Lisa Marie has passed away

[jurasic1968]

I forgot about aunt Delta. She lived a long life until 1993.

[elvis4life]

https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2023/lisa-marie-presley-obit.html

I Wrote 4 Books on Elvis. Here’s How I Remember Lisa Marie Presley
Author reflects on Lisa Marie’s tumultuous, extraordinary life

STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE

By Alanna Nash, AARP
January 13, 2023

When Elvis Presley, the rock ’n’ roll pioneer whose music catapulted him to stratospheric fame, made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, I sat enraptured in front of my family’s chubby black-and-white TV. I had started first grade that month, but my real education happened right there in the living room. Elvis Presley dictated the path of my life. I couldn’t get enough. Scrapbooks. Guitar. Imitating his sneering wiggle for my friends. When he died on my birthday in 1977, I covered his funeral for the Louisville Courier-Journal, which led to my writing four books about his life, and scores of articles about him and his family over 46 years.

Elvis reveled in his popularity, and he rewarded his fans by signing autographs for hours at the ornate music gates of Graceland, his Memphis home.

But his only child, Lisa Marie, who died last night at 54 after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California, had a darker view of fame. In observing her, interviewing her and attending three of her concerts, it was clear to me that she saw fame as a thief that robbed her of everything that mattered.

Lisa Marie Presley (left) with her father, Elvis, and mother, Priscilla, in 1970.
GAB ARCHIVE/REDFERNS

Her father’s suffocating notoriety, along with her parents’ divorce when she was 5, made her sullen and angry. By 8, she, too, was signing autographs at the fabled Graceland gates, but the child was just as liable to scribble an expletive before her name as not.

I would be lying to you if I said that I hadn’t seen her death coming. And a lot of fans would say the same thing.

She was 9 when Elvis died, and she saw his sad end barreling down on her like a freight train.

“One night when I was about 5 or 6, we were watching TV. I looked up at him and said, ‘Daddy, Daddy, I don’t want you to die.’ And he just looked down at me and said, ‘Okay, I won’t. Don’t worry about it.’ I said that to him several times when we were alone together. … I guess I was picking something up,” she told Life magazine.

As one of the small clutch of reporters allowed in the mansion the day after Elvis died, I can tell you that we worried about her, since Lisa witnessed her grandfather, Vernon, and members of Elvis’ entourage desperately trying to revive her father, who had collapsed and died at 42 of a heart attack at Graceland. His death occurred during one of her visits from Los Angeles, where she lived with her mother. Lisa inherited the Presley estate, but she left the running of it largely to her mother, Priscilla, and a team of advisers. She returned to Graceland, which she owned until her death, at holidays, taking down the red ropes and enjoying the tourist attraction as a home again, trying to recapture the happy days.

Lisa Marie, who, with her hooded eyes and smoldering beauty, looked so much like Elvis, followed in his footsteps, making three well-received albums of her own, from 2003’s To Whom It May Concern to 2012’s autobiographical Storm & Grace. Many of her original songs draw on sardonic humor to describe her life and her uneasy relationship with the Church of Scientology, which she tried to escape by briefly moving to England in 2010.

She also was wickedly funny in describing her place in the Presley legacy and her ultimate fate. In her song “Lights Out,” she referenced Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where she is expected to be buried next to her late father and son:

Someone turned the lights out there in Memphis / Ooh, that’s where my family’s buried and gone. / Last time I was there I noticed a space left / Oh, next to them there in Memphis, yeah, in the damn back lawn.

(Left to right) Alanna Nash and Lisa Marie Presley
COURTESY OF ALANNA NASH

In conversation, Lisa, as her family called her, was surprisingly candid and approachable, even though she admitted that she tended to isolate herself. “I become angry when I feel vulnerable,” she told me. “As a mechanism, I will get angry or put a wall up. That is just one of my flaws, I will say.”

She was also not shy in describing her tumult, disappointment and unyielding tragedy — addiction, four broken marriages (including brief unions with singer Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage), financial troubles and, in 2020, the suicide of her 27-year-old son, Benjamin Keough, which she publicly said “destroyed” her.

