Elvis Mausoleum to be sold

29 May 2012 Last updated at 12:16 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page


The private mausoleum crypt in Memphis, Tennessee in which Elvis Presley was first buried is to be sold at auction.

The lot includes the crypt itself, the right to open and close the vault for a burial, a memorial inscription and the use of a small chapel for a service.

Bids are expected to start at $100,000 (£63,781).

Other items in the sale, to be held on 23 and 24 June in Hollywood, include clothing worn by the guitarist Keith Richards and the late Amy Winehouse.

Following Presley's funeral at his Graceland home in August 1977, his body was temporarily entombed in a crypt at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Around 80,000 people lined the processional route that Presley's coffin took from Graceland to Forest Hill.

Within two months, both his body and that of his mother Gladys were moved to a permanent site in the meditation garden on the Graceland grounds.

According to the Julien's Auctions website, Presley's original crypt "has remained empty... as a visiting place for those coming to remember The King".

The Sports Legends and Music Icons sale will be held at Julien's auction house in Beverly Hills on 23 and 24 June.

Other lots include a robe Winehouse used in her Rehab video and a ripped T-shirt worn by Richards while playing for the Rolling Stones.

7 June 2012 Last updated at 10:21
Elvis Presley is to be digitally recreated for a series of live shows and TV appearances.

A virtual likeness of the late singer will be produced for the performances by the same company who made a Tupac "hologram" earlier this year.

The digitally resurrected rapper made a headline-grabbing appearance at the Coachella music festival in April.

Elvis Presley Enterprises said: "This is a new and exciting way to bring the magic and music of Elvis to life."

"His lifelong fans will be thrilled all over again and new audiences will discover the electric experience of Elvis the performer."

The technological brains behind the project are The Digital Domain Media Group, co-founded by Avatar director James Cameron.

They have previously created computer-generated human characters for films including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, TRON: Legacy and X-Men: First Class.

They also animated the figure of Tupac seen performing alongside Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg at the Coachella Festival.

That performance was staged by AV Concepts and the UK-based Musion Systems, who previously enabled Madonna to perform with cartoon hip-hop band Gorillaz at the 2006 Grammy Awards.

Although the striking, 3D images have been called "holograms", they are in fact the result of an optical illusion pioneered in the Victorian era.

Known as Pepper's Ghost, the illusion involves projecting the image on an angled piece of glass, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Presley died in 1977 aged 42. His biggest hits included Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, All Shook Up, Jailhouse Rock and Suspicious Minds.

His band still tour today, playing along to archive footage of the singer, which is projected on big screens in venues including London's Wembley Arena.
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Is this weird or what!!! It has been decided not to auction The Elvis Mausoleum because Fans who still go to the Mausoleum protested .