Elvis Presley would still be alive if it wasn't for his doctor, claims brother

Elvis Presley's step-brother David Stanley has blamed the late star's personal doctor George Nichopoulos, who died in 2016, of overprescribing drugs that lead to his death

The brother of Elvis Presley has claimed the King of Rock n Roll died due to the actions of his doctor.

The Hound Dog singer passed away in 1977 at the age of 42 - suffering a heart attack while reading on the toilet at his Graceland home. But Elvis's step-brother David Stanley has blamed the iconic musician's doctor, Dr George Nichopoulos, for causing the death.

David has claimed that Dr Nick - who himself died in 2016 - overprescribed the singer into an early grave, fearing prescription drug addiction added to the singer's health problems. David has claimed that the doctor prescribed thousands of drugs to Elvis in the months leading up to his death and thinks he would still be alive if the doctor hadn't done so.

David, who is in his late 60s, is gobsmacked over the level of drugs his step-brother consumed and cannot fathom that he needed "33 sleeping pills" to get to sleep. David, along with his brother Danny, was born to Elvis' stepfather Vernon Presley, who was married to Elvis' mother, Gladys, from 1948 to 1958.

Speaking to the Express, David claimed: “Dr Nick gave him over 10,000 pills in the last eight months of his life. Without Dr Nick, Elvis would have died in 21st Century, Nick would be in prison and would have died in prison. The doctors killed him… who needs 10,000 pills? Who needs 33 sleeping pills to go to sleep at night? Who needs cocaine and amphetamine to wake up every day?"

He continued: "And they say he had health problems… my friend, you take as much dope as that, you’re going to have some health problems.” He also argued that "Isolation" contributed to his death, saying: "When I talk about Elvis, I talk about his medications costing him his life. I'm very adamant about it, very vocal about it. Fans go, ‘How could you talk that way about Elvis?’ Be there for five years, the last years of his life, watch him go from King to 255 pounds – those were his words – totally wrecked, and do the job to keep him there alive as long as he can. Whether it be too much food, whether imbalance from his water because of the medications, go through all of that, then come to me and tell me how much you love Elvis."

Elvis was survived by his one child, daughter Lisa Marie Presley who he shared with wife Priscilla Presley, 79, who he was married to from 1967 until 1973. Lisa Marie tragically died in January last year at the age of 54 - suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California. Her autopsy revealed she died of small bowel obstruction caused by a bariatric surgery she had undergone - and that while there were opioids in her system, the drugs did not contribute to her death.

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.