“I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old,” she wrote in an essay published in People magazine in August for National Grief Awareness Day. “I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime, and somehow, I’ve made it this far.”

But despite that declaration of survival, Lisa seemed to struggle in her public appearances in the days before her death. Last weekend, when she appeared at Graceland for the celebration of what would have been her father’s 88th birthday, she did not look well to me, even for a woman who rarely smiled in public. Others saw it too.

“She seemed depressed and infirm,” a fan wrote on Facebook. “It felt like she had made a huge effort to be there to say a final goodbye to Elvis fans, who were a huge part of her entire life.”

And on Tuesday, as I watched her final public appearance, I fretted about her as she cried on TV, sitting with her mother when Austin Butler, who played her father in this year’s hit biopic Elvis, won a Golden Globe for best actor. He thanked her in his acceptance speech. (“Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever.”) On the red carpet, her face was an almost frightening, inscrutable mask. She had admitted that the film, which she praised, had awakened a torrent of emotion.

“I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I saw it,” she said to Entertainment Tonight. “I had to take, like, five days to process it because it was so incredible and so spot on and just so authentic that, yeah, I can’t even describe what it meant.”

She leaves behind her mother, half brother musician Navarone Anthony Garibaldi, 35, and three children — actress Riley Keough, 33, from her marriage to musician Danny Keough, and twins Harper and Finley, 14, from her last marriage, to guitarist-producer Michael Lockwood.

Throughout her life, she seemed to search for family normalcy. She appeared happiest in England, where she told me she spent her days gardening and cooking in the country, among “people with a conscience and a common sense of right and wrong.

“The paparazzi were sitting outside my house one day, and a farmer backed his truck into them. He was like, ‘Hey, leave her alone.’ I hadn’t even met him yet. I thought, Okay, now that’s just a really good person who’s protecting me, and I don’t even know him. It’s simple, but it was very telling of human nature. I needed to rediscover that again.”

Alanna Nash is the author of four books about Elvis, including Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him.

[drjohncarpenter]

The main question, I think, is: could there be an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family?

Not an apologist of the lifestyle by any means, but Vernon didn't do drugs or anything like that and he still died of a heart attack and he died at 63, relatively young.

Vernon Presley was a life-long, heavy smoker, a direct link to coronary heart disease. His son died almost certainly from his long-term misuse of prescription medicine. There is no "underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect."

[Cryogenic]

The main question, I think, is: could there be an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family?

Not an apologist of the lifestyle by any means, but Vernon didn't do drugs or anything like that and he still died of a heart attack and he died at 63, relatively young.

Vernon Presley was a heavy smoker, a direct link to coronary heart disease. His son died almost certainly from his long-term misuse of prescription medicine. There is no "underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect."

Good point. But maybe, Doc, there is some underlying genetic predisposition toward depression and substance abuse (on the Smith side, at least). I mean, Gladys, Elvis, Lisa Marie, and her son Benjamin; and yes, in a way, you could possibly include Vernon. None of these people made it to a great age, and the most recent and youngest of them literally committed suicide. Didn't one of Elvis' cousins also take their own life at the end of 1976? All families have their turmoil and tragedies, but Elvis' seems to show a pattern of sadness/melancholy and abusing drugs and other self-destructive behaviours to mask it.

[BrianTCB]

The main question, I think, is: could there be an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family?

Not an apologist of the lifestyle by any means, but Vernon didn't do drugs or anything like that and he still died of a heart attack and he died at 63, relatively young.

Vernon Presley was a life-long, heavy smoker, a direct link to coronary heart disease. His son died almost certainly from his long-term misuse of prescription medicine. There is no "underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect."

Good point. Most every member of the family also had terrible diets as well.

[Beale]

The main question, I think, is: could there be an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family?

Not an apologist of the lifestyle by any means, but Vernon didn't do drugs or anything like that and he still died of a heart attack and he died at 63, relatively young.

Vernon Presley was a heavy smoker, a direct link to coronary heart disease. His son died almost certainly from his long-term misuse of prescription medicine. There is no "underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect."

