Elvis’s death his ‘genetic destiny’, show presenter claims

A Channel 4 show which attempts to sequence the DNA of historical figures from Adolf Hitler to Marilyn Monroe claims to have discovered what could have caused Elvis Presley’s early death.

The controversial show, Dead Famous DNA, has already hit the headlines after it emerged that TV bosses paid Holocaust denier David Irving thousands of pounds for a lock of what was supposed to be Hitler’s hair.

At an advance screening yesterday of the first episode in the new series, it was revealed that tests have also been performed on what could be bone from the Nazi leader’s ribcage, while producers have discovered the hair which they paid Irving £3,000 (€3,590) for had not come from the German dictator. DNA analysis on a hair sample thought to have come from the king of rock ‘n’ roll, which was bought from a friend of the singer’s barber, has revealed that the ‘Suspicious Minds’ singer could have suffered from a heart muscle disease.

The DNA results — analysed by Dr Stephen Kingsmore in Kansas — showed mutations, known as “variants”, which cause migraines, glaucoma, and obesity.

Presley, a junk food addict who relied heavily on prescription drugs, was known to have suffered from headaches, and bad eyesight, and ballooned in weight towards the end of his life.

Deciphering DNA is the most exciting, controversial, complex area of modern biology #DeadFamousDNA @Channel4 Wed at 9 pic.twitter.com/gctn8qkT6b

— Dr Mark Evans (@MarkEvansTV) March 23, 2014

Scientists also found a “crucial” variant known to cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — a heart muscle disease which causes the thickening of the heart and weakening of the heart muscle. Presley displayed many of the symptoms of this disease, including an irregular heartbeat, fatigue, fainting, and high blood pressure.

The star was found dead in 1977 at the age of 42 slumped in a bathroom at Graceland, his mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

Producers said although it was officially known that Presley died of heart failure, the cause was still subject to speculation and had fuelled a “melting pot” of “conspiracy theories”.

Dr Kingsmore, director of the Centre for Paediatric Genomic Medicine at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, described the results as “a smoking gun”. He said the results indicate it could be unfair to blame the singer’s lifestyle for his death.

“There had been so much speculation about cause of death, and so much ill spoken of his lifestyle, and we had this intriguing finding that possibly Elvis had a medical illness, and all of the stuff about how he killed himself with his lifestyle might have been very unfair.”

Presenter Mark Evans added: “For years, Elvis has been blamed for his own death, for overeating or overdosing on drugs.

“Both of these addictions wouldn’t have helped. But it seemed Elvis had a flaw in his DNA,” he said, adding his early death may have been his “genetic destiny”.

Producers have sent the results to Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie, but said that they have not heard back.

Evans said that they were “very, very confident” that the sample of hair had come from the singer, after spending three years doing their research.