As you may have read, Elvis liked to give nicknames to those around him, who he loved. Well, my three-year old son, Dana (Dana Edward Fadal), was one of them. Elvis, always a keen observer, noticed from week to week when he came to our home, that Dana was often playing with old burned-out light bulbs, despite the oodles of toys surrounding him. Elvis didn’t mention anything about it until he had observed Dana’s routine for several weeks, taking careful note of the light bulbs that Dana was so absorbed with.
Finally, Elvis asked me, “What gives with Dana, Chief? Why doesn’t he play with all those toys?” I had to explain to him that my son was totally captivated by light bulbs and any other electrical items.
Elvis then laughed and really seemed to understand. He then informed me that his name for Dana would henceforth be “Reddy Kilowatt”, and that is what Elvis called Dana from that time on.
Elvis pictured here with Dana “Reddy Kilowatt” Fadal, in 1958 at the Fadal home in Waco Texas.
Dana in a recent photo. Notice the truck load of electronic equipment in the background.
You may remember the name Reddy Kilowatt in connection with your local electric utility company some years ago. It was used in national and local advertising, and Reddy Kilowatt was their logo in advertisements, stationary, and literature of all kinds.
Editors notes: Eddie also mentioned that Elvis called him “Chief”. He surmises that after close and patient observation, Elvis determined that Eddie was calling all of the shots at his house . . . thus the “Chief” nickname. Eddie’s wife LaNelle was eternally called “Mrs. Fadal, ma’am” by Elvis, despite her insistence for him to call her LaNelle, which he never, never did!) The stationary on which Eddie typed this anecdote was left over from his eight-year fund-raising auction campaign that raised nearly $200,000 for Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, in Elvis’ memory.