While we didn't see much of Benjamin Keough
on social media, his mother wasn't so shy
about showing him off. She last posted a photo
of herself and her four children in 2019 on
Instagram captioned, "Mama Lion with Cubs".
That photo lit up the internet as longtime
fans went on social media to comment on how
Benjamin looked like his famous grandfather.
One Twitter user responded,
"Beautiful Mama Lion and beautiful cubs! Your
son is a twin of your Dad! Nice family!"
Today, social media is only full of expressions
of sorrow and condolences over the family's
devastating loss.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal
thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK
(8255)​.
