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Former Elvis Presley bodyguard turned drug smuggler releases book dishing on conviction, the real Miami Vice
If ever you’ve looked to crack open a nonfiction book detailing the tales of one man, a former bodyguard of Elvis Presley, who earned himself both a super middleweight kickboxing championship and a drug smuggling conviction, the pages are now hot off the printers.
Ted Pryor, formerly refereed by Chuck Norris and training partner of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Don “The Dragon” Wilson, was hired by Presley following his world championship win. He details the job in his newly released book, “Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon.”
Pryor’s stint as Elvis Presley’s bodyguard
“Elvis, when he was younger in the service, he learned a little bit of martial arts, and he was infatuated with it,” Pryor told Fox News Digital.
At the time, Pryor and his friend Joe were training Florida law enforcement, the FBI and DEA on the basics of self-defense to use as anchorage amid a physical encounter with an assailant.
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Ted Pryor, former bodyguard for Elvis Presley, said he was hired due to his kickboxing expertise and Presley’s love for martial arts. (Jack Randall; Getty Images)
The work was steady until Pryor and Joe received a call from Presley to piggyback as bodyguards on what would be the final tour before his death.
“Unfortunately, no one knew it then, but he was broke,” Pryor said. “He had to start touring, because his manager gambled his money away.”
Pryor’s responsibilities included warding off zealous supporters of Presley who dreamed of reaching the stage and crowding him.
“The women used to rush the stage,” Pryor said. “It was interesting, because you’d have a chokehold around their waist. We would take them to the floor slowly and our junior bodyguards would take them away.”
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Ted Pryor told Fox News Digital he fought all over the world, including locations like China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan. (Ted Pryor)
Pryor said the men would fend off three to four women at a time with takedown techniques and that one woman, who gad been given a scarf by Presley himself, used the accessory to choke Pryor with it.
“She was trying to get to Elvis,” he said. “She put it around my neck and started choking me.”
Parts of Florida, Memphis, California and New York, among 20 to 30 other locations later, Pryor said the fun came to an end when he received the call that the King of Rock and Roll had passed away.
“It was kind of shocking,” Pryor said. “I think the whole world was shocked when that happened. He always treated me and Joe really well.”
Pryor was also previously hired by Don Johnson during the time he was married to Melanie Griffith, though he reminisces that Johnson was “moody.”
“And that’s putting it nicely,” he said.
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Pryor was 20 years old when he was shackled and cuffed by Florida police officers when they seized 32,000 pounds of marijuana from his car and boatyard, the largest weed bust in the U.S. at the time. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Earning $5k per marijuana drop at 20 years old
Not long after the unexpected loss sent shockwaves around the world, Pryor was working as a correctional counselor for a Florida state prison when he was offered $5,000 to drive a car across Alligator Alley, a swamp sanctuary in the Sunshine State.
“I wasn’t totally naive,” Pryor said. “I knew there was something in the car.”
Pryor detailed to Fox News Digital how, at 20 years old, he’d transport 500 pounds of marijuana at a time, earning a $5,000 cut from the $20k to $30k deals.
“I thought I was Rockefeller,” he said.
As the cash rolled in, Pryor sought to reap a greater financial benefit from his work and acquainted himself with a drug dealer for whom he acted as a bodyguard, offloader and “intimidator.”
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Pryor was initially set free by a judge after his lawyer argued there hadn’t been enough probable cause for law enforcement to pull him over. He was re-indicted and served 90 days of his 18-month prison sentence. (Ted Pryor)
“I had a reputation,” he said. “I was one of the best fighters in the world. I was on the cover of magazines. I was really well-known in Florida.”
“He wanted someone that could protect him that didn’t need a gun,” he said.
Pryor added that he maintained a fit but lean physique at the time and weighed only 170 pounds, but bystanders feared him.
“Ray wouldn’t ever let me get into the business,” he said. “He wanted me clean. Not that he was a loving, caring guy. He wanted to have someone clean in his life.”
So, Pryor got greedy and took matters into his own hands.
He told Fox News Digital that his work started with “little” 2,000-pound runs on midnight express boats for buyers from New York, Chicago and Michigan.
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Ted Pryor, super middleweight kickboxing champion, was hired as one of Elvis Presley’s bodyguards for what would be his final U.S. tour before the king away suddenly. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“We started our own little enterprise doing it on the side without him knowing it,” he said.
