Elvis, What Happened?

Elvis died on August 16, 1977. Then-girlfriend Ginger Alden found him facedown on the bathroom floor, unconscious. The official cause of death was complications arising from cardiac arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat.

Although it has never been clearly proven that Elvis died of either a drug overdose or polypharmacy (the workings of many different kinds of drugs in the body), these may have been contributing factors in his death. A blood sample drawn at the autopsy revealed toxic levels of quaalude, as well as high levels of codeine, Valium, and other sedatives and narcotics. However, the autopsy also showed that Elvis suffered from heart disease, or a hardening of the arteries.

As fans grieved, Memphis florists sold every last flower they had and had to obtain more from Nashville. There were five tons in all. Thousands of bouquets appeared at Graceland, only to disappear after the funeral when fans snatched the flowers for precious mementos. After an attempt was made to steal Elvis's body from a mausoleum, his burial site was moved to the meditation garden at Graceland.