The King Is Dead

1977

The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.

Elvis is found dead at the age of 42 in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion, lying face down on the floor having suffered a heart attack. Although not noted on his death certificate, his condition was exacerbated if not directly caused by an overdose of prescription drugs. His autopsy finds that he had taken 14 different drugs on the night of his death including morphine, quaaludes and valium. He had hired a personal live-in doctor, George Nichopoulos, known in celebrity circles as Doctor Nick, to prescribe him with a variety of painkillers in the belief that this formal method of supply would distinguish him from a common "junkie." In the preceding eight months, Doctor Nick has written prescriptions for more than 8,000 pills, phials and injectables. At the time of his death, Elvis is a shadow of his former self. Over the last few years his health has steadily deteriorated as his intake of drugs - initially intended to control his weight - increased. His live shows had become erratic and his appearance more unkempt. His weight had ballooned to about 350 pounds. Still, he remained a huge draw and had recently filmed a CBS TV special in which his health problems were clear but his performance strong. Elvis's father, Vernon, attempts to protect the singer's reputation by sealing his autopsy report - which details his habitual drug use - for 50 years, but this has the unintended effect of adding fire to rumors that the star has faked his death. The scene of his death is not photographed or forensically analysed, since there are no suspicious circumstances. Conspiracy theories abound in the decades to come, with the singer being sighted everywhere from Graceland itself to touting T-shirts outside an Oasis concert in London. One famous photograph even appears to show him behind a screen door at Graceland after his death. Other "evidence" of Elvis remaining alive includes the spelling of his middle name on his gravestone, which reads: Elvis Aaron Presley - January 8th 1935 - August 16 1997 For most of his life Elvis had used the spelling "Aron," but had always wanted it to be spelled "Aaron," "like in the Bible." Elvis's name on his birth certificate is spelled Aaron. His family spelled it Aron. He was going to change it but then realized it had been legally spelled with a double-a all along. The record clerk had "corrected" the spelling when registering his birth. Alleged Elvis sightings are commonplace throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with him turning up in places as diverse as Ottawa, Michigan and Kalamazoo. Even as late as 2016, video emerges of a white-haired groundsman at Graceland who bears a strong resemblance to how the King might have looked had he made it to his 81st year.