Customer Reviews

The King and Dr. Nick: What Really Happened to Elvis and Me

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I strongly recommend to read Dr. Nichopoulos' account of the story and set aside what you have heard with regards to the "Elvis cover-up" so far. This book is not a plain whitewash as many Elvis admirers may expect.

Dr. Nick reveals very interesting background information about the relationship between the coroner's team led by Dr. Francisco and the pathologists at Baptist Memorial Hospital led by Dr. Muirhead. He thoroughly explains why the autopsy was private and how the toxicology reports were interpreted so differently by the parties. You get a very good idea what went wrong with the autopsy from the start, how Dr. Francisco annoyed the pathologists around Muirhead by not simply stating at the first press conference that they haven't found the cause of death yet but giving the media the information of "cardiac arrhythmia caused by undetermined heartbeat". This plus the following unprofessional behaviour of the pathologists who leaked information of the private autopsy to the press instead of being outspoken in the first place led in 1979 to "investigations" by journalists like Thompson, Cole and Geraldo Riviera who were everything but not educated in toxicology. But one thing they sure were - desperate to unveil a cover-up around Elvis Presley's death.

The outcome of these investigations were three lab reports, none of them convincingly stating that there had been a drug overdose or a polypharmacy case (two of the reports didn't even assume such a thing). If you compare Dr. Nick's account with the drug doses given in the Bioscience report published in the book "The death of Elvis" by Thompson & Cole (1991) you will see that the Bioscience report - who was in the core of the polypharmacy theory - does not come up with even one drug dosage in the lethal range, only two in the minor areas of a toxic and the rest in the therapeutical range. It's not very convincing that these dosages worked together to have caused death. Even more so if you consider that Dr. Davis - a pathologist of the Miami School of Medicine and former chief examiner of Dade County - was asked in 1994 by the state of Tennessee to look once again into all the findings of the autopsy and the Bioscience toxicology report and give his view. Dr. Davis's verdict was unequivocal: drugs did not kill Elvis Presley. Many of the drugs found in his body were psychoinactive metabolites which means that Presley's drug level was considerably lower than originally interpreted in 1977. Elvis Presley may have used too many medications and may have abused some of them during his lifetime but he didn't die of it.

I hope that Dr. Nichopoulos' book gets all the attention it truly deserves. It is an interesting and revealing read, well written as well. Besides, Dr. Nichopoulos sheds some new light on which of the many health problems may have contributed considerably to Elvis' early death. And he gives detailed information on how he administered medication to his famous patient. Buy the book - you won't be disappointed, if you like to get to the bottom of things.

His pager kept beeping and the third beep was the charm. Dr. Nichopoulos, "Dr. Nick" for short, quickly headed to the nearest phone to find out who was calling. It was Tuesday, August 16, 1977, a day that would be cemented in many minds. The panic that can only enter a voice when something is terribly wrong, met him on the other end of the line. "I think he had a heart attack," Joe Esposito called out to him. Dr. Nick was Elvis Presley's doctor and something was wrong, very wrong. An ambulance rushed to transport him to Baptist Memorial. It wasn't long before the world knew what happened at Graceland, but would they ever really know what happened? "Stop CPR. He's gone."

Dr. Francisco made the announcement that the "cause of death [was] cardiac arrhythmia due to undetermined heartbeat," but that wasn't enough. There had to be more, a hidden reason why the King was gone. That quest would ultimately fuel "a controversy that has never died." Vernon was heartbroken and wanted to know who had killed his son. The frenzy had only begun. The media began to circle like vultures. If there were answers, they would find them. Dr. Nick claimed he was cautious when he prescribed drugs, carefully placing them in small brown envelopes ready to be dispensed by Presley's nurse. An innocuous treatment plan and careful monitoring of a patient was commendable, but some people looked askance.

"I was saddened and hurt that Elvis's use of prescription drugs had been kept from me." Dr. Nick exclaimed. Dr. Eric Muirhead doubted that heart disease was the culprit. Someone had to be blamed for this death. The death certificate was signed by Dr. Nick and he thought that would be the end of the questions, but they had only begun for the man who soon became know as a "pill pusher" and the man who killed Elvis Presley. Was there a cover-up? ABCs 20/20 wanted to know about "over five thousand Schedule II narcotics and/or amphetamines" he had prescribed to Elvis Presley. Was Dr. George Nichopoulos being tried in the press? Were these people going to crucify an innocent man to get the scoop or was he really guilty as charged?

I was really quite stunned by many of the revelations in this book. Dr. Nick claimed that he "was confident the truth was on [his] side" and he presents a lot of information for and against him in this book, including a detailed toxicology report. There is an extensive list of source data in the back of the book that includes legal documents, court records, articles, interviews, etc. I am not up on anything "Elvis" and I'm sure many of these revelations are not new to people who have followed this case for the past thirty-two years. Without extensive reading I would not be able to fall on one side or the other, but I did keep in mind that Dr. Nick has had many years to formulate his responses to accusations put before him. He did say that "There were ten charges for which I was ultimately found guilty, which all dealt with overprescribing." Guilty or not? This is a well-written and carefully researched book, but the ultimate verdict will have to rest with the individual reader.

