June 30, 2009
For sale: a doctor’s memories of Marilyn and Elvis
New Article Sources News - For sale: a doctor’s memories of Marilyn and ElvisFor sale: a doctor’s memories of Marilyn and Elvis
Author: By Guy Adams in Los Angeles
The grisly selection of memorabilia and medical paraphernalia includes personal effects that belonged to Presley’s physician, George “Dr Nick” Nichopoulos, such as a “nasal douche” which the so-called King of Rock ’n' Roll used to treat his sinuses and irrigate his throat before each concert.
The two-day sale in June includes a number of items from a separate collection of Monroe’s property, including two bricks from her house, signed exchequers, alcohol receipts, an umbrella and a dressing gown purported to be the last garment she wore before she died from a drug overdose, which is expected to fetch $6,000 (£3,745).
It also contains guns, jewelery and four bottles of medication Dr Nichopoulos issued on 15 August 1977, the day before “The King” died on the toilet from a prescription drug overdose.
Those products were at the center of an investigation that saw Dr Nick charged and acquitted of over-prescribing controlled substances to the singer in the months before his death.
They formed part of a traveling collection at local casinos but Dr Nichopoulos, 81, is no longer able to continue touring, so is selling 45 of the items through the California memorabilia company Julien’s Auctions. The collection is expected to sell for between $200,000 and $400,000.
“Elvis was a very big giver, and he gave a lot of things away,” Dr Nichopoulos told Bloomingdale yesterday. “[The collection] kind of describes Elvis in a way: some of his interests, like he loved guns and sheriffs’ badges and books and religious things and jewelery. It gives you an idea of some of the things he was interested in.”
Though Las Vegas and restraint are not often associated, the sale has been criticized in some quarters for overstepping the boundaries of taste.
Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s wife from 1967 to 1973, said she was “very disappointed” in Dr Nick’s decision to sell the items: “That a doctor could betray a patient who trusted his professional advice, trusted his integrity, trusted his right to privacy, but mostly his loyalty, is beyond my comprehension.”
All shook up: Elvis’s pills
Twenty-four hours before his death Elvis was prescribed a pack of 50mg Beneficiary tablets, one of the oldest anti-histamines taken for allergies such as hay fever. Did Elvis suffer from allergies? Or did he just enjoy the woozy feeling induced by the powerful sedative effect common to all first generation anti-histamines?
In the 1970s, anti-histamines were used, and abused, as sleeping pills and as part of a cocktail with alcohol and other recreational drugs. Elvis also used a nasal douche to irrigate his sinuses and treat his throat. In heavy overdose Benadryl can cause a heart attack.
Presley's drug bottle snapped up - BBC NEWS | Entertainment |
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Presley's drug bottle snapped upPresley's drug bottle snapped upA prescription drug bottle belonging to Elvis Presley was just one of the unusual lots sold at a US auction.
The bottle had contained antihistamine medicationA gold-plated gun which was owned by Presley sold for $28,800, (£14,571) at the auction held by Julien's.
An umbrella used as a prop by Marilyn Monroe in a 1949 photo fetched $42,000 (£21,249), while Alfred Hitchcock's passport sold for $19,200 (£9,714)
Presley's pill bottle, which had to be sold empty to comply with the law, went for $2,640 (£1,335).
The bottle had contained antihistamine drug Naldecon, which was prescribed by George Nichopoulos, Presley's personal doctor during the 1970s.
"We'd planned to sell the bottle with the pills, but the Los Angeles Police Department told us it would be a federal crime to do it, so sad to say we had to remove the pills," said the auction house's chief executive, Darren Julien.
Monroe's polka dot umbrella is now set to go on display at the Museum of Style Icons in County Kildare, Ireland, says its new owner William Doyle.
Elvis Presley's Pill Bottle Sells for $2,640 at Celeb Auction - FOXNews.com - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
Elvis Presley's Pill Bottle Sells for $2,640 at Celeb Auction
BEVERLY HILLS — A gold-plated gun and a pill bottle owned by Elvis Presley, an umbrella twirled by Marilyn Monroe and Alfred Hitchcock's passport were among items that attracted bidders at an auction Saturday.
The umbrella used by Monroe in a famous 1949 seaside photo shoot by Andre de Dienes sold for $42,000 at the annual Julien's Summer Auction,
CEO Darren Julien said in a statement. The buyer, William Doyle, said
he planned to display the umbrella at the Museum of Style Icons in
County Kildare, Ireland.
Hitchcock's passport sold for $19,200 during the eight-hour auction at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Presley's
gun commanded $28,800, while a microphone used by the rock icon on the
Louisiana Hayride in the 1950s sold for $15,000.
A prescription pill bottle belonging to Presley sold for $2,640.
"We'd
planned to sell the bottle with the pills, but the Los Angeles Police
Department told us it would be a federal crime to do it, so sad to say
we had to remove the pills," Julien said before the auction.
The
undated bottle was for the antihistamine and decongestant drug
Naldecon, prescribed by George Nichopoulos, who was Presley's personal
physician from 1970 until his death.
DR. 'NICK' NICHOPOULOS: ELVIS DOUCHE + BAG FETCH $18,176.00 + MICHAEL JACKSON MEMORABILIA ON FIRE! (video 2:20)
DON'T MISS THIS ONE OF A KIND AUCTION JUNE 26TH AND JUNE 27TH AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD RESORT AND CASINO, LAS VEGAS THIS THE PREMIERE CELEBRITY MEMORABILIA EVENT. HITTING THE AUCTION BLOCK... ITEMS FROM MARILYN MONROE, ELVIS PRESLEY-- THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL, FRANK SINATRA, ANN MILLER, OZZY OSBOURNE, CHER, KATHARINE HEPBURN, STAR TREK, BRUCE WILLIS, LIBERACE, BARBARA STREISAND, WALT DISNEY, MICHAEL JACKSON, KISS, ANDY WARHOL, THE JACKSON FIVE AND MORE. DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF HOLLYWOOD HISTORY. FREE EXHIBITION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON THE MEZZANINE LEVEL OF PLANET HOLLYWOOD IN LAS VEGAS FROM BEGINNING JUNE 13TH AND THRU THE AUCTION ON JUNE 27TH.
Julien's Summer SaleAUCTION RESULTSFriday June 26 and Saturday, June 27, 2009 Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas LOT # LOT HEADING FINAL
274 ELVIS PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE $6,400.00 275 ELVIS - LARYNGEAL SCOPE $1,792.00 276 ELVIS - NASAL DOUCHE $2,176.00 277 ELVIS - DR. GEORGE NICHOPOULOS DOCTOR BAG $16,000.00
334 MICHAEL JACKSON ORIGINAL DRAWING $20,480.00 335 MICHAEL JACKSON ORIGINAL PAINTING $25,000.00