Good point. But maybe, Doc, there is some underlying genetic predisposition toward depression and substance abuse (on the Smith side, at least). I mean, Gladys, Elvis, Lisa Marie, and her son Benjamin; and yes, in a way, you could possibly include Vernon. None of these people made it to a great age, and the most recent and youngest of them literally committed suicide. Didn't one of Elvis' cousins also take their own life at the end of 1976? All families have their turmoil and tragedies, but Elvis' seems to show a pattern of sadness/melancholy and abusing drugs and other self-destructive behaviours to mask it.

Billy Smith has said at times his daddy's side of the family (Glady's Brother), his daddy and a lot of the family (Smith side) were very heavy drinkers, and alcoholics. You are right every family has their own struggles. I guess it all goes down to having coping mechanisms that aren't detrimental to your well being.

[Jokerlola]

Well, Jesse Presley, Vernon's father died at 77 years old and Minnie Mae, Elvis's grandma died at 90 years old. Elvis' uncle Vester died at 83 years old. Billy Smith is alive at 80 years old. So I don't think it was an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family.

Gladys' parents both died very young, and her father died very unexpectedly and suddenly, so it could be something hereditary from the mother's side.

Gladys' father died early - very unexpectedly and suddenly - 58
Gladys' mother died early from sickness - 59
Gladys died early - 46
Elvis died early - 42
Vernon died early - 63
Lisa Marie died early - 54

Some sudden cardiac event causing death has happened to just about everybody in that mother's lineage: Gladys.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. Most of these deaths are from bad lifestyle choices not heredity. Gladys was overweight was said to be a heavy drinker and may have started drinking even heavier because of her worry over Elvis going into the army. Elvis (I don't have to even elaborate on him). Vernon appeared to be a heavy smoker. And Lisa Marie had her problems with drugs and bad life circumstances. How do you recover from losing your kid? And we still don't know what the cause of Lisa's sudden cardiac arrest was.

Actually, elaborating on Elvis, he had a bad diet and he often over ate, plus he often crash dieted which is horrible for your health. He had practically quit being physically active in anyway except onstage which wasn't much, he probably had very low vitamin D levels with his constant lack of sun exposure and poor diet. Shift worker who sleep during the day and work overnight have much higher mortality rate that normal hour workers. And then add in his drug abuse and you have a recipe for disaster.

[fecc-mechanic]

RIP Lisa.

[Jokerlola]

The main question, I think, is: could there be an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family?

Not an apologist of the lifestyle by any means, but Vernon didn't do drugs or anything like that and he still died of a heart attack and he died at 63, relatively young.

Vernon Presley was a heavy smoker, a direct link to coronary heart disease. His son died almost certainly from his long-term misuse of prescription medicine. There is no "underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect."

Good point. But maybe, Doc, there is some underlying genetic predisposition toward depression and substance abuse (on the Smith side, at least). I mean, Gladys, Elvis, Lisa Marie, and her son Benjamin; and yes, in a way, you could possibly include Vernon. None of these people made it to a great age, and the most recent and youngest of them literally committed suicide. Didn't one of Elvis' cousins also take their own life at the end of 1976? All families have their turmoil and tragedies, but Elvis' seems to show a pattern of sadness/melancholy and abusing drugs and other self-destructive behaviours to mask it.

This could be true. Alcohol and substance abuse can be and is genetic and is a disease.

[Cryogenic]

Well, Jesse Presley, Vernon's father died at 77 years old and Minnie Mae, Elvis's grandma died at 90 years old. Elvis' uncle Vester died at 83 years old. Billy Smith is alive at 80 years old. So I don't think it was an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family.

Gladys' parents both died very young, and her father died very unexpectedly and suddenly, so it could be something hereditary from the mother's side.