This book courtesy of Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.

The King and Dr. Nick is divided into two fascinating parts. First, we get a glimpse of the strange life of a super star; then, we witness what the media can do to derail a private citizen's life.

Elvis Presley was a larger than life individual. This book leads us into Elvis's world and shows us the problems, both health and psychological, he dealt with on a daily basis. It doesn't take much imagination to realize the incredible strain of performing before thousands of people nightly, coupled with the necessary travel,would place on someone. It, also, doesn't take much imagination to see that a person under so much stress would turn to drugs to try to relieve some of the pressure. It's also true that someone with the ego necessary to perform the way Elvis did, and the money generated by those performances, would be a very difficult patient to control. Dr. Nick makes a good cases that he did the best he could.

The second half of the book presents the truly shocking witch hunt engaged in by ABC that finally led to a medical board review and even a criminal trial. It's almost unbelievable that the media could create such a stir and derail the life of a private citizen. If the medical board, or the attorney general, felt there was a criminal case against Dr. Nick, in my view, they should have pursued it immediately after Elvis's death, not several years later after being hounded by the media. This section is well worth reading as a cautionary tale for all of us.

Read the book then judge for yourself whether Dr. Nick was a victim or a criminal. Personally, I think he did the best he could, and that is all any of us can do.

Elvis fans, here it is....a first-hand account of Presley's health problems and his use (and misuse) of prescription drugs during his last years. Dr. Nichopoulos was Elvis' doctor and friend for some time, often going on tour with him to manage his medications.

Even if you were not a fan, you will enjoy this fascinating story about their relationship and Dr. Nick's efforts to keep Elvis healthy despite chronic conditions and a grueling performance schedule. At times, it reads like a medical thriller, while the chapters on legal maneuvers reminded me of Perry Mason.

I lived in Memphis when Elvis died. However, I don't remember much of the media hype surrounding Elvis' death and the subsequent controversy over his autopsy report. I found it interesting how the people close to Elvis repeatedly fell prey to media vultures. Between politics and media feeding frenzy, Dr. Nichopoulos was persecuted for a number of years after Elvis' death. It was a nightmare that would not go away.

As a fan of Presley's, I'm relieved to hear from "The King's" own doctor that Elvis Presley did not die of a drug overdose. I'm also glad that I took the time to consider Dr. Nick's side of the story, well-written by Rose Clayton Phillips.

This was a wonderful, honest book. It breaks my heart to think of all Dr. Nick had to endure over the years, and I am sure Elvis would be appauled by it as well. All one can hope is what goes around will eventually come around. I am so glad Dr. Nick finally wrote this book to give us some accurate insight into Elvis as a person and patient. It is also sad that Elvis has had his image tainted by the drug overdose rumors. I highly recommend this book!

The King And Dr. Nick by George Nichopoulos, M. D.
The King and Dr. Nick was written by the doctor who cared for Elvis Presley during the busy, turbulent years that were ultimately the last decade of his life. In this book the reader is given an account of the relations Dr. Nichopoulos, called Dr. Nick, had with Elvis and those who surrounded him. The account begins with the tragic ending that was the last day of Elvis' life. Dr. Nick gives an account of his dealings on that day, and also of what happened at Graceland, because his son Dean was working security there that day. He then backtracks to cover his entire history with Elvis and his entourage. Also included is the aftermath that Dr. Nick dealt with because a great many people believed that Elvis' death was drug related and that Dr. Nick had a hand in it, though it has been proven that Elvis died of natural causes.
Ultimately Elvis' is the supreme tragedy. He, one of the most gifted entertainers of our time, was forced to battle many demons of addiction and dependency, as well as genetic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart problems. His name was unnecessarily sullied during the investigation surrounding his death, and he was marked as yet another rock god who overdosed. The evidence is against that finding, though, convincing anyone with an unbiased mind that his death was of natural conditions recognized and untreated at Elvis' choice.
I have always had a great deal of respect and admiration for Elvis Presley, and that is what I see reflected in this book, written by his personal physician. I have long wondered about what caused his death, and in this book are the closest we can come to an answer.

"The King and Dr. Nick," the story of Dr. George Nichopoulos, Elvis Presley's personal physician, is one of heartbreak and humility. If one wanted to read an uplifting, encouraging book about the life of a doctor who brightened the lives of his patients, this is not the appropriate book.

But if one wanted to read a book that told of two men, vastly different from one another but united in a ten-year friendship of both triumph and strife, then he ought read this book.

