Book Review: "The King And Dr.Nick" by George Nichopoulos, M.D.

I wanted to read this book because my wife is a very devoted fan of Elvis and after visiting Graceland last year I have to admit I'm rather intrigued by the man myself (Related post: "What I learned at Graceland"). This volume, by the man who was Elvis' personal physician for ten years, did not disappoint my curiosity to learn a bit more about the complex man/myth/legend which is Elvis Presley.

The first chapter of the book is a narrative by "Dr. Nick" of the fateful day in August, 1977 when Elvis passed away. Because he was Elvis' doctor, he was called when Elvis was found unconscious in his bedroom and arrived at Graceland just in time to accompany Elvis to the hospital in the ambulance and witness the efforts made to save his life. There is quite a bit of detail included, as I'm sure that day is indelibly impressed into his mind. He also details the extra efforts taken by the authorities in Memphis and the Presley family regarding the autopsy performed and provides very compelling arguments as to what (or rather what did not) caused Elvis' death.

The next chapters of the book cover highlights of the ten years Dr. Nick spent as Elvis' personal physician in Memphis. He goes over tours which on which he accompanied Elvis, details about Elvis' health and chronic medical conditions which made the grueling tour schedule all the more difficult for him. He details the extraordinary efforts he took to keep Elvis in good health so Elvis could do what he loved best: entertain his many fans all over the world. Through these pages, one gets an intimate glimpse into the extraordinary life Elvis led as a man driven to give his best to everything he did. Dr. Nick touches upon the extreme generosity of Elvis as well as gives insight into the life of a man shrouded in mystery and legend.

The last section of the book describes the personal trials Dr. Nick went through after Elvis' passing. He describes the pursuit of (then) 20/20 reporter Geraldo Rivera and how the fallout of the story about the alleged conspiracy to cover up the real cause of Elvis' death dogged Dr. Nick until he was finally forced to leave the medical profession. Throughout it all, Dr. Nick confidently assures the reader that the cause of Elvis' death was not according to "popular knowledge" and gives compelling reasons so the reader will understand.

The epilogue compares and contrasts Dr. Nick's experience after Elvis' death to the experiences of another doctor - the personal physician to Michael Jackson upon that artist's death. It's an interesting way to wrap up the story.

I found this book to be very interesting and recommend anyone who is interested in Elvis to give it a read.

Disclaimer: I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program. Although Thomas Nelson Publishing provided the book at no cost to me, this review is my honest opinion of the work.

What I Learned At Graceland

My wife and I just finished our 5th Annual Honeymoon. This year, we headed over to Memphis, Tennessee so we could visit Graceland. I sometimes joke that my wife needs to make a "pilgrimage" there every few years.

When we last visited Graceland a few years ago, we didn't have time to go on the mansion tour. This time, however, we made time to take the VIP tour so we could see everything. It was well worth it.

I learned quite a bit about Elvis during this visit, just as I did during our visit to the Elvis-A-Rama Museum in Vegas (now closed). Here are three tid-bits which I was surprised to learn about Elvis:

1. Elvis was a voracious reader: Seeing how busy he kept himself, it never struck me that he would have much time to read. Part of the Graceland VIP tour is a "secret" room in the back of the mansion. In that room is a display of what his office looked like when he passed. I was quite surprised to see books on philosophy and business in addition to novels of many types.
2. Elvis Was A Monty Python Fan: Inside the "Lisa-Marie" airplane, the tour video mentioned that Elvis would often read or watch movies while flying around the country. The narrator specifically mentioned Elvis enjoyed watching Monty Python. That was quite a surprise to me.
3. Elvis' Reputation for Generosity Is Underrated: Although Elvis has a reputation as being a very generous man, the bounds of his generosity are underrated in my opinion. One of the exhibits in the Graceland mansion details his charitable works. I was quite blown away by the number of charities he helped support as well as the very large number of people he would help just because he heard they were having a hard time. He paid medical bills for numerous people. This was all in addition to his famous giveaways of cars and other items. In the exhibit narration Lisa Marie Presley made a comment something to the effect of: "As much as he spent on his family, he spent far, far more helping others."

