It was another routine day for Robert Kendall as he reported to work at the Memphis Funeral Home. But, early in the afternoon of this mundane day, Kendall’s life would forever change. Elvis Presley---the undisputed king of rock & roll lay dead on an autopsy table at Baptist’s Memorial Hospital in Memphis. Kendall would learn, in fairly short order, that he would be in charge of arranging the funeral for the deceased singer-idol. Soon, the call would come from Elvis’ personal friend, Joe Esposito, summoning him to the mansion to discuss the arrangements. Elvis’ father, Vernon Presley, would be calling the shots. But what would he want? “THE KING IS DEAD” is a compelling minute-by-minute narrative of a facet of the Elvis Presley story NEVER before told. This book is based on the memoirs of Elvis’ Funeral Director, Robert Kendall. For the first time, readers and Elvis enthusiasts alike will learn... • The ordeal Kendall went through to secure Elvis’ $8,000 coffin, identitical to the one his mother was buried in • Who attended the private viewing at Graceland and intimate details of Elvis’ eulogy and services. • The orders given, personally, by Vernon Presley for Elvis’ funeral in a private, late-night meeting at Graceland on the evening of the singer’s death. • The details of the last moments 9-year old Lisa Marie Presley would spend with her father’s body at Graceland. • How the SWAT team descended on the Memphis Funeral Home to protect Elvis’ dead body.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
GO BEHIND THE LEGALLY CLOSED DOORS OF THE EMBALMING SUITE WITH FUNERAL DIRECTOR ROBERT KENDALL....THE LAST MAN ON EARTH TO SEE ELVIS PRESLEY...
He was a legend in his own time-a performer that held the generations captive. Renouned world-wide, the world was thrown into shock when it learned that his life had tragically ended more than 20 years ago on a hot August day.
While the world reeled in shock, and thousands of grieving fans mourned the loss of Elvis Presley, one man was thrust to the foreground of what would become this century's most infamous entertainment funeral.
Memphis Funeral Director Robert Kendall was appointed to handle the Presley funeral because he had worked with the Presley family on previous occassions--however, nothing could prepare him for the monstrous task that would lie ahead in coordinating a funeral of Elvis Presley proportions.
Author Robert Holton's work is based on the daily journal that Funeral Director Kendall kept while preparing the Elvis burial. Holton worked extensively with Robert Kendall before he passed away in 1994 to document every possible detail.
Read about how the world came to learn that Elvis Aaron Presley had died, and how thousands of mourners gathered in Memphis
Read about the media's involvement during the four days leading up to burial, and how Robert Kendall and his staff at the Memphis Funeral Home dealt with keeping the media in the dark.
Robert Holton will take you behind the legally closed doors of the embalming suite to reveal details about Elvis' embalming.
Read how Memphis Funeral Home staff members had to smuggle the coffin of Elvis into the funeral home.
Holton's work will also recall the tender moments that Kendall spent with Lisa Marie and Priscilla, who were still dealing with the loss of Elvis.
About the Author
Robert Raymond Holton, who authored the book on the funeral of Elvis Presley has spent almost half a century in the field of writing. A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Holton was educated in Catholic elementary and high schools before enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He was serving as a tail gunner on a B17 when he was shot down over Germany and taken prisoner for 19 months in infamous Stalag Luft 17 Prison of War Camp in Krems, Austria. Returning to the United States, Holton attended Mount Saint Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, from which he graduated in 1949. He began his writing career as a fledgling reporter in the Reading, Pa., Morning Times and three years later became an Associated Press writer in Harrisburg, Pa., bureau. Seven years later, he was assigned to the New York City Bureau Desk of the AP and worked there for eight years before becoming a foreign correspondent for a New York City religious newspaper headquartered in Rome, Italy. After eight years gathering and writing news throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, he and his wife and their four children returned to the United States and founded a Catholic diocesan newspaper called “Common Sense” in Memphis, Tennessee. He authored a history of the Catholic Church in Western Tennessee entitled “In The Beginning . . . ” and finally retired nine years ago. It was in Memphis that Robert Holton and Robert Kendall’s paths crossed as a result of a mutual interest in the science of Karate. Holton now resides Cordova, Tennessee. The Holton’s have eight grandchildren, and Robert is nearing completion of an autobiographical novel which is in development by KatcoMedia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Elvis was cared for properly in death,
By A Customer
This review is from: The King Is Dead (Mass Market Paperback)
I liked this book. It was a comfort to me as a huge Elvis fan to know that he was cared for properly in death. It wasn't just another name drop and tell bad stories on Elvis. This book is very specific about the unfolding of his death from someone who was really there. One of the best books I've read on The King. Essential for true fans.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN HONEST AND MOVING BOOK,
By 2kisses&3scarfs (Long Island, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The King Is Dead (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a terrific book- very honest and moving. You'll feel like you're right there at the funeral. This a book for the true Elvis fan.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The book is awful,
By ElvisFan1 "LMN" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The King Is Dead (Mass Market Paperback)
I was absolutely appalled by the grammatical errors, incomplete sentences and run-on sentences, typos, misspelled words, and total lack of appropriate use of the English language. I think Robert Holton and Robert Kendall are two morons that rushed out a book not once but twice with absolute lack of editing. I don't think Robert Kendall really exerted himself with the funeral of Elvis Presley. I think he had his nose in a lot of the funeral preparation that wasn't his business. He acted like he was Elvis himself after a concert when the funeral was over. The lack of sleep and the long hours put into the funeral. I like how he reprimanded an employee of the funeral home for calling Vernon Presley the "old man" and he does it himself several times after that in the book. On one page, Gladys Presley died at 46 years of age and the next page it is 42 years of age. It was 46 years of age. This book only makes one thing absolutely clear that many books before and since have made- the saddest part of Elvis Presley is all the idiots that made money from a wonderful talented human being.
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