What George Nichopoulos and Rose Clayton Phillips succeed in doing in this tale of Dr. Nick's story, from his first meeting with Elvis in 1967 to the legal troubles he endured through the nineties because of that relationship, is the humanization of one of the most fantastical spectacles of rock `n' roll, the King himself. Dr. Nick tells about Elvis as he saw him: a man driven by the desire to entertain his fans and love his friends; a man constantly crippled by conditions acquired both genetically and as a result of his intense performance schedule; a man haunted by the demons of addiction to pain killers, desperate to escape them and return to a normal life.

Nichopoulos and Phillips brilliantly weave the tale of Elvis' last ten years with Dr. Nick, his death, and Dr. Nick's subsequent dealings in lawsuits that sought to revoke his license and imprison him for what had been labeled his "unlawful" and "irresponsible" medical practices.

Nichopoulos, a brilliant and compassionate physician, makes this book very readable, most notably by speaking very plainly and in layman's terms the medical jargon so familiar to him but quite cryptic to the average reader. He draws the reader in and makes him care about Elvis, and the good doctor himself, as a person instead of a celebrity. And although it is tiring to read "I thought I was in the clear, but then something else happened" over and over again, the reader quickly forgets his fatigue, losing himself in the story.

Overall, "The King and Dr. Nick" is an excellent book and a much-needed addition to the stacks of volumes written about the life and death of Elvis Presley

Did Elvis succumb to drugs? Did aliens steal him from planet Earth? Is he really alive and living in Arizona? No, no, and no.

This book is an account from `Dr. Nick' (George Nichopoulos), the personal physician of the late Elvis Presley, about what really killed The King of Rock and Roll. It also leads us through Dr. Nick's personal turmoil and professional fallout that has crept over the last four decades as a result of Elvis' untimely death.

The King of Rock and Roll died in 1977 setting off a heated media debate surrounding his cause of death as well as who was ultimately responsible. I won't give too much of the story away but to say that Elvis had some pretty major health issues, health issues that Dr. Nick valiantly tried to cure or lessen during his decade of diligent medical care as Elvis' personal physician.

This book brewed several emotions within me-first, disappointment that I will never be able to experience Elvis performing live (he sounds as though he was an amazing person) and second, disbelief and anger at how cruel the media can be, particularly when one person is looking to further their career and get the ultimate scoop-to the point of ignoring and misconstruing facts at the risk and expense of another person's livelihood. False stories in the media brought great pain and loss to Dr. Nick. This is a man who cared for difficult patients when no one else would, and as a thanks for his hard work, was falsely charged several times for not taking proper care of Elvis as well as other patients. In the end, decades after Elvis' death, Dr. Nick lost his fight, losing his beloved career despite the evidence proving he did all he could, plus some (and all within medical guidelines).

The first time Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, the world changed. Everyone was mesmerized by him. His popularity grew and grew and even today there is a continuing fascination with Elvis. People still love him and his music. One man who truly loved Elvis was George Nichopoulos, Elvis' private physician. In The King and Dr. Nick, the doctor shares his experiences with Elvis as well as the aftermath of Elvis' death. The book starts with the gut wrenching day the king of rock `n roll died and continues with Dr. Nick's days and years with Elvis and those days after his death as he faced legal problems.

I was only three years old when Elvis died; in fact, the day Elvis died is one of my earliest childhood memories. I remember walking into the kitchen and my mom was on the phone crying frantically. She was calling my dad at work to tell him the bad news. I asked her what was wrong and all she said was "Elvis is dead". Even though I was still so young then, I am a huge Elvis fan, mostly because of my dad. I was very anxious to read The King and Dr. Nick. One of the most striking things about this book is the love and emotion Dr. Nick still has for Elvis and the pain he still carries over Elvis' death. I found this book to be written with tremendous heart and compassion. It was refreshing to hear the truth about Elvis without the hype and media gossip. This man truly knew Elvis and truly cared about him.

This book was a long time coming and I am grateful for Dr. Nick telling his story with such honesty and such heart. I'm sure all Elvis fans will feel the same way. This book gives Elvis the dignity that the media tried to take away.

My 8 year old son is an avid Elvis fan. Where he developed his admiration for Elvis I am not sure, but he saved his money and bought his first CD collection of his music when he was only 5 years old. He was 7 when he realized the circumstances surrounding his death. We recently took him to Graceland on a trip to Memphis. When this book by Elvis' personal physician came up for review, I decided I wanted to read it out of curiosity.

Although many years have passed since Elvis' death, it is very clear from Dr. Nichopoulos' writings that the events are as real as yesterday. Elvis was more than his patient. He was a very dear friend. He admits from the very beginning that his recollections may be somewhat tainted because of his love and admiration of his friend.

I casually picked up this book to just read the first couple of pages and found myself still reading three chapters later. (Sorry I was late, honey!) I realized that many of my ideas surrounding Elvis' death were fueled by media hype and tabloid "bytes" instead of reality. I was surprised to enjoy reading this book.

If you are an Elvis fan, this is a must. However, whether you are an official Elvis fan or not, this was quite a great read.