10. Elvis Presley’s death at just forty-two resulted in the belief the singer faked his death to escape stardom and retire in peace
Becoming the “King of Rock and Roll”, Elvis Presley shot to sudden and unprecedented musical fame in 1956 following the release of “Heartbreak Hotel” at number one. Quickly becoming the face of American music and having a transformative effect on the industry, Elvis’s work garnered widespread critical and commercial success. Sporadic in output, with his career interrupted by his two years of military service in the late-1950s, as well as a seven-year break from live performances during the 1960s, in later life Elvis became increasingly addicted to prescription drugs. Overdosing twice on barbiturates in 1973, inducing a three-day coma on one occasion, the increasingly overweight Elvis struggled to maintain the image he had produced in his younger years.
Finally, following years of ill-health and drug use, on August 16, 1977, Elvis died at the age of just forty-two as a result of a drug-related cardiac arrest. Despite this terminal conclusion to his life’s story, a sizable proportion of the American population – approximately an incredulous eight percent at the time of last polling – believe Elvis did not die as reported but instead went into hiding. Alleging “The King” felt he could not retire peacefully, adherents to the theory claim Elvis instead faked his death using a wax dummy and adopted a new identity. Since 1977, there have been numerous alleged sightings of Elvis around the world, often quickly proven to be nothing more than instances of similarly looking persons.