Gail Brewer-Giorgio

Gail Brewer-Giorgio, G.B. Giorgio or Gail Giorgio, is an American author whose works have speculated about the possibility that singer Elvis Presley may have faked his death in August 1977.

Origin of conspiracy theory work

Prior to the death of Elvis Presley, Giorgio wrote a novel which described how a popular Southern singer who called himself "Orion" faked his own death to escape the pressures of fame. According to Brewer-Giorgio, her publisher inexplicably began to recall her novel, which led her to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Presley.[1] At about the same time; an actual singer, also calling himself Orion, who sounded and looked similar to Elvis, began giving performances wearing a mask, though it was later revealed that this performer was a little-known singer named Jimmy Ellis.[2] Brewer-Giorgio claims that his mask wearing was done without her consent, and that she had no connection with Ellis or his recordings.

Orion has been released three different times and is currently out of print. The first edition has a white cover with a design on it and "Orion" written over the design. The second edition is blue with a face printed on it, showing just the eyes of a singer with a mask over it and Orion written in red. The third edition has a black cover and was released only in Europe.

As a result of her investigations, Brewer-Giorgio published The Most Incredible Elvis Presley Story Ever Told in 1988. It was later retitled Is Elvis Alive?[3] This book was described by communication theorist Jonathan Sterne as a "peculiar blend of paranormal phenomena, autobiography and fact finding."[4] As part of the release of the book, Brewer-Giorgio appeared on shows such as Larry King Live, Nightline and The Oprah Winfrey Show.[5]

Claims regarding the death of Elvis

One of the claims in the book centred on a tape Brewer-Giorgio obtained where a male voice that sounded similar to that of Elvis spoke about the details of the alleged conspiracy to fake Elvis' death. Cassette tape copies of this interview were included with the book Is Elvis Alive? The Weekly World News, which ran an article on Ms Giorgio's book in 1988, claimed that the voice on the tape had been verified as indeed belonging to Elvis Presley by a voice analyst from Houston, Texas.[6]

Reactions to Brewer-Giorgio's works

Brewer-Giorgio's work had an impact in unintended areas. Fans of Elvis had been calling for a stamp bearing his image, but the rules of the US Postage Primary required a candidate to have been dead for 10 years. Elvis was under consideration in 1988, however given the questions raised by Brewer-Giorgio and the increase in Elvis-sightings following the publication of her book, the fact of his death was in doubt. This delayed publication of an Elvis stamp until 1993.[7]

Documentary work

Brewer-Giorgio helped write, and then appeared in, the 1990 documentary The Elvis Files. She also appeared in the 1992 documentary The Elvis Conspiracy hosted by actor Bill Bixby (a Presley film co-star from the 1960s). In 2008 she wrote the script for the documentary American King: The Elvis Files, which featured the tag line Did Elvis really die when and how they said he did? [8]

Published works

References

  1. ↑ Reece, Gregory (2006). Elvis religion: the cult of the King. I.B. Tauris.
  2. ↑ Clark, Randall (2006). "Dead or Alive: Conspiracy Theories as a Form of Public Mourning". In Browne, Ray Broadus; Neal, Arthur G. Ordinary reactions to extraordinary events. Popular Press.
  3. ↑ Susan Doll "Elvis Presley Biography Retrieved on 2010-12-22.
  4. ↑ Sterne, J. (2005). Dead rock stars 1900. In S. Jones & J. Jensen (Eds.) Afterlife as afterimage: Understanding posthumous fame (pp. 253-268). NY: Peter Lang
  5. ↑ Hoffmann, Frank W. (1990). Arts & Entertainment Fads. Routledge.
  6. ↑ Presley lived secret life in Michigan - in 1988!. Weekly World News. 21 August 2001.
  7. ↑ Plasketes, George (1997). Images of Elvis Presley in American culture, 1977-1997: the mystery terrain. Routledge.
  8. ↑ "Gail Brewer-Giorgio", IMDB Retrieved on 2010-12-22.

Further reading

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