Gladys' father died early - very unexpectedly and suddenly - 58
Gladys' mother died early from sickness - 59
Gladys died early - 46
Elvis died early - 42
Vernon died early - 63
Lisa Marie died early - 54

Some sudden cardiac event causing death has happened to just about everybody in that mother's lineage: Gladys.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. Most of these deaths are from bad lifestyle choices not heredity. Gladys was overweight was said to be a heavy drinker and may have started drinking even heavier because of her worry over Elvis going into the army. Elvis (I don't have to even elaborate on him). Vernon appeared to be a heavy smoker. And Lisa Marie had her problems with drugs and bad life circumstances. How do you recover from losing your kid? And we still don't know what the cause of Lisa's sudden cardiac arrest was.

The thing is, though...

You have to ask: What drove these people to drugs and other poor lifestyle choices? Did they just do these things for the "fun" of it? Clearly, all human beings suffer to some degree on this Earth, yet people also lead very different lives and experience very different outcomes. Some are done in by depression, others are able to manage it or escape it in some fashion. Okay, in this instance, we may only be talking about a very limited sample (a handful of individuals), yet they are genetically linked; and the average age of death, due to adverse medical outcomes (brought on or exacerbated by substance abuse/grief/depression), is, what: 45? That's no age in the modern world.

I think, why the genetic argument is not well-regarded, is that a) we are far from understanding all the genetic factors involved in health/longevity, b) mental health is still a difficult and touchy subject, and c) blaming genes seems to remove human agency and ignores/downplays complex sociological, economic, and environmental factors. Or as this study words it:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6065213/

The major depressive disorder is a complex and heterogeneous illness with an etiopathogenesis that is based upon multiple factors that may act at different levels, e.g., psychological, biological, genetic, and social.

This entry on depression cites a study that claims to have identified a chromosomal link with depression:

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/genetic

A British research team isolated a gene that appears to be prevalent in multiple family members with depression. The chromosome 3p25-26 was found in more than 800 families with recurrent depression.

Scientists believe that as many as 40 percent of those with depression can trace it to a genetic link. Environmental and other factors may make up the other 60 percent.

Here is the study cited above:

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10091342

In my opinion, having a more rounded (and empirical) view of the causes and nature of depressive illness(es) should lead to greater understanding in the future; and also hopefully lead to a reduction in self-harm and tragic outcomes.

Also: There is no slight intended against anyone here. An enlargement of knowledge is (generally) a good thing. There is very little in human affairs that the light of understanding cannot improve (when it is properly directed and shone).

[eligain]

Well, Jesse Presley, Vernon's father died at 77 years old and Minnie Mae, Elvis's grandma died at 90 years old. Elvis' uncle Vester died at 83 years old. Billy Smith is alive at 80 years old. So I don't think it was an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family.

Gladys' parents both died very young, and her father died very unexpectedly and suddenly, so it could be something hereditary from the mother's side.

Gladys' father died early - very unexpectedly and suddenly - 58
Gladys' mother died early from sickness - 59
Gladys died early - 46
Elvis died early - 42
Vernon died early - 63
Lisa Marie died early - 54

Some sudden cardiac event causing death has happened to just about everybody in that mother's lineage: Gladys.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. Most of these deaths are from bad lifestyle choices not heredity. Gladys was overweight was said to be a heavy drinker and may have started drinking even heavier because of her worry over Elvis going into the army. Elvis (I don't have to even elaborate on him). Vernon appeared to be a heavy smoker. And Lisa Marie had her problems with drugs and bad life circumstances. How do you recover from losing your kid? And we still don't know what the cause of Lisa's sudden cardiac arrest was.

The thing is, though...

You have to ask: What drove these people to drugs and other poor lifestyle choices? Did they just do these things for the "fun" of it? Clearly, all human beings suffer to some degree on this Earth, yet people also lead very different lives and experience very different outcomes. Some are done in by depression, others are able to manage it or escape it in some fashion. Okay, in this instance, we may only be talking about a very limited sample (a handful of individuals), yet they are genetically linked; and the average age of death, due to adverse medical outcomes (brought on or exacerbated by substance abuse/grief/depression), is, what: 45? That's no age in the modern world.

