HOLLYWOOD—It’s hard to believe that 40 years ago today, Elvis Presley died at the tender age of 42. Back on August 16, 1977, the shocking news of his death stunned the music industry and devastated millions of fans around the world. No one could believe that, the King of Rock n’ Roll the legendary singer and the movie star was gone. Too young to die. Over the past four decades, fans across the world have insisted they’ve spotted Presley out and about. Conspiracy theories have cropped up about other high-profile deaths, including Michael Jackson’s prescription drug death in 2009, as fans insist their favorite celebrities must still be alive.

Let’s look at the man itself, the legend. Back in the 1950s, before Elvis Presley was known as “The King,” he was called “Elvis the Pelvis” because of his blatantly sexual style of gyrating his hips when singing. Teenage girls swooned, and their fathers fumed. Elvis was a cultural phenomenon, but of all the women he could have had, the woman who first touched his soul was not yet a woman.

Elvis first laid eyes on Priscilla Beaulieu when she was only 14 years old. Drafted into the Army, he was staying in an off-base house in West Germany, and she was the daughter of an Air Force captain stationed nearby. Elvis had parties at his house, and through a mutual friend, she was invited over. Later, after Priscilla left the house, he seemed to have fallen in love. Four the next six months Cilla, as Elvis called her, was chauffeured back and forth to his house. She mingled with his friends and so forth.

Back in the states, Priscilla began to adapt to his love of the nightlife. by 1963, Elvis had convinced her parents that she should move to Memphis to finish high school while living at Graceland. In December 1966, he presented her with a 3 1/2 carat diamond and the two finally married on May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas.

Exactly nine months later, Priscilla gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Lisa Marie Presley, and the new arrival changed the relationship between the two of them- they became distant. There were rumors of Elvis affairs, of course, some going back to before their marriage-most notably the chemistry between Ann Margaret in the film “Viva Las Vegas.”

To counter Elvis rumored affairs and his distance, Priscilla had an affair with a karate teacher in the early 70s. When she filed for divorce in 1973, it dealt Elvis a hard blow, one that shook him to the core. He couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her how he felt, but his true feelings showed up on stage in his songs, such as “Separate Ways” and “Hurt.” Even after the divorce, they never really ended the relationship. They would still call each other to talk as friends. But when Priscilla went on to create a successful life and business career for herself, Elvis continued his downward spiral until his death in August 16, 1977.

According to the medical examiner’s report, it was a girlfriend, Ginger Alden, who found Elvis dead on the dressing room floor at Graceland. A few years after his death, Priscilla Presley wrote in her memoirs about the early days with Elvis:

“Blinded by love, I saw none of his faults or weaknesses. He was to become the passion of my life.” So did Elvis die of a broken heart? Or did he really want to quit show business and just sit back on his laurels, but Colonel Parker didn’t let him? The truth is we lost a legend, however, the King lives on through his music.
Rose’s Scoop: Looks like actor Tom Cruise broke his ankle during a stunt, so Paramount Pictures has halted the filming of Mission: Impossible 6 for the next eight to nine weeks.