Details in the Details

I enjoy seeing the minutia of the lives of famous people. Business documents, for whatever reason, fascinate me. As I mentioned in my post about the Elvis-A-Rama Museum, Elvis' business records also reveal a lot about the man most folks never hear about. For instance:

1. The pool table he bought for Graceland was a used, refurbished one.
2. He was paid $50,000 for his first television appearances (quite a princely sum in the 50s).
3. Elvis' father, Vernon, handled most of the business affairs. Most of the checks on display are actually signed by him and not by Elvis.

Veteran Elvis

Elvis' military service continues to impress me each time I hear a new story. Here's a man who was at the top of the entertainment world when he was drafted. He could have gotten easy duty, and no doubt was offered such. But he chose to go the way of every other young man and do his service with no special favors or favoritism. About the only special privilege he had was permission to live "off post" in a rental home. Even still, he helped his fellow soldiers clean the barracks for Saturday inspections.

I'm not sure what his MOS was, but from the descriptions given in the "GI Elvis" exhibit it sounds like he was a Cavalry Scout. He mentioned in one interview that he spent 6 months of his tour in Germany patrolling the Czech border near Grafenwoehr, Germany. 

All in all, I consider this to have been a class act on Elvis' part.

One of these days I'd like to go visit Germany and check out the Statue of Elvis standing at Ray Barracks in Friedburg, Germany. I've seen it many times, but my wife has not, yet. I think it would be a great treat for her.

Paying Respects

At the end of the mansion tour, one is led past the graves of Elvis, his mother, his father and his grandmother. Although I don't consider myself a huge fan, it was hard not to get choked up about his passing after learning so much about him. He was, truly, a living legend - and the legend doesn't nearly describe who the real "larger than life" man was.

All Elvis All The Time

After our touring, we just happened to catch the weekly Elvis Quiz Show on Sirius radio. Sirius' Elvis Radio broadcasts all "Elvis all the time" live from Graceland 24/7 and each week they have a live trivia contest. The winner this past Friday was a young man from Canada who visits Graceland every year and has won the contest each of the 6 times he's been in it. His prize was to guest DJ on the show. Next time we head out that way, we'll have to email ahead of time and see if we can get in on it.

Image credit: USAREUR and Seventh Army

Crocs™ For The King

A while back I wrote about how my wife and I love our Crocs™.

My wife really goes all out when she decorates hers. January 8th is Elvis' birthday. In honor of the occasion and in preparation for our visit to Graceland later this month, she decked out a pair of her Crocs™ in honor of The King. I think they turned out pretty well.

I think what amazes me most is that she can wear these decked out like this and they don't fall apart. The engineering which goes into these creations is really impressive.

Elvis-A-Rama Museum, Las Vegas

During our recent trip to Las Vegas, my wife and I found ourselves making a "pilgrimage" to the Elvis-A-Rama museum. Located on Industrial a few blocks off the strip behind the Fashion Mall, this museum holds (as the Travel Channel described) the largest private collection of Elvis memorabilia outside Graceland. It was certainly and interesting and enlightening visit. Our visit was also rather timely since the museum is scheduled to close permanently on October 1st, 2006.

After we paid the admission, we were escorted into a dark room with black lights and fluorescent names of Elvis in different languages and waited while we were given a hyped pep talk about what we were going to see. I thought this rather cheesy, but it was the only part of the displays which could be considered that way.

The museum is arranged generally in chronological order, following the King's career from its root until his untimely death. There were fascinating bits of minutia, such as deposit slips, royalty checks, letters back and forth between fans and friends and much more. There were 3 cars which were once owned by Elvis as well as a variety of costumes and other personal belongings.

One of the more interesting items (to me) was a guitar which was passed around and played when the members of the Beatles met with Elvis in his Memphis home. Along with the guitar was a narrative of the visit (written by John Lennon, I think). It was fascinating to read the account of the meeting of two music powerhouses under one roof.

There is, of course, a gift shop where one can purchase anything from sunglasses to copies of Elvis' divorce decree.

We were told by one of the staff the reason for the museum's closing was that it had been bought by Graceland. According to rumour, another Vegas museum run by Graceland was in the works, but no details were known. The collection in the Elvis-O-Rama was to remain with the private owner, who described himself as a close friend of Elvis from his youth.

It's a shame that such a Vegas landmark will pass. Of course, that's the way it is there - the city constantly imploding or plowing over the old to make way for the new. It'll be interesting to see what happens with any new Elvis museum.