Until one day, Pryor sought to move 15,000 pounds of marijuana from a boatyard.
“I got pulled over,” he said. “Guns came out. These are the guys that I trained for three to four years. They couldn’t believe it was me.”
Pryor said he was cuffed, and his feet were shackled, before the team of officers located the weed in his car, which they considered probable cause to raid the boatyard. Law enforcement seized 32,000 pounds of marijuana, the largest seizure of weed in the U.S. at that time, and interrogated Pryor.
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Pryor wrote “Three-Time World Champ: The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Business Icon,” which details his time as a drug smuggler in Florida. (Cover designer Sarah Avinger; Cover illustration Sean Hsiao)
A second indictment comes crashing down
After being put in front of a judge, Pryor’s lawyer argued that the police had not had enough evidence to pull him over and search the vehicle.
Pryor was let go.
“He did the right thing by law, but he knew I was guilty,” Pryor said.
Former President Ronald Reagan was in office at the time, and his wife, Nancy Reagan, led a youth antidrug campaign at the time, “Just Say No,” which implored children to refuse drugs when offered.
“The Feds came in and had the Supreme Court of Florida overturn the state case,” Pryor said.
He was re-indicted and believes it was due to both state and national pressure to save America from a drug epidemic.
Pryor accepted an 18-month prison sentence and was back on work release in 90 days.
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After being released from jail, Pryor took $1 million, which the Feds had not seized from him, bought car washes to clean it and paid taxes on it before founding Children of America. (iStock)
“Believe it or not, where did I go?” Pryor said. “I go back to the place where I started; the state correction facility.”
However, this time, Pryor was on the other side of the program as a former prisoner.
Founding Children of America
After he served his time, Pryor started a car washing business to clean $1 million by laundering money that the Feds had never seized.
Trouble was never Pryor’s dream, though, so once he paid taxes on the money, he founded Children of America in 1997, an educational childcare provider, operating 70 locations in over 10 states and caring for nearly 10,000 kids.
“It’s been my life, and I’ve enjoyed it,” Pryor said.
As for his background, 40 years later, Pryor anticipates it doesn’t cast a shadow over the positivity and opportunities that families and children are presented with by way of Children of America.
“Parents read the book and were asked if they’d bring their children there,” he said. “Ninety-eight percent of the people didn’t have a problem with me taking care of their child, because they’ve had some kind of experience with marijuana.”
Today, his son runs the company, but Pryor reminds that he will always be the founder.
“You can’t change that,” he said.
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Southeast
Naked woman allegedly assaults deputy while intoxicated, claims she was ‘trying to be a mermaid’
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A Louisiana woman’s attempt to go for a skinny-dip did not end swimmingly, authorities said, after she allegedly attacked a sheriff’s deputy responding to a trespassing complaint before finally surrendering to deputies Tuesday.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor standing in their driveway screaming and refusing to leave the property despite having been warned previously.
When a patrol deputy arrived, authorities said the suspect was found nude and swimming in a pond located on the caller’s property.
The woman was later identified as Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, of Marion. Sutton initially refused to exit the pond or speak with the deputy, telling him she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.
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Erin Elizabeth Sutton, 41, is accused of threatening a sheriff’s deputy in Louisiana after being caught skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond. She claimed she was “trying to be a mermaid,” according to police. (Union Parish Sheriff’s Office / Getty Images)
After repeated commands, Sutton eventually exited the pond. Due to cold temperatures, emergency medical services were contacted to evaluate her, authorities said.
A blanket was provided, and as the deputy attempted to escort Sutton inside a residence to warm up, she allegedly charged at him.
Authorities said Sutton ignored multiple commands to comply and resisted detention. A taser was deployed but had no effect, according to the sheriff’s office. Sutton was taken to the ground, where she allegedly continued to resist, kicking and punching the deputy before being restrained.
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The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office in Farmerville, La., announced on Facebook that 41-year-old Erin Elizabeth Sutton had allegedly attacked and threatened one of their deputies after skinny-dipping in a neighbor’s pond, citing she was “trying to be a mermaid.” (Google Maps)
Sutton was transported to a hospital for further treatment. During the transport, she allegedly threatened to kill deputies and paramedics, authorities said.
