'88 Elvis is Alive craze

[likethebike]

I know some of my members were barely alive when this happened but for those that were there, in 1988 there was an explosion of Elvis' sightings and the proliferation of the idea that Elvis was alive. The idea was so prominent that it drove straight into the mainstream becoming a subject for television shows and songs.

I was never able to figure out where it came from at that time. There had always been rumors out on the margins but nothing in the mainstream and then in '88 wham! It was all over the place. The Gail Brewer Giorgio book would seem to have been the trigger. However, that book had been out since 1982 when it bombed. In 1988 with a changed title it became a smashing success. Why? It certainly wasn't because of Ms. Giorgio's tape of an "Elvis" phone conversation. That had also been making the rounds since the early '80s. I remember a friend in school saying how much it sounded like Elvis and then my own disappointment upon hearing it.

11 years down the line it seems odd that this rumor gained currency. Maybe it was on off-shoot of years of Elvis' impersonators, the stamp issue, the hoopla around the 10th anniversary in 1987 that really emphasized that Elvis was gone.

What's really odd, is that the craze served to trivialize Elvis when it really should have stressed his importance. The media seemed to look like right past this. But the idea of people seeing visions of Elvis Presley seems to indicate that Elvis' death created some kind of void that wasn't being filled in the culture. Sure, later on people seemed to join in just for the fun of it and it became the first topic of discussion on Elvis, an almost national past-time joke. Still, it seemed to give no one pause that there was a desperate desire in at least some faction of the population for Elvis Presley to still be alive. The world somehow didn't seem whole without him.

The tribute artists are used to trivialize Elvis the same way. Yet again, their existence underlines that a desire for Elvis Presley is there. The desire is so strong that many will accept a cut rate imitation. While there may not be much to the substance of Elvis imitators, the market for them is something that deserves serious consideration. As time has drifted on, some people have done some work here particularly Marcus but it's mostly been on the margin. Still, it's a weird irony because Elvis' legitimacy has been undermined by the fact he meant so much in people's lives.

[Steve_M]

2002 saw the rise again of this.

That was down to a Doctor Hinton who wrote a book about how he had been illegally treating Elvis (he was subsequently struck off or something similar).

After his book failed to sell the millions he was hoping to retire on he then started promoting it (probably due to presssure from the publisher) and whilst promoting it on radio in the US and via a website he had made the startling claim that his patient would return to society sometime that year.

His basics were that Elvis had taken on the identity of his twin brother and had lived as Jesse Garon since 1977. apparently he had taken to collecting rare indian artifacts and "lost" Elvis fans began to send these to a PO Box number that was conveniently given out.

The book sales grew from the tiny 1000 that had sold in six months to 5000 after another 6 months. Hinton began appearing in one or two places to do book signings (I have a picture somewhere of that) along with - wait for it......... Jerry (I'm as related as much to Elvis as a monkey is) Presley.

The 1988 sightings were fuelled by video footage (you know the type, shakey out of focus stuff) of someone going tinto a recording studio. It turned out to be Doug Church who released or re-released certain songs on an LP and this caused one or two questions to be asked. Mainly by those who hadn't actually heard the record and realised he didn't sound like Elvis at all but was good at sounding as if he was trying to.

[Larry Dickman]

Let's not forget Bill Bixby's contribution, with those two magnificent outings ( ), 'Is Elvis Alive?', in '91 and '92.

[Steve_M]

I thought Bixby was earlier than that but maybe I'm thinking of Gail Storm Brewing Giorgio or whatever her name was and the Elvis audio tape.

[Larry Dickman]

He hosted two 'Is Elvis Alive?' specials in August 1991 and January 1992.

[Joe Car]

The story kind of got started with a sighting of Elvis at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan, (I'm trying to remember since it's been awhile). This news story just took off all over the country. There will people who said EP lived there in order to escape the rigors of enormous fame, which had caused him to fake his death. It had become an urban myth with the towns people embellishing it. Of course you had the Bixby shows later on, and then the infamous tape circulating. Geraldo had Brewer-Giorgio on his show, I think sound experts were brought in to authenticate whether or not that was EP's voice. It was quite a huge buzz, for awhile they almost had me convinced.

