Priscilla Presley reveals how a depressed Elvis Presley "knew exactly what he was doing" when he died
The world stood still when the news about the death of rock legend Elvis Presley surfaced on August 16, 1977. While many still ask the question about why no one ever helped the musician despite knowing that he had been suffering from depression, his ex-wife Priscilla says that the singer knew full well of what he was doing.
The 72-year-old made the shocking reveal ahead of the premiere of the new HBO documentary, Elvis Presley: The Searcher, a documentary which looks at the singer’s connection to Memphis, Tennessee. In the programme, Priscilla opens up about the depths of addiction that Elvis had consumed himself in. "He knew what he was doing and people go, 'why didn't anyone do anything?' Well, that's not true," she said.
Priscilla confessed that his dear ones were worried about the drugs having an overpowering effect on him and despite countless efforts of trying to get him out of its clutches, they all failed. "People there in the inner group did - but you did not tell Elvis what to do. You'd have been out of there faster than a scratched cat. They would try and - no way," she said.
This revelation comes days after two suicide notes which were written by the singer were discovered. Family members of Elvis say that the notes stand as proof of the fact that he had taken his life and death was something that was always on his mind.
The notes were addressed to friend and road manager Joe Esposito in which he wrote: "I'm sick and tired of my life" and "I need a long rest". Even his step-brother Rick seemed to believe that death was always on Elvis' mind. "To me, it's a clear indication that suicide was on his mind," he said. Priscilla divorced Elvis in 1973 after the birth of their only child, Lisa Marie but the couple stayed close until his death. She blames his drug addiction from his time in the US military when he was based in Germany.
"They gave them to the soldiers over there to keep them awake," she said. He had maneuvers that he had to do late at night, so the pills were given to the guys and that's how he started. And if you take a sleeping pill, you have to do something to get yourself awake. He was in uncharted territory, he truly was, and he did this and tried to do this alone," she added. After his death, it was found that one doctor alone had prescribed him more than 10,000 pills in eight months.