I think, why the genetic argument is not well-regarded, is that a) we are far from understanding all the genetic factors involved in health/longevity, b) mental health is still a difficult and touchy subject, and c) blaming genes seems to remove human agency and ignores/downplays complex sociological, economic, and environmental factors. Or as this study words it:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6065213/

The major depressive disorder is a complex and heterogeneous illness with an etiopathogenesis that is based upon multiple factors that may act at different levels, e.g., psychological, biological, genetic, and social.

This entry on depression cites a study that claims to have identified a chromosomal link with depression:

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/genetic

A British research team isolated a gene that appears to be prevalent in multiple family members with depression. The chromosome 3p25-26 was found in more than 800 families with recurrent depression.

Scientists believe that as many as 40 percent of those with depression can trace it to a genetic link. Environmental and other factors may make up the other 60 percent.

Here is the study cited above:

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10091342

In my opinion, having a more rounded (and empirical) view of the causes and nature of depressive illness(es) should lead to greater understanding in the future; and also hopefully lead to a reduction in self-harm and tragic outcomes.

Also: There is no slight intended against anyone here. An enlargement of knowledge is (generally) a good thing. There is very little in human affairs that the light of understanding cannot improve (when it is properly directed and shone).

I totally agree that depression and tendency towards substance abuse can be and is genetic. That's why I hate when people (even fans on here) try to moralize and say that Elvis was just a junkie. It's way more complicated than that and people need to have compassion because I do think it is a disease. I also think that you can have a genetic heart (and other disease) condition but hard to make the argument for it when a person is also doing many things to harm their health at the same time. If Elvis or Lisa or Gladys were leading very healthy lifestyles and they dropped dead, then you could say it was genetic. Also they can often find a genetic component like a heart defect during an autopsy. We don't know yet what the cause of Lisa's cardiac arrest was. Even with an unhealthy lifestyle and even drug abuse, she could have had a heart defect killed her. We'll just have to wait and see. And if they don't do an autopsy, or release any toxicology screen, we may never know.

By the way, I've never had a drinking or substance problem but in 2009 I shattered my elbow in a fall and needed surgery . I was put on Dilaudid and then Percocet and when I felt that I didn't really need the Percocet anymore I quit taking it and I started to go through horrible withdrawal symptoms. I realized I could have easily stopped the withdrawal symptoms by starting to take them again and that's how people wind up with addiction. I was never feeling high on Percocet. But I knew I needed to tough it out to avoid getting addicted. So I feel (especially with opiods) getting addicted is very easy and it can have nothing to do with getting high or feeling good on them. They can be an insidious drug and it made me look at Elvis' drug taking in a whole different way.

[brian]

About 10 years ago Priscilla's younger brother Thomas died. He was a lot younger than Priscilla and he was only 51 years old when he passed away. I don't know if he and Priscilla were close and I don't remember Priscilla saying anything about him when he passed. I did read about it when he passed away but I don't remember any of his family members commenting on it or revealing what he died from. My point though is that it's not just members of Elvis's side of the family that have passed away young. Lisa's uncle Thomas on her mothers side passed away very young as well. Just FYI. Once you get to be a certain age you don't know how much longer you are going to be here.

[BrianTCB]

Well, Jesse Presley, Vernon's father died at 77 years old and Minnie Mae, Elvis's grandma died at 90 years old. Elvis' uncle Vester died at 83 years old. Billy Smith is alive at 80 years old. So I don't think it was an underlying hereditary genetic heart condition or defect that has gone undiagnosed throughout the family.

Gladys' parents both died very young, and her father died very unexpectedly and suddenly, so it could be something hereditary from the mother's side.

Gladys' father died early - very unexpectedly and suddenly - 58
Gladys' mother died early from sickness - 59
Gladys died early - 46
Elvis died early - 42
Vernon died early - 63
Lisa Marie died early - 54

Some sudden cardiac event causing death has happened to just about everybody in that mother's lineage: Gladys.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. Most of these deaths are from bad lifestyle choices not heredity. Gladys was overweight was said to be a heavy drinker and may have started drinking even heavier because of her worry over Elvis going into the army. Elvis (I don't have to even elaborate on him). Vernon appeared to be a heavy smoker. And Lisa Marie had her problems with drugs and bad life circumstances. How do you recover from losing your kid? And we still don't know what the cause of Lisa's sudden cardiac arrest was.

