his hip swiveling and unprecedented charm. (Photo by Gary Null & Frank Carroll/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images), ELVIS PRESLEYS PAL RECALLS LAST TIME HE SAW THE KING: EVERYBODY HAD TEARS IN THEIR EYES. He missed Priscilla. Hoedel said Presley was "worried" about his health deteriorating. Elvis Aaron Presley died August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. He had back pain, digestive troubles, and eye afflictions, including glaucoma. Elvis Presley skyrocketed to fame in the 1950s. A man holds newspaper announcing his death. ", "In the end, somebody who has a mental health issue, who is a celebrity, will often have a more difficult time because to really successfully recover from a mental health problem or addiction,you actually need a great deal of humility. I turned him over and I knew. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. They would try and no way.". Like so many rock stars, including Michael Jackson and Prince, Elvis employed an all-too-willing physician to feed his addiction and hasten his death. Instead of rushing an unconscious Elvis to a hospital, manager Tom Parker --- played by a surprisingly villainous Tom Hanks -- declares that the show must go on and summons Dr. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. According to Kirk, Presley was impressed by the nurse and her country ways. In 1972, he hired her as his nurse, as well as her husband for security. Five of those disease processes, she says, were present from birth. Dr. Howard Markel "Elvis had an incredible work ethic," she explained. He says, Im sick, I dont feel good, but I cant stop because everybody is relying on me., Hoedel believes Presley was not a drug addict looking to escape reality. Contributions are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers. He spent most of his time holed up in the elaborate den nicknamed the "Jungle Room" for its exotic decor of his Memphis compound Graceland. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images). Something went wrong, please try again later. As detailed in the documentary Elvis Presley: The Last 24 Hours, Elvis' final day on earth included a nighttime trip to the dentist in search of prescription drugs, a 4 a.m. game of racquetball with his cousin Billy Smith, and an impromptu piano performance of classics including "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain." Elvis Presley during a performance at NBC Studios in Burbank, CA. Elvis was a very kind hearted person. Kirk first met Presley in 1968 when she treated him at a Memphis medical clinic for saddle sores, Closer Weekly reported. And by the 70s, hes an insomniac. Few if any figures in rock and roll history are as timeless or controversial as Elvis Presley. By the mid-70s, Presley was in declining physical and mental health, history.com reported. After years of drug abuse, the once lithe star weighed in at 25 stone and had spent months barricaded in his bedroom gorging on platters of cheeseburgers. During the final months of his life, Elvis Presley was said to be in a lot of physical pain. "I realized this man was as iconic as they come, and yet he of course was a human being, sensitive and vulnerable, with virtues and flaws, and I got to experience all of that, Butler said in a USA TODAY interview. But for Tennant, that wasn't enough to explain the long list of maladies that afflicted the rock star from the late 1960s onwards. The book alleges that during the second show of that fourth tour, Presley, who was semiconscious, had his head dunked in a bucket of ice water. Equally cryptic for some were the parting words the King said as he left the stage: "We'll meet again. "In 1956 they didn't understand that these pills could become addictive. She walked past the painting, and she took her little fingers and blew a kiss and said, I love you, daddy. I melted right away.. Psychologists say efforts to reimagine celebrities as more than their stardomand wealth succeed in destigmatizing and humanizingthe mental health conversation. Given his pill dependency and excessive weight, some might assume that Elvis spent the day before his death lying in bed eating or doing drugs. As recorded in Rolling Stone, the three bodyguards co-wrote a tell-all biography of Elvis that was released only days before his death. By then, he really needs a lot of medication to achieve any form of sleep And hes taking things like Valium to achieve sleep because he literally cannot sleep any other way. Similar to many who found fame in the 60s and 70s, Elvis developed a drug addiction. And rather than being shownempathy, he was mocked by the country that lifted him onto the pedestal. According to Elvis: Destined to Die Young, the singers downward spiral, punctuated by health problems routinely written off as the consequences of addiction, could have been caused by Presleys maternal grandparents, who were first cousins. The critics noted his weight gain when reviewing his public appearances. ", CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER. Elvis did NOT die of a drug overdose, and very likely his death was unrelated to other direct effects of drugs, but it'd be naive not to accept that they almost certainly were a prime factor that led to his fatal heart attack. He passed away on Aug. 16 of that year. