Hit after hit in both music and cinema followed, cementing Elvis’s status as the one and only King of Rock and Roll, one of the most compelling cultural icons of the 20th century. A new biopic, Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann premiered at Cannes in May of this year, with a full theatrical release on June 24, 2022. The movie stars Austin Butler as Elvis and chronicles the journey made from childhood to becoming a legendary pop and movie star, focusing on his often complicated relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). As often happens with legends, the details and circumstances of key moments in their lives and careers veer away from facts and fantastical rumors and speculation grow like weeds. Elvis died at the too-young age of 42, on August 16, 1977. While the official cause of death was heart failure, medical experts have long considered that his fatal heart attack was brought on by a longstanding addiction to barbiturates and other prescription medication. Fantastical notions about his death, including whether it even happened, quickly took root and have persisted to this day. How did Elvis Presley die? Read on for more about Elvis’s tragic death and its surrounding conspiracies.
How did Elvis die?
According to numerous sources, on Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis’ girlfriend Ginger Alden found the singer lying face down and unconscious in the second-floor bathroom of his Graceland mansion. He was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital, where efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. After a two-hour post-mortem examination, the press received word that Elvis’s death was “cardiac arrhythmia,” and drugs were not involved. The toxicology report, however, indicated high levels of multiple opiates, indicating that heart failure was a symptom and not the root cause of death. The report given by Tennessee’s Medical Examiner was, in fact, a cover-up requested by Elvis’s family, who did not want his substance addiction to become public, as this threatened to tarnish the legend’s reputation.
Was foul play involved in Elvis’s death?
The Presley family reportedly requested a private autopsy to determine the cause of death, which meant those records were unavailable to the public. Despite numerous attempts to have them released, they have remained sealed, which has fueled speculation about the nature of Elvis’s death. Elvis’s personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, aka “Dr. Nick,” came under heavy scrutiny in the years following Elvis’s death. Nichopoulos started treating Elvis in 1967 for saddle pain (pain between the hips as a result of riding a horse; Elvis fans are no doubt aware of his love of horses and that he had a stable at Graceland), and rumors about his involvement in Elvis’s death based on how many drugs were found in his system began very soon after his death. In 1980, Nichopoulos was indicted on 14 counts of over-prescribing drugs to Elvis, as well as Jerry Lee Lewis and others. The trial revealed that in the eight months leading up to Elvis’s death, Nichopoulos had prescribed him over 10,000 doses of various barbiturates, amphetamines, tranquilizers and other narcotics. Nichopoulos testified that he had tried to wean Elvis off these substances, giving him placebos at times, and insisting that if he hadn’t prescribed the drugs, Elvis would have found them “on the street.” The jury acquitted Nichopoulos, believing he acted in the best interest of his patient, but that same year the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners ruled that he was guilty of over-prescription, suspended his license for three months and put him on probation for three years. In 1993, Nichopoulos’s license was permanently revoked.
Did Elvis fake his death?
Some fans were so shocked and saddened by Elvis’s death that their denial stage of grief bloomed into skepticism that he died at all. One of the pieces of “evidence” used to bolster this theory is Elvis’s headstone, on which his middle name is spelled “Aaron” instead of “Aron,” which some fans believe is meant to indicate that Elvis faked his death. Elvis’s middle name has been spelled both ways, in fact: It is “Aron” on his birth certificate, possibly to honor Presley’s stillborn twin, Jesse Garon Presley. Allegedly Elvis wanted to change it to the more common spelling, and in the process learned that state records already had it listed as “Aaron.” According to the official Elvis website, both spellings are considered correct, and Elvis’s father had the headstone ordered with the two-A spelling.
Did Elvis fake his death to escape the Mafia?
One of the more persistent rumors about Elvis is that he faked his death to go into the FBI’s witness protection program. Gail Brewer-Giorgio, author of the 1988 book Elvis is Alive, claimed to have reviewed thousands of FBI documents that indicate Elvis enlisted as an undercover agent for the FBI in 1976, to infiltrate a racketeering group called “The Fraternity.” The FBI never commented on Brewer-Giorgio’s claim. Time reported that Elvis was a great admirer of the FBI and that the FBI did have an extensive file on Elvis, started when the King of Rock and Roll was a target of several extortion attempts. Out of the 760 documents in this file compiled from 1956 to 1980, there is no mention of Elvis ever helping the FBI with any investigation.
Have you seen Elvis?
Conspiracy theories about Elvis faking his death in 1977 go hand in hand with Elvis sightings. This particular rumor is so pervasive that as recently as 1997 a Gallup poll was conducted to survey how many Americans believed Elvis was still alive. 97% percent of those responding said no, but Elvis sightings are still popular enough to maintain an official Elvis Sighting Society out of Ottawa, Canada. The first reported “Elvis sighting” happened shortly after Presley’s death. Someone reported a man who looked like Elvis buying a one-way ticket from Memphis International Airport to Buenos Aires, using the name “Jon Burrows,” which was a pseudonym Presley often used when booking hotels. In his 2006 book Elvis Decoded, Patrick Lacy debunks this story, having interviewed Memphis airport officials who claimed that there were no international flights available in 1977.
Was Elvis in Home Alone?
Another popular conspiracy theory holds that Elvis appears as a background actor in Chris Columbus’s 1990 classic Home Alone, showing up in the scene where Catherine O’Hara is negotiating with a ticket agent in the Scranton airport. Behind O’Hara is a tall bearded man conspiracy theorists believe is Elvis based on his mannerisms, particularly in the way he tilts his head. It makes sense–Elvis appeared in over 30 movies, loved Christmas, and Columbus had recently made the movie Heartbreak Hotel, in which a group of kids plan to kidnap Elvis. Columbus and Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin discuss this theory and laugh about it on the DVD’s commentary (via Vice): While the identity of the bearded extra in Home Alone is still unknown, it’s safe to say it’s not Elvis. “Oh my God,” laughed Culkin. “Look at this guy,” he said of the bearded man. “He’s not Elvis Presley!”
Is Elvis a groundskeeper at Graceland?
The most recent Elvis sighting occurred in 2016, in a video uploaded to YouTube of a white-haired man in an orange Elvis Week t-shirt futzing with some wire at Graceland. As he walks past the camera, he holds up two fingers in what conspiracy theorists claim is a numerological sign that he is Elvis. This video has more than 2 million views, a good deal more than the video debunking the theory, in which a fan introduces the man as Bill, who says, “I’m not really 81.” While we can’t deny the allure of Elvis sightings, and the desire to believe a legend isn’t truly gone, it’s probably safe to say that if you do see an Elvis walking around, it’s an impersonator. Next, find out which of Elvis’ famous outfits sold for more than $1 million.
