Perhaps Ann-Margret is most remembered for her performance as Elvis Presley’s love interest in the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas. However, a “devastating” fall she experienced a short time later necessitated significant facial surgery.
Ann-Margret, a Swedish-American actress, had a severe fall just a few years after captivating audiences in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas as Rusty Martin opposite Elvis Presley. According to Showbiz CheatSheet, the actress sustained a “devastating facial injury in 1972 when Ann-Margret fell 22 feet during a performance at a Lake Tahoe casino.”
The New York Times reported on September 14, 1972, that Ann Margret was having surgery for facial fractures.
The report stated: “Ann-Margret underwent facial surgery today at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center after suffering significant injuries in a fall from a stage platform.
“About three hours were spent on the procedure. Hospital representatives stated they would not make a comment regarding the actress and dancer, 31, until later.
“Ann-Margret fell from a 22-foot platform immediately before her performance at a Lake Tahoe casino on Sunday, suffering multiple facial fractures, a concussion, a fractured jaw, and a broken arm.”
Additionally, there were rumors that the actress had shattered her kneecap in the incident, but these were eventually refuted.
In a 1983 interview, Ann-Margret claimed that Roger Smith, her husband, had insisted on flying her to Los Angeles for oral surgery to treat the major damage and preserve her renowned beauty.
In her autobiography Ann-Margret: My Story, published in 1994, the actress said that Elvis had helped her through this period.
According to rumors, the two were having a relationship while Viva Las Vegas was being filmed.
She said that despite the fact that they had broken up a few years prior and had both moved on, he had already given her flowers.
He asked to visit her in her suite one evening when they were in Las Vegas.
According to Ann-Margret “He was quite curious about my rehabilitation and the accident.
Elvis made statements that made it obvious he really missed having me in his life: “It was so simple for us to slide into the closeness we’d always enjoyed.”
In an interview with Roger Ebert, Ann-Margret mentioned that she received “thousands of letters” while she was recovering.
The NHS states that any type of plastic or cosmetic reconstructive surgery “has an associated risk” because facial surgery is a severe procedure.
From the NHS: “The degree of risk is influenced by the size of the affected region, the skill of the surgeon, and the patient’s general health.
“While some procedures have special hazards, generic concerns include discomfort and pain.”
