Instagram Danny Keough, who was married to Lisa Marie Presley for nearly six years, is the father of Benjamin Keough,
Benjamin Storm Keough, the grandson of Elvis Presley, died by suicide on July 12, 2020, as first reported by TMZ. He was 27.
Law enforcement sources told the news outlet that Keough died Sunday in Calabasas, California, from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.” He was Lisa Marie Presley‘s only son. Keough and his older sister, Danielle “Riley” Keough, 31, are the children of Presley, Elvis’s only daughter, and her first husband, Danny Keough. Danny is a guitar player from Chicago who played bass in Lisa Marie Presley’s band.
Presley’s rep released the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday: “She is completely 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.”
Danny Keough and Lisa Marie Presley married on October 3, 1988, at the Celebrity Center International of the Church of Scientology in West Hollywood, People magazine reported at the time. Only nine people attended the nuptials, including her mother, Priscilla Presley, who released the following official statement following her daughter’s wedding:
“Lisa, 20, married musician Daniel Keough, 23, her boyfriend for the past three years. I am thrilled for Lisa Marie. Danny is a great guy, and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them. The couple will be honeymooning for the next three months at an undisclosed location.”
Six days later, Priscilla released another official statement via her publicist Paul Bloch: “Priscilla Presley today announced that her daughter, Lisa Marie, and Lisa’s bridegroom, musician Danny Keough, are expecting their first child in the spring of 1989.” After they welcomed their daughter Danielle, Benjamin was born in 1993.
Keough & Presley Met at the Scientology Center
After Danny Keough’s parents, Francis and Janet Keough, divorced, his mother married Alan Hollander, a Scientologist, according to People magazine. Janet Keough and Hollander co-founded the Delphian School, a private Scientology academy. Even after they divorced, Danny, along with his brother Tom, grew up practicing Scientology.
A year after Danny Keough moved to Los Angeles in 1984, he met Presley at the Celebrity Center, the Scientology church’s social facility, where she had an apartment, People reported. At the time, Keough was working as a bass player at various gigs and as a house musician at Mad Hatter Studios, which was owned by jazz pianist and fellow Scientologist Chick Corea. Keough was best friends with Thad Corea, Chick’s son.
Friends of the couple approved of Presley and Keough’s union, People reported. A fellow Scientologist, he spoke high praise of Danny to People. The friend said, “People used to wonder who Lisa Marie would hook up with. Would it be a creep who was only after her money? With Danny, this is not the case. All his needs are met by the church. Besides, he’s not the type of person to take his marriage vows as anything less than solemn. He is rock solid. When I learned of the marriage, my first reaction was: ‘You’re kidding. Little Danny with little Lisa. How perfect.’”
Keough & Presley Divorced in 1994
Presley went on to marry and get divorced three more times after separating from Keough. First, she wed Michael Jackson a mere 20 days after her first divorce was finalized. In 2002, she tied the knot with actor Nicholas Cage after meeting him at Johnny Ramone’s birthday party. They were married for 107 days, Time reported.
Presley’s third marriage was to guitarist Michael Lockwood in 2006. Together, they welcomed twin daughters, Harper and Finley, 11. After a decade of marriage, Presley and Lockwood divorced in 2016.
Keough Was the Best Man at Presley’s Third Wedding to Lockwood
Post-divorce, Presley and Keough remained close, and he even served as the best man at his ex-wife’s third wedding to Lockwood. Presley told Rolling Stone of Keough, “He’s my absolute best friend in the world. The smartest thing I’ve ever done is have children with this man because I knew this is the one man I could be connected to for the rest of my life.”
While their son remained a private figure, Presley and Keough’s daughter Danielle Keough, who goes by her middle name Riley, opened up about what it was like growing up with two artists as parents. The Logan Lucky actress told The Guardian in 2017, “I grew up very privileged with my mother, but my dad didn’t live like that. And I think experiencing both sides has been helpful. My father had mattresses on the floor of his apartments. He lived in cabins and trailer parks. He just didn’t have much money.”
Riley Keough said her memories of growing up with her dad were “so colorful and eccentric and fun. It was a good vibe, you know? When I was like eight I told him, ‘I want to grow up and be poor like you!’ He was eating a bowl of cereal. I didn’t realize how wildly offensive that was!”
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Danny Keough: Benjamin Keough’s Father Is Lisa Marie Presley’s First Husband