Elvis 'pushed to edge' by bodyguards' tell-all book
Just days before he overdosed and collapsed on his toilet, Elvis Presley watched as the world learned the truth about his drug addiction.
And it was the tell-all book that would push Elvis over the edge after years of being hooked on painkillers, his stepbrother David E Stanley has told The Sun.
The book, titled Elvis: What Happened?, was written by two men who had once been the closest to the King of Rock and Roll - his bodyguards Sonny and Red West.
For years the two had begged their boss to get treatment for his addiction, worried it would end his life.
Elvis' descent from the King of Rock and Roll to a drug addict popping 60 pills a day is now well-known. But in 1977 the truth came out in a tell-all book written by his bodyguards
For years Sonny and Red West (circled) begged their boss and close friend to get help for his addiction to painkillers (pictured in 1970)
'Red would say to Elvis, "You are doing too much, buddy, you are on a path that will cost your life,'" Stanley recalled.
'Sonny too, told him, "This is going to get you, you gotta stop.'"
'But the more they did, the more Elvis separated himself from them, to the point where he had them fired by his father, Vernon. He effectively fired his conscience.'
Stanley said Elvis was 'in total denial about his addictions', and cut out anyone from his life that tried to get him to seek help.
Elvis was popping 60 pills a day, and weighed 350lb, in the last days of his life.
But it the knowledge that the entire world now knew his troubles that, Stanley claims, ultimately ended The King.
Elvis received Sonny and Red West's manuscript six months before it was published.
But Elvis (pictured with his bodyguards in 1976) eventually had them fired as he tried to cut out anyone from his life that was worried about his addiction, the King's stepbrother revealed
Elvis was so enraged by the book that one night he even threatened to kill them and asked his stepbrother to come along
'Reading those truths tore him apart,' Stanley told The Sun. 'It exposed home truths about his life.'
Elvis received Sonny and Red West's manuscript six months before it was published and was 'devastated' by it
'It got to him so badly that he felt he couldn't put himself into a situation where he was seen in public.'
Elvis had tried to stop the book from getting released, offering money to the publishers, but was unsuccessful.
He was so enraged by the book that one night he even threatened to kill Sonny and Red.
Stanley recalled one night in Los Angeles when Elvis ran into his room and told him, 'Get your gun, we're going to get them'.
They sped down Santa Monica Boulevard in a Ferrari as Elvis screamed 'I am going to kill them'.
Stanley said he only managed to convince the star to turn around when he asked, 'What am I going to tell your daughter Lisa?'
'He locked up the brakes and said, "How could these guys do it to me?"', Stanley said. 'I drove him home and tucked him in while he cried himself to sleep.'
'Elvis felt betrayed but at the same time he was betrayed by the truth. He was totally in denial.'
The King was also embarrassed, and the idea of going on tour just days after the book was released frightened him.
After Elvis' death, tests discovered his blood contained ten different prescription drugs. Pictured are a slew of drugs prescribed to him from his doctor's medical bag
'He knew he would have to walk out overweight, sweating profusely and slurring his words - and that the audience knew the truth', Stanley recalled.
David E Stanley (pictured), Elvis' stepbrother, said the King was completely in denial about his addiction
'That was more than he could take. His image was everything to him and it was untarnished until then. All of a sudden the world would know he was a drug addict.'
Just hours before he was supposed to leave the Graceland mansion for Portland, Main - the first leg of his tour - Elvis took his final breaths in his bathroom. He was 42.
It was 10 days after his former bodyguards' tell-all was released to the public.
Stanley recalled seeing Elvis' father break down in tears after they found the former star face down on the floor.
A friend yelled at Elvis, begging him to break, as another pumped his chest.
'It wasn't the first time he overdosed, but fortunately people had saved him,' Stanley said.
'When he went in the bathroom that day, he didn't want anybody around him.'
Tests later discovered that Elvis' blood contained ten different prescription drugs.
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