[Guest]

The story kind of got started with a sighting of Elvis at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan, (I'm trying to remember since it's been awhile). This news story just took off all over the country. There will people who said EP lived there in order to escape the rigors of enormous fame, which had caused him to fake his death. It had become an urban myth with the towns people embellishing it. Of course you had the Bixby shows later on, and then the infamous tape circulating. Geraldo had Brewer-Giorgio on his show, I think sound experts were brought in to authenticate whether or not that was EP's voice. It was quite a huge buzz, for awhile they almost had me convinced.

Didnt the real guy who spoke on that tape appear in the audience and said he was paid $200 to do it and had the proof as well.Im sure that was on the Geraldo Show.

[Steve_M]

Just after the Kalamazoo thing happened Joe Esposito was interviewed and asked about the Elvis being alive thing and he said jokingly something like, "Oh yeah sure, didn't you know he's alive apparently and living in Kalamazoo," a reference to the then in topic location being spouted around.
The problem was that when this gets printed instead of the audio of Joe speaking out aloud the joke was lost and so many people who buy into the possibility of Elvis having survived that day use that as Joe being evidence that it was true.

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

Likethebike, I recall that absurd "Elvis" year rather well.

Brewer was on the then-popular American daytime talk-show "The Phil Donahue Show," to great effect, enough that I somehow sprung for the book / tape on a lark as a curiosity, knowing it was fake but also kind of hoping I was wrong. Upon hearing it, I wanted my $5.99 (or whatever it was) back!

If you've ever seen seen that episode, with the hushed-crowd, even the ever skeptical Donahue almost seemed sucked in, although that was surely part of the showbiz...

Brewer may also have been on "Geraldo," but I think the "Donahue" appearence was pivotal, due to his very high ratings at the time. Around this same time, I think that Kalamazoo "siting" was reported in either the bogus "World Weekly News" or "The National Enquirer."

There's a book about Elvis' "career" after 1977 by Sean O'Neal that I plan on reading called "Elvis Inc. : The Fall and Rise of the Presley Empire" and have a feeling this is covered.

Also in the wake of this (as an interesting article I think you've seen chronicles) "Elvis'" film career was revived, that is, via phony "Elvii" in various comedy movies throughout the '90s. Most trucked in the the now-stereotypical jumpsuited, "thankyouverymuch," Burger-munching joke of a King.

I think NBC's "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno ("replacing" Johnny Carson in '92) for a time really gave dumb Elvis jokes (partly based on the "he's alive" myth) a real currency, despite or because of Leno's own professed fandom....

Like Presidential brother Billy Carter and later Bill Clinton in the Lewinsky affair and now George Bush, "Elvis" sadly became a sure-fire, can't lose punchline for late-night "funnymen"...

Like "Jimmy Hoffa," the name "Elvis" is still used like a crutch for material-shy comedy writers.

[Deke Rivers II]

...there was also that "Spelling On The Stone" song....and then the LP.....

[joshferrell]