The thing is, though...

You have to ask: What drove these people to drugs and other poor lifestyle choices? Did they just do these things for the "fun" of it? Clearly, all human beings suffer to some degree on this Earth, yet people also lead very different lives and experience very different outcomes. Some are done in by depression, others are able to manage it or escape it in some fashion. Okay, in this instance, we may only be talking about a very limited sample (a handful of individuals), yet they are genetically linked; and the average age of death, due to adverse medical outcomes (brought on or exacerbated by substance abuse/grief/depression), is, what: 45? That's no age in the modern world.

I think, why the genetic argument is not well-regarded, is that a) we are far from understanding all the genetic factors involved in health/longevity, b) mental health is still a difficult and touchy subject, and c) blaming genes seems to remove human agency and ignores/downplays complex sociological, economic, and environmental factors. Or as this study words it:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6065213/

The major depressive disorder is a complex and heterogeneous illness with an etiopathogenesis that is based upon multiple factors that may act at different levels, e.g., psychological, biological, genetic, and social.

This entry on depression cites a study that claims to have identified a chromosomal link with depression:

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/genetic

A British research team isolated a gene that appears to be prevalent in multiple family members with depression. The chromosome 3p25-26 was found in more than 800 families with recurrent depression.

Scientists believe that as many as 40 percent of those with depression can trace it to a genetic link. Environmental and other factors may make up the other 60 percent.

Here is the study cited above:

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10091342

In my opinion, having a more rounded (and empirical) view of the causes and nature of depressive illness(es) should lead to greater understanding in the future; and also hopefully lead to a reduction in self-harm and tragic outcomes.

Also: There is no slight intended against anyone here. An enlargement of knowledge is (generally) a good thing. There is very little in human affairs that the light of understanding cannot improve (when it is properly directed and shone).

All good points, Cryogenic. I'm not talking about absolving oneself of personal responsibility, nor removing personal agency entirely here. I'm talking about a potential exacerbating genetic factor, which, when combined with alcohol and other substance abuse leads to early death. As I stated in my original post, I'm not an apologist of their lifestyles. But just maybe there's a chance for future Presley family members to have a much longer life than they otherwise could have.

I hate seeing the Presley family die in this way. Especially when it could potentially be avoided.

The old adage bears repeating: How do you protect a man from himself?

[Cryogenic]

I totally agree that depression and tendency towards substance abuse can be and is genetic. That's why I hate when people (even fans on here) try to moralize and say that Elvis was just a junkie. It's way more complicated than that and people need to have compassion because I do think it is a disease.

Indeed. I can see an argument for being mad at Elvis, or fans perceived to be making excuses for poor choices in his life/career, but there absolutely needs to be compassion and a kind of "higher wisdom" applied, too.

I also think that you can have a genetic heart (and other disease) condition but hard to make the argument for it when a person is also doing many things to harm their health at the same time.

That's a good point. That said, "health" is something of a relative term, and what may be considered healthy in one time or place may be regarded as not-so-healthy at another time or place; and there can be many hidden/subtle dangers in a "healthy" lifestyle later discovered as our medical understanding evolves.

If Elvis or Lisa or Gladys were leading very healthy lifestyles and they dropped dead, then you could say it was genetic.

Yes, true. I certainly see the point you're making. They were, in some sense, the architects of their own destruction. But also see above. As an example, when first discovered, radioactivity was considered health-promoting, and radioactive substances and so-called cures/remedies were eagerly put in many products (e.g., radioactive toothpaste). We quickly learned this wasn't such a good idea. Or take the more subtle example of long-distance running. Many people, until recently, considered it a fairly healthy sport/practice to engage in, but recent data has shown that there are negative impacts on the cardiovascular system. To quote one study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6543495/

A significantly higher rate of coronary artery calcification existed in long-term marathon, ultramarathon, and extreme runners than in submarathon runners. Marathoners and ultramarathoners also had a higher incidence of calcification, as well as higher average plaque burden, as compared to a standard database. Marathoners and ultramarathoners also had above-average coronary calcium scores as compared to a national database.

