Elvis Presley

American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". One of the most famous entertainers in history whose notoriety became worldwide. With a carnal sneer and a Memphis bop-suit, he swiveled across the stage on hot-wired legs. He had 107 top-40 hits (more than twice the total of the Beatles) and 41 gold LPs, the most successful recording artist ever. Presley's persona touched billions of fans, and years after his death, he is still an icon with a huge following. His records continue to sell at a $7 million-per-year clip, his 33 films still spin off the racks of video stores, and some 150 licensed products bearing his name or image account for $50 million in retail sales annually. His fans still visit his Memphis home, Graceland. Presley's mother suffered from depression and took medications for this and for her weight problem. As a young man he started to take his mother's diet pills and antidepressants. Later in his life he always carried a kit of medications that included Dexedrine, Percodan, Seconal, Nembutal, $10,000 in cash, his drivers license, makeup, jewelry, police badges and some pictures. His generosity to strangers is well documented. Always smiling and gracious, he found it difficult to be alone, especially in bed. His habit was to sleep all day with the windows taped so the sun wouldn't get in. He lived and traveled like a potentate with bodyguards that carried large guns. While in the military stationed in Germany he met future wife, teenage Prescilla Beaulieu in 1959. Following a courtly eight-year courtship, during which Presley moved her to Nashville, TN, they married on 1 May 1967, 9:41 AM, Las Vegas, Nevada. Their daughter Lisa Marie was born nine months later to the day, 1 February 1968, but the marriage became increasingly tumultuous. During their marriage while on tour, if Prescilla wasn't with him, Presley would ask aides to troll for girls he could spend the night with. He kept books on astrology and numerology so he would have topics of conversation. Later in life due to poor eating habits his weight soared to 250 lbs. He wrapped himself in Saran Wrap before dressing to look slimmer, but this just made it more difficult to breathe. A sensitive person, he was hurt by many people. When his bodyguards wrote an expose of his life, his first comment was "What's Lisa Marie going to think about this?" His second comment was "What're the fans going to think about this?" Presley died of heart failure on 16 August 1977, 2:50 PM CDT, Memphis, Tennessee. There were many prescription drugs found on the premises and in his system. The following autopsy found Presley's liver bloated and his colon to be stretched to twice its normal size, due to a buildup up of chalky white fecal matter, both signs of severe drug abuse. The toxicology report found toxic levels of codeine, Quaaludes and six other drugs in his system. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum