Did Elvis Presley Fake His Own Death? Story Behind One of Music World's Biggest Conspiracy Theories

When the king of rock and roll passed away at age 42 on Aug. 16, 1977, it stunned the music industry and left millions of fans utterly devastated, grasping for answers. In the decades that followed, fans and conspiracy theorists have suggested that The King may have faked his own death for a multitude of bizarre reasons. Several groups such as The Elvis Sighting Society popped up and have been "documenting" alleged Elvis sightings throughout the years. Keep in mind that pretty much anytime there is a beloved artist who dies young, someone will claim they're still alive – Morrison, Cobain, Jackson, Tupac, etc… but Elvis paved the way, so in this article, we will explore one theory and how it created real-life consequences.

Gail Brewer-Giorgio is an author who has published five books – one on the life of Mary Stevenson, the author of the Immortal Poem, three on the subject of Elvis Presley's death titled, Is Elvis Alive?, The Elvis Files: Was His Death Faked?, and Elvis Undercover: Is He Alive and Coming Back?. But her first novel, published in 1978, the year after Presley died, was titled Orion. The book described how a popular Southern singer named "Orion" faked his own death to escape the pressures of fame…

Incidentally, around the same time, there was a very real singer going the name Orion, who looked and sounded somewhat similar to Elvis Presley and often wore a mask when he performed. Many believe that Brewer-Giorgio wrote the novel suggesting that Elvis had began to perform again after his death, wearing a mask, under the name Orion. The performer was later revealed to be a guy named Jimmy Ellis. Shortly after the death of Presley, some of Ellis' recordings were touted as genuine Presley recordings. In fact, Good Morning America hosted a voice comparison test of the song against Presley's voice. Around the same time, Ellis released a single under his name called, "I'm Not Trying To Be Like Elvis," and an album, "By Request - Ellis Sings Elvis".

Gail Brewer-Giorgio claimed to have no knowledge of Orion or the fact he wore a mask, although most people familiar with the story remain suspicious. In any case, the book didn't sell well. Her next book was originally released as "The Most Incredible Elvis Presley Story Ever Told" in 1988 but was retitled "Is Elvis Alive?" later on. Clickbaity, right? Well, it must have worked because she ended up appearing on popular talk shows such as Larry King Live, Nightline and The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss her theory. The book became a massive success and touted a storyline somewhat similar to her first novel, "Orion".

Her theory was that the FBI enlisted Presley as an undercover agent in 1976 to help the agency infiltrate a criminal organization called "The Fraternity," which was allegedly made up of dozens of racketeers. This was largely based on a meeting Elvis had with President Nixon. Brewer-Giorgio claimed that Presley was a true patriot and loved his country so much that he would give up his fame to bring down the organization and spend his remaining years in witness protection. This theory went on to spawn a lot of other theories as to WHY Elvis HAD to give up his fame and fortune and recede into a life under the radar. The comedy-horror film Bubba Ho-Tep gives a pretty hilarious parody of the sort of theories that fly around regarding Elvis.

While most conspiracy theories are kind of entertaining and interesting to look into as they to pique the imagination, they can also be dangerous, as we have seen play out in real life. Politicians raving about Jewish Space Lasers and Cabals of cannibalistic billionaire lizard people running the world show that perhaps there are enough suggestible, ungrounded, and unhinged people in the world to make some conspiracy theories dangerous. While the "IS Elvis Alive" theories haven’t inspired any seditious behavior lately, it has had real-life consequences.

The theory that Elvis was still alive was seen as credible enough for the government to look into it and it actually delayed Elvis getting a commemorative stamp. According to the rules of the USPS [United States Postal Service] a person has to have been dead for ten years in order to get their face on a commemorative stamp. Elvis would have been eligible for the 1988 collection. Gail Brewer-Giorgio's book was seen as credible enough that it delayed the release of the stamp until 1993. More damaging than the delay of a commemorative stamp, it does serve to create a false legacy that can distract and take away from the real legacy of Elvis Presley. While conspiracy theories can be fun to look into, it must be done with a sound and rational rooting in reality.

The reality is that Elvis died in his bathroom on August 16, 1977. It is also true that Elvis had the most fanatical fans around at the time [aside from maybe the Beatles…]. According to one Elvis biography, one of Presley's cousins, Billy Mann, accepted from the National Enquirer $18,000 to secretly photograph the body at the funeral. The picture appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer's biggest-selling issue ever. The funeral was held at Graceland while 80,000 fans waited outside the gates – during the funeral a car plowed into the crowd, killing two and injuring a third.

The only real debate in the Elvis story is the cause of death, which was originally ruled as a heart attack. Regarding the possibility of an overdose, the coroner stated, "drugs played no role in Presley's death" – a clever way of skirting the issue that there were drugs in his system, primarily codeine that he had gotten from his dentist. Further analysis of the toxicology report noted "fourteen drugs in Elvis' system, ten in significant quantity". Although the official cause of death was a heart attack - some theorized that Elvis had an underlying health condition – perhaps the most notable underlying health condition was his steady intake of drugs for years.

Claiming that Elvis is still alive negates the cautionary tale of a rockstar doing too many drugs. After all, those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it and we have seen that narrative repeat itself over and over – doctors over prescribing drugs to rockstars has cost us Michael Jackson, Prince, Tom Petty, and presumably Taylor Hawkins although no official cause of death has been determined - that investigation is ongoing, but preliminary toxicology reports found opioids and benzodiazepines in his system.

The business of pushing conspiracy theories has proved to be quite lucrative – it’s the only reason we're talking about Gail Brewer-Giorgio today.