POP/ROCK - Jan. 1, 1991

More Ink on Elvis: After more than 20 books written since Elvis Presley was found dead on the bathroom floor at his Graceland mansion in 1977, the latest offers conclusions that any Elvis fan would love. The death of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, says “The Death of Elvis: What Really Happened,” was not the result of suicide or a drug overdose, but of a mistake--an allergic reaction to codeine. A web of lost, omitted or ignored autopsy and pathology test results did nothing but muddy the waters surrounding the death, say the book’s authors, James Cole and Charles Thompson II. They maintain that that allergy was severe enough that, in combination with othe drugs in his system, it could have been fatal. According to toxicological reports, at the time of death Presley had in his body 10 times the normal therapeutic dose of codeine, an amount which alone could have caused serious harm.