the whole "elvis is alive" thing started sometime in 1980 (or maby 1979) with steve chances who wrote some stuff for some fan club and the myesterious singer named "sivle nora" was promoted and invinted by steve chances who also had the dude record his "talking" voice which ended up being released as the tape with "is elvis alive" a few years later this sivle nora guy was some dude who was a supposed "psychic" who claimed to channel elvis' sprit which he did a few years later on geraldo to prove he was the one on the tape,then around the same time gail brewer giorgio did a fictional book called "orion" and shelby singleton from sun records who was not doing elvis is alive stuff at first but was more interested in making people think he had old elvis recordings from the 50's and 60's (hince the elvis/jerry lee lewis stuff) got in touch with gail about promoting a guy named jimmy ellis who he had been recording,gail with the help of shelby promoted the whole orion thing,then she took the writtings of steve chances and wrote the book "is elvis alive" using the same notes as steve chances (with other stuff added),by the time "is elvis alive"came out jimmy ellis had already got fed up with the whole elvis is alive thing and took his mask off (1984) then after about 1990 he put the mask back on because people wanted to pay him good money for him to wear the mask,after jimmy ellis took his mask off they needed to find another mystery singer so a guy named dan willis recorded some stuff which was released without a name which was "spelling on the stone",in the early 90's bill bixby hosted a show called "the elvis files" which was supposed to prove elvis was still alive and was produced by gail,then about a year later gail produced another show called "the elvis conspiracy" which was also hosted by bill bixby which this time was supposed to disprove elvis being alive,jimmy ellis was shot and killed in 1998 and some chick claiming to be lisa marie came forward to say that the lisa marie (who looks like elvis and was married to michael jackson) was an imposter and she (who looked nothing like elvis) was the real deal...then every thing died out until about 2001 or 2002 when dr henton wrote his book,then all of a sudden a new mysterious singer appeared a guy named doug church who people thought was recording along side of elvis as two voices (like orion was allegedly).and as of next year we're getting more elvis is alive stuff....

[Axeman]

I remember first hearing of it while watching TV after school, where a commercial for Oprah came on...she said "Tomorrow, a woman who says Elvis is alive..."

Of course I watched Oprah that day...and I can still recall the thick smell of BS that afternoon in my living room...

Axe

[Gregory Nolan Jr.]

And that was that brief period when Oprah was brand new (the hype machine already had her made out as a big deal) and for a brief time her show was on during the reign of "Donahue," which also had Brewer on it.

Josh is right to track it back to that "Orion" character. I recall in '79 that a single of him and Jerry Lee Lewis (on a latter-day Sun label) got local country airplay, complete with talk about the mysterious "other" voice, that is, that Orion, complete with mask, was actually Elvis...

[elvis4life]

[Christopher Brown]

Stupid, mean-spirited, money-grubbing individuals giving hope to some fans. People will believe a multiple of conspiracies, unfortunately. There's no medicine for stupid.

[Dan_T]

I sat bemused watching workmates huddle around a radio broadcast by BBC radio One with, Gale Brewer Georgio, they had long stopped playing Elvis on that station by then, and they never played one Elvis song during breaks in that interview. All work stopped for that one hour plus interview.

Everybody was listening to this woman intently, they all wanted her story to be true. Nobody laughed. Over a decade after he passed even non fans couldn't accept he'd gone. Crazy stuff.

[Tang Lungs side kick]

Balki : "Mary Anne , ive got sad news : Elvis is dead" (quote from ghost episode)

[londonflash]

I miss likethebike.

[Troubleman]

I also remember that one of the arguments regarding Elvis faking his own death was the actual day he died: 1977-08-16. You add these numbers and the total is 2001! For a brief period there was the 'Elvis is alive society' here in Ottawa, Canada. I don't know if it's still active.

I also remember the taped conversation of 'Elvis' around 1981 I believe. He was apparently hiding in Europe and almost got recognize.

I believe the rumor started in the early 80s and continued through the 90s.

[Swedish]

For a brief period there was the 'Elvis is alive society' here in Ottawa, Canada. I don't know if it's still active.

http://elvissightingsociety.org/

[TINML]

I also remember that one of the arguments regarding Elvis faking his own death was the actual day he died: 1977-08-16. You add these numbers and the total is 2001! For a brief period there was the 'Elvis is alive society' here in Ottawa, Canada. I don't know if it's still active.

I also remember the taped conversation of 'Elvis' around 1981 I believe. He was apparently hiding in Europe and almost got recognize.

I believe the rumor started in the early 80s and continued through the 90s.

Someone posted a clip of the guy that did the recording on Geraldo or something, was a good watch for what it is.

[Troubleman]

For a brief period there was the 'Elvis is alive society' here in Ottawa, Canada. I don't know if it's still active.

http://elvissightingsociety.org/

That's corret; it was the Elvis Sighting Society. I got the name wrong.