Sally Hoedel, the biographer of late American singer Elvis Presley has provided a new theory about how the musician died.
In Sally Hoedel’s new book, Elvis: Destined To Die Young, she claims that Elvis died not because of drug abuse but because of his genetic make-up.
Hoedel believes that Elvis’ well-documented health problems were not a consequence of drug abuse. Rather, that they stemmed from the fact that Presley’s maternal grandparents were first cousins.
Hoedel’s position as a historian has caused her to draw upon the significance of the inbreeding in Presley’s family. Early deaths plagued Elvis’ mother’s side of the family — including three uncles. This notion is made all the more stark when we note that Elvis died at 42 and his mother Glady’s at 46.
In the book, Hoedel states: “They had a similar four-year period of degenerative health, and that’s interesting because she did not take the same medication as he took”. Hoedel also writes that Elvis was racked by disease in nine of the eleven bodily systems which were present since his birth.
She told the Observer: “Elvis is seen as less or more than human, like an image, and he’s been reduced to this rock’n’roll guy who died in his bathroom from taking too many pills”.
The author continued: “That’s not enough for a man who culturally shifted our universe. It’s not accurate and it’s not enough. Elvis was a sick man who hid a lot of his weakness to fill concert venues and support his family. By examining his flaws and health issues, maybe we can start to see his humanity again.”
