The Death of Elvis: What Really Happened - Hardcover

Charles C. Thompson II; James P. Cole

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385302282 ISBN 13: 9780385302289

Publisher: Delacorte Press, 1990

Synopsis

This well-researched probe into Elvis Presley's death includes interviews with Colonel Tom Parker, conclusive autopsy documents, and a thorough account of the autopsy and why its findings are so hotly debated

About this title

From Library Journal

This fascinating probe is perhaps the most detailed and satisfactory explanation available of the circumstances surrounding Elvis Presley's death. The bulk of the material comes from "The Elvis Cover-Up," an hour-long program the authors produced, along with Geraldo Rivera, for ABC's 20/20 in 1979. Since that program and a subsequent follow-up report aired, Thompson and Cole have gained possession of secret autopsy records that unhesitatingly establish the cause of Elvis's death as multiple drug ingestion, not the hypertensive heart disease officially reported by the Shelby County Medical Examiner. Interviews with the Memphis Mafia, toxicologists, pathologists, and lawyers reveal a drug-dependent Elvis for whom 12,000 pills--uppers, downers, amphetamines, and pain killers used by terminally ill cancer patients--were prescribed in the last 20 months of his life. Idolatrous Elvis fans will read anything on him--but they should read this. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/90.
- Barry Miller, Austin P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Thompson, a producer at 60 Minutes , and newsman/editor Cole attempt to clear up the mystery of Elvis Presley's death in 1977 by showing that the real cause was not, as others have proposed, heart attack, cancer, suicide or murder but an accidental overdose of multiple drugs, including codeine, to which the King was allergic. They purportedly spent a decade investigating all aspects of his pathetic last years--marked by depression and inability to cope with reality, by difficult relationships with women and sleazy associates who fawned on him and later cashed in on his death, by addiction to medical drugs and reliance on a doctor who fostered this drug dependency. Every grisly detail of his final hours is examined, as well as the autopsy that followed. Fans hungry for gory particulars about Elvis's death may be morbidly fascinated, but most readers will find this report extremely disagreeable. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0385302282
• ISBN 13: 9780385302289
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 407