The King of Rock and Roll has been resurrected on the big screen as Baz Luhrmann’s new musical extravaganza Elvis, which centres on the singer’s rise to fame in the 1950s, hits cinemas.
The film, which stars Austin Butler in the title role and an unrecognisable Tom Hanks as his manager Colonel Tom Parker, is one on many to have portrayed Elvis over the decades – perhaps the most bizarre of all being Bubba Ho-Tep, a 2002 horror oddity in which an elderly Elvis battles an Egyptian supernatural entity in an OAP care home.
However, for many devotees of The King an even taller tale is that he died in the first place, with conspiracy theories long having claimed that the star faked his death at his Memphis home in 1997 in order to escape the pressures of fame.
(Image: HANDOUT FILM PR)
Indeed, fans all over the world have claimed to have spotted Presley – who suffered a fatal heart attack aged just 42 – in all manner of places and situations over the decades since.
Some barely waited for the sad news of Elvis’ passing to sink in before suggesting he was still very much alive – one story telling of a possible sighting in nearby Memphis airport where a man, looking suspiciously similar to the performer, purchased a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires in Argentina.
And the name he gave check-in staff – Jon Burrows – just happened to be the alias frequently used by Elvis when checking into hotels whilst on the road.
In December ’77 – very much before the invention of gadgets such as Photoshop – a tourist visiting Elvis’ Graceland pad claimed to have shot a picture of him relaxing in his pool house.
Had the image been doctored in some way? Experts at Kodak who’d been brought in to examine the photo said no, although many conceded it had probably been a look-a-like associate of the singer, named Al Strada.
A waitress also claimed to have snapped a very much alive Elvis eating in her restaurant with his bodyguards.
(Image: The Elvis Conspiracy)
The pictures, which reemerged online in June 2021, showed a man resembling Presley using his hands to cover his face as he tries to duck out of shot.
He also apparently attended his own vigil at Graceland in August 2019, where he was spotted moving through a crowd of his own fans.
In a video from the live event, a man with a blue shirt and sporting a white bushy beard could be seen picking his way through the group, before disappearing out of sight.
Another heavily-bearded man was also hailed as Elvis himself after being spotted at a cake-cutting ceremony for The King in 2017.
(Image: Facebook / Elvis Presley is Alive)
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
A screenshot was posted by the Evidence Elvis Presley Is Alive Facebook group, where it quickly went viral.
Elvis was also allegedly filmed at the funeral of American DJ George Klein alongside his ex-wife Priscilla Presley.
In the clip, some believers claim the man Priscilla touches on the shoulder as she returns to her seat is her ex-husband.
“It’s obvious she knows who he is,” one wrote.
(Image: Unknown)
Other conspiracy theorists also claim Elvis became a sermon-singing pastor called Bob Joyce, largely due to both men sharing a similar rich baritone voice.
Meanwhile, there’s a psychiatrist in The States who claimed that he’s been treating Elvis for years.
However, he was later struck off after overprescribing painkillers to a patient.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
