Priscilla Presley Thought Elvis Would Have Always Had His ‘Demons’ if He Lived
Priscilla Presley was one of the people closest to Elvis. The pair were together for years, and even after their divorce, she remained close to him and his family. She knew him better than most people. When reflecting on her ex-husband’s life, Priscilla acknowledged that he always dealt with “demons.” She believed that Elvis would have always had these demons, even if he’d lived a much longer life.
Priscilla Presley thought Elvis would have always dealt with ‘demons’
In her nearly two decades of knowing Elvis, Priscilla said she watched him deal with many personal struggles. As his life went on, he began to feel increasingly isolated and alone. Looking back, Priscilla wished she could express to him how many people cared — and continue to care — about him.
“I wish that I could share with him knowledge,” she said on Good Morning Britain (via The Daily Mail). “Because he really was alone. He really didn’t have a peer, not with a group and not really with anyone.”
She acknowledged that he had “demons” and did not believe he would have overcome them, even if he lived a much longer life.
“No, I don’t [think he would have],” she said. “I think that he would always have his demons.”
She saw this as a familial pattern.
“Elvis was a thinker. He was a searcher. His mother had demons, his father had demons,” she said. “We all have demons obviously; I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. They were a close family but there was always a little bit of sadness in them.”
Priscilla Presley said Elvis created problems when he didn’t have professional challenges
Priscilla believed that part of Elvis’ problem was that he created issues for himself, particularly toward the end of his life. His career was declining, and he struggled with the absence of professional challenges.
“In the absence of any significant professional challenge, Elvis created his own real-life dramas,” she wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “His fascination with guns was now an obsession. He became paranoid over death threats, and from his association with the Memphis local police, he had access to a list of drug pushers. He felt he personally should get them off the streets.”
Everyone close to Elvis began to worry about his well-being, particularly as his performance style grew more erratic and he canceled shows.
How did Elvis Presley die?
On Aug. 16, 1977, Elvis died of a heart attack in Memphis. His health had been declining for several years at this point, due in part to his diet and prescription drug use.
While his doctor denied that Elvis had a drug problem, it was later “established in court that during the seven and a half months preceding Elvis’s death, from January 1, 1977, to August 16, 1977, Dr. Nichopoulos had written prescriptions for him for at least 8,805 pills, tablets, vials, and injectables. … The drugs included uppers, downers, and powerful painkillers such as Dilaudid, Quaalude, Percodan, Demerol, and cocaine hydrochloride in quantities more appropriate for those terminally ill with cancer” (via USA Today).
After Elvis’ death, doctors also found evidence that he had diabetes, glaucoma, and severe constipation. If the musician had lived, he would be 88 years old.