Even when people were visibly afflicted in ancient times, such as in the case of epilepsy, it was generally considered a positive -- indeed, a "divine" -- thing. Again, understanding changes over time. This is not to say, however, that Gladys/Elvis/Lisa Marie weren't cognisant of destructive tendencies in themselves. I'm reasonably sure they were. It's just that humans point the finger or dismiss things all too easily; missing (as it may later turn out) significant factors that were in play all along.

Also they can often find a genetic component like a heart defect during an autopsy. We don't know yet what the cause of Lisa's cardiac arrest was. Even with an unhealthy lifestyle and even drug abuse, she could have had a heart defect killed her. We'll just have to wait and see. And if they don't do an autopsy, or release any toxicology screen, we may never know.

She was likely medicated and not substance-free when she passed away. I believe she was addicted to substances in the past and was then experiencing significant grief over the loss of her son. No doubt, these factors alone significantly degraded her health. If we're honest, I'm sure we all privately doubted many years ago she would make it into her fifties. Of course, it doesn't render her death any less tragic.

[Cryogenic]

All good points, Cryogenic. I'm not talking about absolving oneself of personal responsibility, nor removing personal agency entirely here. I'm talking about a potential exacerbating genetic factor, which, when combined with alcohol and other substance abuse leads to early death. As I stated in my original post, I'm not an apologist of their lifestyles. But just maybe there's a chance for future Presley family members to have a much longer life than they otherwise could have.

I hate seeing the Presley family die in this way. Especially when it could potentially be avoided.

Oh, we're in perfect agreement here, Brian. It is kind of funny, actually, that people will downplay the genetic aspect, but genes are also what gave us the majesty of Elvis in the first place. We often say he was preternaturally good-looking and "gifted". What we really mean there (the former and even the latter) is that he had certain genetic or phenotypic attributes in his favour. But equally (doesn't this universe love its yin and yang?), it stands to reason, he may also have been at a certain genetic disadvantage in some areas. There is also, in the field of genetics, the recognised concept of pleiotropy; and the related topic of antagonistic pleiotropy. This is definitely a case of trying to understand a bigger picture (including all the grains that make up the "photograph", as it were).

The old adage bears repeating: How do you protect a man from himself?

Indeed. Or a woman/trans/non-binary person.

About 10 years ago Priscilla's younger brother Thomas died. He was a lot younger than Priscilla and he was only 51 years old when he passed away. I don't know if he and Priscilla were close and I don't remember Priscilla saying anything about him when he passed. I did read about it when he passed away but I don't remember any of his family members commenting on it or revealing what he died from. My point though is that it's not just members of Elvis's side of the family that have passed away young. Lisa's uncle Thomas on her mothers side passed away very young as well. Just FYI. Once you get to be a certain age you don't know how much longer you are going to be here.

Very resonant words. Last year, I learned that two of my friends' mothers had recently passed away, within a few months of each other. My friends are my age (39 -- well, both turned 40 last year, and I'm turning 40 this year). One of their mothers was aged 73, the other was only 65. The latter also had advanced dementia. These aren't the things you expect to hear, least of all two in a row. I only kept a few friends at school, so the shock was even greater. As one of my friends stoically reminded me: "Yeah, life expectancy may be mid-to-high-eighties in the UK, but that's just the average." Many people veer away from the average for various reasons (just as many people land very close to it). It's why we're all here when you think about it.

[YDKM]

Also do we just accept she died from a heart attack and that is the complete end of it?

[Cryogenic]

Also do we just accept she died from a heart attack and that is the complete end of it?

Not sure what you mean here. Her cause of death has been reported as a cardiac arrest, not a heart attack (myocardial infarction):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_arrest

Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possibly defibrillation are needed until further treatment can be provided. Cardiac arrest results in a rapid loss of consciousness, and breathing may be abnormal or absent.

While cardiac arrest may be caused by heart attack or heart failure, these are not the same, and in 15 to 25% of cases, there is a non-cardiac cause. Some individuals may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, an elevated heart rate, and a light-headed feeling immediately before entering cardiac arrest.

