Elvis sightings

A cover from the July 23, 1991 issue of Weekly World News.

The Elvis sightings are reported sightings of singer Elvis Presley following his death in 1977. The conspiracy theory that Elvis did not die but went into hiding was popularized by Gail Brewer-Giorgio and other authors. The earliest known alleged sighting was at the Memphis International Airport where a man resembling Elvis gave the name, "Jon Burrows", which was the same name Elvis used when booking hotels.[1] A series of alleged sightings took place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the late 1980s. Such reports encountered much public ridicule and became fodder for humorous publications like the Weekly World News.[2]

Detail

Elvis was rumored to have appeared in the background of an airport scene in the 1990 film Home Alone. The claim is that a bearded man wearing a turtleneck and sports jacket are over the left shoulder of the Catherine O'Hara's character when she is arguing with an airline employee. Paranormal researcher Ben Radford answers the Elvis sighting believers with the questions, why fake your death and then turn up as an extra in a popular movie? How could the cast and crew "have failed to notice the presence of one of the most famous figures in the world?" Even if he looked very different could he have disguised his voice and mannerisms? Radford was challenged to find the extra who played that part to prove it was not Elvis. Radford explained that the burden of proof is on the person making the claim, besides even if that specific extra was identified then how could it be proved it was not someone hired to pretend to be the extra? He suggested that ten extras should be chosen at random from "equally prominent ... scenes and see how easy they are to identify after all this time."[3] In an interview with USA Today, director Chris Columbus responded "If Elvis was on the set, I would have known".[4]

Bill Bixby, who co-starred with Elvis in Clambake and Speedway, hosted two television specials investigating the conspiracy: The Elvis Files (1991)[5] and The Elvis Conspiracy (1992).[6] The conspiracy was also featured in the 1990 video game, Les Manley in: Search for the King, where the titular hero attempts to find Elvis (known in-game as "THE KING" in all-caps) in order to win a million dollar contest.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Partridge, Kenneth (August 14, 2017). "Suspicious Minds: The Bizarre, 40-Year History of Elvis Presley Sightings". Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ Schmidt, William E. (October 17, 1988). "Vicksburg Journal; Someplace for the King to Call Home". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ↑ Radford, Ben (2018). "Is Elvis Presley in Home Alone?". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 42 (1): 26–27.
  4. ↑ Alexander, Bryan (October 5, 2015). "'Home Alone': Still a scream 25 years later". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Kogan, Rick (August 13, 1991). "The Once And Future King". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kogan, Rick (January 22, 1992). "`Anything But Love` Axed By Studio And Abc". Evening: Best on TV. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  7. ↑ Cobbett, Richard (December 24, 2010). "Crap Shoot: Les Manley: Search For THE KING". PC Gamer. Retrieved January 14, 2018.


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