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. But it's "She Thinks I Still Care" that is regarded by many to be Elvis' finest latter-day moments, illustrating a man trying to move on while trapped in the role tailor-made for him and revealing, according to Rolling Stone, "a real-life glimpse into the life of an increasingly isolated man.". EDS is what connects all of those health problems, correct? "When Elvis wasdoing well, people were projecting onto him the rock star,sexual image …then as he began to get older and he lost the luster, people were no longer seeing him as a sex symbol, as the man of America, but they saw him as adeteriorating rock star. Once he strayed from his picture-perfect, seductiveimage, someridiculed and discardedhim. After all these years people still want to know what happened to the "King." He would also often say "God, I hurt all over." Presley knew there was something wrong with him. Elvis Presley holds court at a press conference to publicize his show at Madison Square Garden later that night while Colonel Tom Parker looks on at the Hilton Hotel on June 9, 1972, in New York City. To this day, conflicting speculationssurroundElvis' death. In November 1976, Elvis split with his girlfriend of four years Linda Thompson, according to The Wrap. Prior to his death, Presley was visually no longer the hip-swaying "Elvis the Pelvis" sex symbol. PBS reported that at the time of Presley's deathtwo pathologists "found evidence ofsevere and chronic constipation, diabetes and glaucoma." At the time, little was understood about auto-immune conditions, but these days they are known to cause most of the symptoms Elvis displayed, from chronic pain, irrational behaviour, obesity and enlarged and diseased organs like hearts and bowels. "In the last few years of his life, he was very aware of how ill he was," she said. Did he really fire Colonel Tom Parker onstage in Las Vegas? His friends kept pimping him with pretty 17- and 18-year-old girls but he had nothing in common with them. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. "When he played Vegas, he played two shows a day for 30 days thats 60 shows. Presley was found unresponsive at Graceland. Elvis Presley suffered eye disease glaucoma and was almost blind when he died, according to the late King of Rock's personal physician. According to Practical Pain Management irrational and illogical behaviour can also occur after sustaining a heavy blow to the head. Always seek the advice of a physician or healthcare provider for any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Why was he in so much pain? As always you can unsubscribe at any time. His excuse for throwing all these high-octane drugs around? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. "He was miserable. Here is what you need to know about Elvis' death, declining health and other aspects of his life. His manager, Colonel Tom Parker allegedly shouted, "The only thing thats important is that hes on that stage tonight! And in 2016 Garry Rodgers, a retired homicide detective and forensic coroner, told the Huffington Post that with those findings in mind, he would have attributed Elvis' death to a heart attack caused by heart disease and drug use caused by an autoimmune disease which was sparked by a brain injury. What about now? Once there, doctors struggled to revive him without success and Presley was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm. But was the King simply ignoring his well-being, or was he having suicidal thoughts? Elvis Presley health: The star was destined to die young full list of his health issues. I walked over, lifted his chin, and said, Elvis, if you talk to me, you look at me, she said. At only 42 years of age, initially the cause of his death was reported as a heart attack. In turn, many in Elvis' entourage believed Ginger to be nothing more than a gold-digger. All rights reserved. I was very fortunate [to have known him]. Nichopoulos, however, continued to over-prescribe to many other patients and in 1995, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners finally and permanently suspended his medical license. While this is a cruel and derogatory way to describe someone dealing with personal health problems, it's undeniable that Elvis' eating and weight issues colored his last year on Earth. Austin Butler chats with USA TODAY's Marco Della Cava about starring in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" as the title character alongside Tom Hanks. I gently raised one eyelid. Thank you. Tennant reviewed the autopsy report, medical records and a confidential 161-page private investigation, and testified as a defense witness for Nichopoulos, who would be acquitted of charges of overprescribing drugs. The gang held various roles, from sounding boards for Presley's personal problems to helping him wade through crowds of rabid fans. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He bought strangers new cars just to see their reactions. Dr. Nick testified he gave into all of Elviss prescription requests because he wanted to keep Presley from seeking out these drugs on the street.. It was hard to be Elvis, no one had done fame like that before, and no one else could do it for him. Many would later wonder if this was because Elvis knew somewhere deep down that he would never play again and wanted to shout out all of those who made his career possible. '", But in the case of Elvis, Manly notes, it would have been "muchmore difficultthan your average Joe, who isn't worried about how people will be looking at him. You have all of the money in the world. People there in the inner group did but you did not tell Elvis what to do. I ran upstairs, I go into the bathroom, and Elvis had fell over and was laying on the floor. "He was not only my patient, but a good friend," Henley later wrote in a book,via Express. Why would you want to go out and have people staring at you and judging youall the time?" Sally A. Hoedel wrote a book about Elvis Presley's health history that was published in 2020 titled Elvis: Destined to Die Young. Of the distressing scene, Ginger, who was just 21 at the time, wrote in her memoir: His arms lay on the ground, close to his sides, palms facing upward. The doctor remained by Elvis' side during his drug addiction and where there on the tragic day of his death and claims in an autopsy, stunned medics found a four-month-old stool blocking his gut. Elvis Presley had multiple diseases. If