The most common cause of cardiac arrest is an underlying heart problem like coronary artery disease that decreases the amount of oxygenated blood supplying the heart muscle. This, in turn, damages the structure of the muscle, which can alter its function. These changes can, over time, cause ventricular fibrillation (V-fib), which most commonly precedes cardiac arrest. Less common causes include major blood loss, lack of oxygen, very low potassium, electrical injury, heart failure, inherited heart arrhythmias, and intense physical exercise. Cardiac arrest is diagnosed by the inability to find a pulse.

[Jaime1234]

Extraordinary CNN segment on her death

[minkahed]

I really don’t want to try and sound redundant, but looking back on it now, It really did shock me when I saw her at the award show Tuesday night when Austin won and mentioning to my sister, how “different” and frail she was looking. My sister completely agreed.

It could be that maybe she was prescribed benzodiazepine for the condition that she was under and believe me, physicians will prescribe you anything when you have that level of
Note-oriety and fame.

[rlj4ep]

RIP Lisa.

A great picture on the front page of the website!! Thanks for having it there. Takes me (and I'm sure others) back to a much happier time!!

[moonandback]

With Vernon,Elvis+ Lisa Marie all dying from heart attacks surely the obvious question is "was it hereditary?"

I think Elvis didn't have a heart attack.

The death certificate still proclaims Elvis Presley died of a heart attack, but don't believe it, says Dr. Eric Muirhead, the retired pathology chief who helped perform Presley's autopsy at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Muirhead, who has never before talked publicly about his findings, said Presley "was a drug addict. We knew he was a drug addict because he had been at Baptist to be treated for that." And when he died in 1977, it was clearly a result of "polypharmacy," or death from drug interaction, he said.

Now in private practice, Muirhead recalled in an interview with the Memphis Commercial-Appeal his shock at the official ruling by Memphis and Shelby County medical examiner Dr. Jerry Francisco.

He said Francisco pre-empted other members of the autopsy team, announcing his findings at a press conference minutes after the bulk of the autopsy was complete.

"We were appalled that he made that announcement. There were eight doctors there who disagreed with him," Muirhead said.

Francisco, who still insists Presley died of a heart attack, claims Muirhead did agree with him on the day of the autopsy.

"I said, "What do you think about this?' He said, "That's fine.' "

Not so, said Muirhead. "I disagree completely with him. I don't deny that the man (Presley) had some coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart. But he didn't even have enough to have a bypass."

Muirhead wouldn't speculate why Francisco persists in a theory disputed by the others present and, eventually, by the findings of at least three toxicology laboratories.

"That would be trying to get into the man's mind, and I'm not going to attempt that," said Muirhead.

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/01/06/the-king-died-from-drugs-doctor-says/

[Swedish]

Graceland was still owned by Lisa and I believe it will probably be passed on to her daughters. I believe Graceland will still be open for tours because it still makes a lot of money. I don't know if Lisa's daughters will ever sell Graceland because their brother Ben is buried there and their mother Lisa will be buried there. Lisa Marie sold EPE in 2004 to Robert Sillerman and since 2013 it has been owned by Authentic brands group. They run it not Lisa or her family. Joel Whineshaker will continue to run it because they own EPE. I believe business will continue on as usual.

Who knows if Riley Keough in the future wants to take over the Graceland responsibility after Priscilla or sell it and move the graves, since she has no own memories of Elvis

[elvis-fan]

Who knows if Riley Keough in the future wants to take over the Graceland responsibility after Priscilla or sell it and move the graves, since she has no own memories of Elvis

I seriously doubt those graves will ever be moved... besides Graceland is a historical landmark... the grounds and mansion can't be anything other than what it is.

[Jaime1234]

Indeed , oddly in Australia her death was news on Friday, but by Saturday it is not even a headline anymore!

She is as I write this message the most trended person the world.
https://pantheon.world/

[YDKM]

Well as long as another presley has not died of a drug overdose it would be sad, but un avoidable then.