Hearne: Mum’s the Word, but Elvis is Still Alive — Honest

It should have been a no-brainer…

That there’d be a stiff price to pay for revealing to the world that King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley was still alive. But it didn’t seem quite that evident a dozen years ago and a stiff price for telling that story has been paid.

Let’s assume for the sake of argument thatElvis is still walking the earth. That he’s 77 now and remains in hiding, albeit with the needs of many senior citizens in terms of ramped up healthcare.  After all, he was a party machine back in the day.

Let’s further assume that former Parkville MD Donald Hinton was indeed treating the king in 2001 like he said he was when he wrote in the book, “The Truth About Elvis Aron Presley In His Own Words.”

You guys okay with that for now?

Well, a dozen years later the purveyors of that “news” – Hinton, a woman assistant and Elvis cousin Jerry Presley – are none the better off for having shared those views with the outside world.

It’s been a rough ride.

“Yeah, it has,” Presley says. “I still talk to Doctor Hinton every once in a while, but you know, he’s had it pretty rough. That pretty much ruined his career. He works at a state hospital in St. Joe, but he doesn’t have a private practice anymore.”

But read Presley’s lips, the Elvis is alive news was no hoax, no money grab.

“I think honestly, deep in (Dr. Hinton’s) heart, he was helping the right man,” Presley says. “Helping Elvis. Otherwise he never would have done it.”

As a member of Hinton’s inner circle, did Presely ever get the chance to meet “Jesse” – Elvis’s assumed name from his twin brother who died at birth?

“I want to say, no,” Presley says, weighing his words quite carefully. “No comment. That whole deal ruined a lot of people’s lives. It’s unbelievable how many lives and friendships that ruined. And it had a great effect on my singing career.”

Presley heads up an Elvis review that tours nationally.

These days mum’s the word where Jesse is concerned.

“I never talk about it and I don’t want to,” Presley says. “You know, whether it’s truth, fiction – whatever it is – everybody wants to believe and if you’re shown the right stuff, you can believe. Nobody wanted to make a lot of money or anything. I mean, that book Dr. Hinton wrote, he lost money on it.

“He believed it 100 percent, absolutely. There was nothing in Dr. Hinton that was phony or fake. He truly believed he was helping somebody.”

And the Missouri Board of Healing Arts investigation into Hinton for allegedly prescribing medicine to Jesse, “To be honest, I don’t know what the outcome of that was,” presley says. “I don’t think he can prescribe medicine, but he still has his license to practice. You know, he went through a divorce and everything.”

Because of Jesse?

“Oh, I would think that was a big part of it. The pressures. It’s been a tough road for him. The whole thing has just been a weird deal.”

As for believing in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, Elvis and the like, “Do you believe in ghosts?” Presley asks. “Or do you believe in Roswell aliens and all of the things that they put out there on the History Channel and make it sound real?

“Well, same thing with Jesse. Do you believe in Jesse? Do you believe in Elvis? Well, prove it.”

Does Presley still believe in Jesse?

“No comment. I mean, there’s some things out there that say, yes, but until he stands before a federal judge, it’s just your opinion.”