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‘The King’s’ pill bottles up for auction in Vegas

By ERIC C. RODENBERG
AntiqueWeek Correspondent

LAS VEGAS — Guns, empty pill bottles and a device used for treating Elvis Presley’s sinuses will be headliners at the first auction of items from the collection of George “Dr. Nick” Nichopoulos, The King’s private physician.

And, some of these items, have Presley fans “all shook up” as they go to auction at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on June 26-27.

“If they could sell Presley’s last breath, they would do (it) … money is blind when it comes to ethical issues,” a poster wrote on one of the The King’s fan website.

Presley died at the age of 42 on Aug. 16, 1977 of coronary arrhythmia – an irregular beating of the heart resulting from heart disease. Of course, it is widely held that his death was linked to excessive drug usage. When he died there were traces of 14 different drugs in his body, including codeine, morphine, Quaaludes and valium.

It has been reported that Dr. Nick wrote more than 10,000 prescriptions for Presley just during the seven months prior to his death. It was even alleged that Presely died of an exotic “drug cocktail” that Dr. Nick had concocted.

Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s wife from 1967 to 1973, reportedly told the Bloomberg News Service that she was “very disappointed” that Nichopoulos would permit the auction of the prescription bottles.

“That a doctor betray a patient, who trusted his professional advice, trusted his integrity, trusted his right to privacy, but mostly his loyalty, is beyond my comprehension,” she reportedly wrote in an e-mail.

But, the 81-year-old Nichopoulos – who had been displaying the items in a traveling exhibition at casinos and other venues – remains unruffled at the accusations.

He maintains health issues prevented him from continuing with the shows and, as a result, he sold the collection to an acquaintance. Once the acquaintance no longer was able to continue the tour, he and Nicholpoulos agreed to put the items up for auction.

“I was really trying to keep the collection together,” Nicholpoulos told AntiqueWeek. “It really tells a story … but she (Priscilla Presley) just doesn’t understand what the bottles are – they were medications he needed for the diseases he had, they were not street drugs … I have too much respect for Elvis – and his family – to do them wrong.”

The Memphis physician began treating Presley in 1967 and was his personal physician from 1970 until his death. Nichopoulos was charged and acquitted by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners of over-prescribing controlled substances to Presley during the final months before his death. In 1992, however, the case was re-opened and in 1995, his medical license was revoked. He worked as a road manager for Jerry Lee Lewis (another musician to whom it was alleged he wrote numerous prescriptions) for awhile, and today evaluates medical insurance claims by employees of FedEx. Dr. Nick – who has his name trademarked – is currently writing a book “to set the record straight” about his relationship with Presley. It is expected to be at the bookstores in early 2010.

“There have been so many discrepancies and crazy things that people have said about Elvis,” the former physician says. “I hope to untangle a lot of these lies … It’s been a very difficult process going back into my memory. Up until the writing of this book, I had never read anything written about Elvis … it’s been difficult emotionally to remember all those times.”

However, Dr. Nick was able to scour through his memories for the upcoming auction. Each of the more than 45 lots devoted to Presley will be accompanied by a DVD, Dr. Nick’s Memories of Elvis explaining the history and events surrounding the gifts “in Dr. Nick’s own words.”

Highlights will include the empty prescription bottles prescribed to Presley, included one that was written to him the day before his death. These items are expected to fetch $800 to $1,200.
Another headliner is Dr. Nick’s black medical bag, which is said to accompany him on Presley’s jet, as part of The King’s entourage. It is expected to sell for $4,000-6,000. A nasal douche, used by Presley before each concert to irrigate his sinuses and treat his throat, is expected to sell for $1,000-2,000.

The “Dr. Nick” items are expected to sell for $200,000-400,000, an estimate that is considered “conservative” by Darren Julien, of Julien’s Auctions which is selling the rock and roll relics.
Despite the “naysayers,” Julien says he has heard nothing but positive enthusiasm for the sale.

“I’ve heard nothing but positive comments,” Julien says. “Fans are really excited, we’ve heard from all over the world – from Tokyo, Germany, everywhere. It goes to show you how hungry people are for these items. It’s going to be a big auction.”

Sufficiently rounding out Julien’s Summer Entertainment auction is memorabilia from another American icon, Marilyn Monroe. The Monroe items include clothing from her personal and professional wardrobe, in addition to furniture from her Brentwood, Calif. hacienda-style home. She had resided in the home until her death at age 36 on Aug. 5, 1962 of a drug overdose.

6/17/2009