Though it’s been nearly half a century since the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” died, Elvis Presley’s name and legacy continue to make their mark in popular culture.
Director Baz Luhrmann chronicled his rise to stardom in the 2022 biopic “Elvis.” Austin Butler, who spent two years embodying the “Hound Dog” singer, is now a best actor Oscar nominee.
His granddaughter’s musical legacy is also in the spotlight as she sets to play a fictional famed rock singer in a series adaptation of “Daisy Jones & The Six.”
Here’s what you need to know about the King’s final moments.
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How old was Elvis when he died?
Elvis Presley was 42 years old when he died on Aug. 16, 1977.
Presley was found unresponsive at Graceland, his Memphis mansion, around 2:30 p.m., The New York Times reported. His then-fiancee Ginger Alden found Presley lying unconscious on the floor of the master suite bathroom, according to PBS. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m.
Preliminary findings of Presley’s death found he died of “cardiac arrhythmia,” but a toxicology report a week later found his blood contained high levels of the opiates Dilaudid, Percodan, Demerol and codeine, as well as Quaaludes.
While it is commonly known that Presley died of heart failure, the effects of his drug abuse are less often referenced. Presley’s personal physician, George Nichopoulos, testified before the Tennessee Board of Health that he prescribed thousands of doses of addictive pills to Presley and gave into his requests to keep him from seeking drugs “on the street,” PBS reports. Though Nichopoulos was acquitted at this hearing, he eventually lost his medical license in 1995 after over-prescribing other patients.
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How old was Lisa Marie Presley when Elvis died?
Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Elvis Presley, died Jan. 12 after suffering apparent cardiac arrest at her home in California. She was 54. When her father died over four decades ago, Lisa Marie was just nine years old.
Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley’s ex-wife and the mother of Lisa Marie was 32 at the time of Elvis’ death. Elvis and Priscilla met when she was 14 and the singer was 24 and later married in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967, when the pair were 32 and 21. They amicably split in 1972.
At the time of his death, Elvis was with Alden, who was 20 years old. The pair had been together less than a year when he proposed to her, and she attested in her memoir they discussed wedding plans the day he died.
How old would Elvis be today?
Elvis was born on Jan. 8, 1935, making him 88 years old if he were still alive today.
Priscilla, who later established herself outside of Elvis with roles in the 1978 series “Dallas” and in the “Naked Gun” movies, is now 77 years old. Other than Lisa Marie, she has a son, musician Navarone Garibaldi.
Elvis would eventually have four grandchildren – Riley Keough, Benjamin Keough and twins Harper and Finley Lockwood. Benjamin Keough died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.
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Story Credit: usatoday.com