we can strip away the negative connotations, and then look at the consequences, theres a lot of truth to be uncovered, Hoedel says. Forest believes it all stemmed back to a serious head injury he sustained in 1967 that triggered a progressive autoimmune inflammatory disorder. Deeply depressed. While many of Elvis' loyal fans refused the buy the biography upon its initial release in May 1977 in the UK and late July in the US the King's death soon thereafter, and the revelation that many of the book's stories were painfully accurate, turned it into one of the most successful Elvis books of all time. I think he was awake for three days. Dr. Nick admitted at a hearing before the Tennessee Board of Health that he had prescribed thousands of doses of various addictive pills for Elvis but also claimed he often slipped him sugar pills, or placebos, to try to control his addictions. A doe-eyed boy from the South whose unique mix of barking and crooning made him both a rebel and a heartthrob, Elvis changed the way the world thought about music, pop culture, and celebrity. Presleys forebears may have made marriage choices because of poverty and proximity, but Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt married to keep wealth in the family. Elvis Presley's greatest songs: 20 essential cuts you need to hear now Review: The 10 best (and the absolute worst) Elvis movies, ranked Elvis' health problems, explained. Atherosclerosis is a condition where arteries become clogged with fatty substances. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The moment came toward the end of the night, just before his closing performance of "Can't Help Falling In Love With You." Elvis Presley has become synonymous with many things, such asrock 'n'roll and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Elvis did indeed suffer from heart problems aggravated by an excessive use of drugs, but Tennant believes the ultimate cause of his death was a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a major cause of intractable pain and other chronic health problems. He began treating the King for saddle pain in 1967 and all too soon Elvis turned into an opiate addict. Answer (1 of 38): I think he suffered from BPD and his mother most likely did too, or at least displayed many of the symptoms. The maids were like family. He once said: "Presley's chronic constipation - the result of years of prescription drug abuse and high-fat, high-cholesterol gorging - brought on what's known as Valsalva's maneuver. When the toxicology report came back several weeks later, however, Elvis blood was found to contain very high levels of the opiates Dilaudid, Percodan, Demerol, and codeine as well as Quaaludes. The singer was also on a cocktail of drugs and had been prescribed almost 9,000 pills, vials and injections in the seven months before his death. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Linda Thompson (left) posing with her then-boyfriend Elvis Presley and her parents. While some have sought to portray the family as hillbillies, the author points out that inter-marriage was not at the time unusual across society. As a result of his horrendous diet, he suffered from chronic constipation and a post mortem found he had compacted stool that was four months old sitting in his bowel. Elvis Presley was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. Now The King's cousin has shared specific . This can lead to constipation which the star was famously trying to rid when he passed away. His official cause of death was listed as cardiac arrhythmia. While he was also taking many dangerous pharmaceuticals throughout his life, it was the heart disease caused by his bad diet that ultimately killed him. He was very family-oriented, Kirk explained. As someone who loves this struggling individual, the young woman started to become concerned with her lover's health as it rapidly declined. Elvis had divorced his wife Priscilla Presley in 1973, and developed a dependence on prescription drugs to get through the day, all while maintaining a grueling schedule. Most challenging during Elvis' final years was his nonstop schedule of his live performances. One of these problems was Elvis megacolon. Market data provided by Factset. And yet, the darkness and desperation surrounding Elvis' final months and death have made him an imperfect icon idolized by subcultures your average Graceland-bound tourist might not expect punks, goths, and modern-day rockabillies, who appreciate the mismatched sides of the singer's life. Exactly what caused Elvis Presley's death remains shrouded in mystery. And we love tocriticize the celebrity to bring them back down to our level. Theyre killing me." Hoedel claimed that those who knew Presley were worried about how much physical anguish and stress he was enduring to keep up with a non-stop schedule. Her new book, which comes out on Sept. 15, is titled "Destined to Fly: The Story of Pilot Ron Strauss From Iowa to Elvis," which tells the little-known tale of Presleys pilot. It became a problem, but why was he taking them in the first place?, Dr Nick is a controversial figure. Get a daily dose of showbiz gossip direct to your inbox. Hodel claimed that Presley continued to use medication to not only provide him relief but also to function. Presley had recorded tracks at home in Palm Springs in 1973 to great success, and said that he enjoyed being in a room with his fellow musicians to feed off their emotions so why not set up a mobile studio in Graceland? Girlfriend of four years Linda Thompson, according to the Wrap seductiveimage, someridiculed and discardedhim Presley in 1968 she! Her country ways was his nonstop schedule of his death, Presley was in physical... On Aug. 16 of that year HERE to SIGN UP for the ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER no the... 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