A paperback book titled "Elvis What Happened?" was published four days before Elvis Presley's death. The book was authored by Australian writer Steve Dunleavy with the assistance of three former Presley bodyguards: Red West, a high school buddy of Elvis'; Red's cousin; Sonny Wes; and karate expert Dave Hebler.
When one of the bodyguards was accused of benefiting from the singer's death, one of the bodyguards, Hebler, reacted. Here's why he thinks this book may have helped Elvis.
Did Elvis Presley's bodyguards benefit from the book?
He highlighted a "cost-cutting measure." Elvis What Happened?, published by Ballantine Books, is filled with references to Presley's drug use. It claims that he used a lot of uppers and downers, tried LSD once, and had a near-fatal incident with a young female fan. The book also reveals Elvis Presley's fondness for guns, his dislike for competitive singers, and his fascination with death.
In 1976, Elvis Presley's father, Vernon Presley, fired three of his son's bodyguards: Sonny West, Red West, and Dave Hebler. Vernon said that this was due to financial concerns, RollingStone reported.
They then offered journalist Steve Dunleavy testimonies concerning their previous employer. It's possible that Hebler, the Wests, and Dunleavy benefited from Elvis' death. Hebler, on the other hand, disputed that this was the case. He stated that the book was written out of love.
Hebler revealed in the interview why he and the Wests decided to help with the creation of the book. First, he claimed that they felt how they were discharged was not right and that the book broke a record after Presley's death.
"We wanted to point out to him what he was doing, not only to himself, but to people around him, and we didn't want him to be what he was, we wanted him to be what we knew he could be, and had been," he continued.
Kmart purchased two million copies of the book from publisher Ballantine Books in one week, according to The New York Times. This was the single-largest order of paperback books ever placed. During that time, chains ordered nearly 3.5 million copies of Elvis: What Happened? Some people thought the book was exploitative, but that didn't stop it from selling well.
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Vernon Presley denied allegations against his son
Recently, Elvis Presley's father, Vernon Presley, has claimed that the King of Rock and Roll did not use illegal drugs in his last days. Vernon published a lengthy piece about his late son for Good Housekeeping magazine a year after Elvis' death.
Vernon addressed the idea that Elvis was on drugs throughout the last few years of his life in this article. "The doctors discovered that he had some liver damage, a colon problem, and high blood pressure. That worried me more than the rest," Vernon said revealing the results of the medical test.
Elvis was a "night person" and would often go days without leaving Graceland, the father of the King of Rock and Roll said. When coroner Joseph Davis reviewed the autopsy of Elvis' remains in 1994, he seemed to back up Vernon's statements, as per Express.
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. Ginger Alden, the star's fiancée, finds him unconscious on the bathroom floor of his house in Graceland. The next day, at 3:30 p.m., the celebrity was proclaimed dead after attempts to revive him failed. The star's death was attributed to a variety of factors, including a bad diet and excessive usage of illegal drugs, which the star's father strongly refutes.
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