Because Sutton required medical care at the time, deputies later sought arrest warrants, which were signed by a judge in Louisiana’s Third Judicial District Court, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sutton surrendered to deputies on Jan. 6, 2025, and was arrested on multiple charges, including three counts of resisting an officer with force or violence, two counts of public intimidation, two counts of battery of a police officer, disturbing the peace/drunkenness and criminal trespassing.
According to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched in November to a residence in the Linville community of Marion after a caller reported a neighbor was trespassing. (iStock)
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Her bond was set at $62,000, authorities said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response. It was not immediately clear whether Sutton has retained legal representation.
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FIRST ON FOX: Soon-to-be Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has tapped the former “chief brand strategist” for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to serve in the state’s top diversity, equity and inclusion role.
In a Tuesday statement, Spanberger, who takes office on Jan. 17, announced she is appointing Dr. Sesha Joi Moon to serve as Virginia’s chief diversity officer and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Spanberger said that Moon’s “experience across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors gives her firsthand insight into the ways in which we can build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Virginia for every family.”
“I’m excited to announce that Dr. Moon is joining our administration,” said Spanberger, adding, “Virginia deserves leaders who will make sure our work to grow our Commonwealth’s economy keeps the needs of all Virginians in mind.”
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Virginia Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Nov. 04, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“When every Virginian has the opportunity to reach their full potential, it benefits all of us,” she said.
Moon, whose doctorates are in public administration and policy and self-identifies as a “Black queer woman,” responded to her appointment by saying she is looking “forward to joining the cabinet of Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger as her historic administration works to advance a future in which all Virginians have access to opportunity — to include residents from some of the hardest-to-reach communities throughout the Commonwealth.”
Moon most recently served as the chief impact officer for the Girl Scouts of the USA. Before that, through her private consultant practice Moon & Associates, she worked as the “chief brand strategist” for Crockett, a radical far-left Democrat who is currently running for the U.S. Senate in Texas.
Earlier this year, Moon appeared on a 40-minute podcast episode, where she defended the importance of DEI and delivered a direct message to critics, saying, “This work has not stopped. You can defund and dismantle all you want, but the work continues.”
“I’m excited. I feel like DEI is just getting started,” Moon continued. “I know that sounds so insane to some people because some people think our discipline is crumbling, and I don’t see it like that. I feel like we’re onto something here.”
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Moon also served as executive-in-residence with two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ American Pride Rises Network, a DEI advocacy network.
Before that, she was the chief diversity officer of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 117th & 118th Congresses under Speakers Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Mike Johnson, R-La.
Spanberger won a decisive electoral victory this November, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a margin of over 10 percentage points.
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Then Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at a CPAC Latino Rally for Virginia on October 25, 2025 in Sterling, Virginia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Considered a purple state, Spanberger’s victory returns the Virginia governor’s mansion to the Democrats after being held by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger, Moon, Crockett, Abrams and the Girl Scouts of the USA for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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Southeast
NASCAR star Denny Hamlin gives health update on mom after she was injured in deadly house fire
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NASCAR star Denny Hamlin shared an update on his mother’s condition after she was moved to a burn unit following a house fire in North Carolina that left his father dead earlier this week.
Hamlin thanked those who reached out to him and shared their condolences. Dennis Hamlin died from injuries suffered in the blaze that occurred in Stanley.
Denny Hamlin looks on prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Concord, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with condolences on my father’s passing,” he wrote on X. “My mother continues to improve, and our family truly appreciates the outpouring of support and the respect for our privacy during this time.”
Officials said Mary Lou Hamlin was transferred to a burn specialist in Winston-Salem to treat her injuries.
Officials said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The fire broke out at a home in Stanley around 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, which drew emergency responses from Gaston and Lincoln Counties, according to Queen City News.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 12, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
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Both Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were out of the house as emergency personnel rushed to the scene.
“We are thankful for the multiple agency response and ask that the public be in prayer for the affected family and our first responders in fire, GEMs and police,” the Lucia-Bend Fire Department said in a statement to the outlet.
Dennis Hamlin’s death was announced later Monday.
NASCAR released a statement on Tuesday to honor the NASCAR driver’s father.
“NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to Denny Hamlin and the entire Hamlin family,” the organization said.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Toyota, exits his car after the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2, 2025, in Avondale, Arizona. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
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“Dennis Hamlin instilled a love of racing in his son, and sacrificed greatly to develop Denny into a world-class talent in the sport. We also continue to offer our thoughts and prayers to Denny’s mother, Mary Lou, and hope for her full recovery.”
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
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