Elvis crypt pulled from auction block after worldwide fan outcry

Singer Elvis Presley's Crypt in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., will not be auctioned as part of Music Icons June 23rd and 24th, 2012, at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif. Presley was interred there alongside his mother, Gladys, after he died Aug. 16, 1977, and reburied later at Graceland. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

LOS ANGELES -- Elvis Presley's crypt has left the auction block.

Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said Friday that his company has agreed not to sell the crypt after fans worldwide demanded that it be kept as a shrine to his memory.

Julien's Auctions announced in May that it would sell the empty tomb at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn., at its "Music Icons" auction Sunday. Julien said the company won't sell the crypt "until Forest Hills finds a plan that best suits the interests of the fans while respecting and preserving the memory of Elvis Presley."

Presley was interred there alongside his mother, Gladys, after he died Aug. 16, 1977. Two months later, they were reburied at his Graceland home. The original crypt has remained empty ever since.