It’s difficult to accept that it’s quickly approaching half a century since Elvis Presley, arguably the most iconic entertainer of all time, passed away.
The exact cause of The King’s demise has been a closely guarded secret over the years, though rumors and speculation have never been far from headlines. According to reports, Presley’s family sealed the results of his autopsy for 50 years after he died at his famous Graceland home in Memphis on August 16, 1977, aged 42.
That means that in just four short years the results of said autopsy will become – at least in theory – public knowledge, answering questions that have been burning in the minds of Elvis fans for decades.
There can be no doubting that the man dubbed “The King of Rock and Roll” was one of the most pioneering singers in history, even if his last few years on earth were overshadowed by obesity, drug abuse, and rapidly declining health.
In the months leading up to his death, Presley required a full-time nurse and had developed a diet that exacted a horrible toll on his body. That, coupled with the cocktail of drugs and reported thousands of pills and injections he had been prescribed, spelled the end for a man who had given ecstcatic joy to millions of people.
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As stated, the detailed circumstances of Elvis’s passing have never been revealed or confirmed, though any number of opinions, rumors, and conspiracy theories have been shared over the ensuing 46 years.
Given the monolithic stature of Elvis’s fame and regard, it should come as no surprise that today his death remains a much-discussed topic. Yet while any number of family members, close friends, and super-fans have weighed in, there are few who find themselves in a better position to talk about it than the woman who was his girlfriend at the time, Ginger Alden.
Writing in her memoir, Ginger, who was just 21 at the time of Elvis’s death, recalled finding the Hound Dog singer’s body, and described the grim last moments of perhaps the world’s most brilliant performer …
Elvis was an icon for millions in his prime, but perhaps the only thing that could match the brilliance and sheer magnetism attached to his legendary career was the controversy and issues that plagued him in his personal life.
Ultimately, The King’s health problems would lead to his early death aged just 42 in 1977. Given the public’s insatiable appetite for information regarding just how Elvis had died, it’s really no surprise that his family immediately sealed away the autopsy results for 50 years.
In doing so, of course, they created a vast hole in which speculation and rumors could manifest freely.
The chief investigator for the Tennessee Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner, Dan Warlick, attended the autopsy and later ignited the much-discussed theory that Elvis died while trying to go to the toilet.
As per the Daily Mirror, Warlick 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. Put simply, the strain of attempting to defecate compressed the singer’s abdominal aorta, shutting down his heart.”
Though that became a popular go-to reason whenever the discussion around Elvis’s demise reared its head, there have been other theories that hold just as much – and more in some cases – weight.
When the investigation into Elvis’s death was reopened in 1994, Joseph Davis said:
“The position of Elvis Presley’s body was such that he was about to sit down on the commode when the seizure occurred. He pitched forward onto the carpet, his rear in the air, and was dead by the time he hit the floor.
“If it had been a drug overdose, [Elvis] would have slipped into an increasing state of slumber. He would have pulled up his pajama bottoms and crawled to the door to seek help. It takes hours to die from drugs.”
In 2016, meanwhile, arry 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.
Rogers said: “I’d have to classify Elvis’ death as an accident. There’s no one to blame – certainly not Elvis. He was a severely injured and ill man.
“There’s no specific negligence on anyone’s part and definitely no cover-up or conspiracy of a criminal act.”
In any case, we can all agree that Elvis’s passing was unfathomably tragic, but while there are few people alive who don’t remember what they were doing on that fateful day, there’s one person who was the first to know that The King had passed.
At the time of his death, Ginger Alden, then 21, was Elvis’s girlfriend. Reportedly, she found the singer’s body with his bottoms around his ankles.
Alden wrote in her memoir: “His arms lay on the ground, close to his sides, palms facing upward.
“It was clear that, from the moment he landed on the floor, Elvis hadn’t moved.”
The now-66-year-old added: “I gently turned his face toward me. A hint of air expelled from his nose.
“The tip of his tongue was clenched between his teeth and his face was blotchy.
“I gently raised one eyelid. His eye was staring straight ahead and blood red.”
Rest in peace, Elvis Presley! In my mind he will always remain the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
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