The King of Rock and Roll and the Controversial Role of George Nichopoulos
How does the name George Nichopoulos fit into Rock and Roll history?
He wasn’t a famous singer, guitarist or even rock critic. Yet his name is etched into the history of our music like no other.
Nichopoulos was born back in 1927 in Pennsylvania, then moved to Alabama as a young boy. He served in the Army as a medic in Germany just after World War II. Upon returning to the US, he would go to school and later attended Vanderbilt in Nashville where he studied medicine. But just how will his life intersect with Rock and Roll?
In the late 1960s, Elvis had purchased a horse ranch with 163 acres, where he and his new wife Priscilla spent their honeymoon in 1967. And where Elvis and invited guests could enjoy time away from the public eye.
The ranch was just across the border of Tennessee, close to Lynchburg, Mississippi. When Elvis wasn't in Vegas, he would often spend time with his friends, the Memphis Mafia and very often their families on the ranch, riding horses and picnicking.
It’s been documented that Elvis thoroughly loved horses and riding. The King of Rock and Roll owned a few dozen horses, some stabled at Graceland, many stabled at the ranch. Nichopoulos first met Presley when he treated him for “saddle sores.” A painful result of riding too much and infrequently. Elvis established a relationship with Nichopoulos which would arguably contribute to the cause of his death at the age of 42 in 1977.
You see, Nichopoulos was the physician who prescribed thousands of various drugs for Elvis Presley during the last decade of the singer’s life… and who was acquitted of being criminally responsible for Presley’s 1977 death. But when Elvis fans learned of his serious addiction to prescribed pills, Nichopoulos was loathed and looked upon as a main character in the King’s early death.
In 2016, The Washington Post wrote, “Traces of more than a dozen drugs were found in Presley’s body, including several barbiturates and other substances in “significant” quantities. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy thought the combination was lethal.”
A medical examiner though would conclude that Elvis died from a heart attack.
But all eyes were on the physician as the story unfolded about all the pills the man prescribed, for not only Elvis, but rocker Jerry Lee Lewis and others.
How could George Nichopoulos not be looked upon as a medical quack?
Nichopoulos passed away in Memphis in 2016 at the age of 88. Elvis’ death would haunt him over the next 39 years — and the once-respected physician would be hounded by medical board authorities and eventually stripped of his license in 1995. For some he was the man who overprescribed pills to Elvis. But a few credit him for trying to reign in the King of Rock and Roll from his self-medicating ways, sometimes substituting placebos.
But Elvis wasn’t a man who was used to being told “no.”
When Nichopoulos stopped providing some of the prescribed drugs to Presley, he would simply find them from another source.
Throughout the years, Dr. George Nichopoulos would eventually worm his way into pop culture.
You see, George Nichopoulos, Elvis’ doctor for over 10 years, had a nickname, given to him by his staff and patients. That nickname was “Dr. Nick.”
Any connection to the famous Simpson’s cartoon character Dr. Nick? You bet.
The Simpson’s Dr. Nick, just happened to be a medical quack, who is said to have studied at dubious schools of medicine and is always happy to “help,” usually with one or two unprofessional gimmicks possible.
The writers of the show say Nichopoulos was the inspiration for the character of the quack physician “Dr. Nick” on the long running show on Fox. Just another connection and sad reminder of the King of Rock and Roll and his trusted doctor.
All this because of an easily treatable rash… on Elvis’ touché.
Have a great week folks!
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Rob
Extremely interesting blog.