JOY FEELINGS MAGAZINE may-june 2015 | Page 81

Elvis the day before his death are now going up for auction on May 16. “The bottle was discovered after the singer’s death in the bottom of his racquetball bag by Jo Smith, the wife of Billy Smith who was Elvis’s cousin and member of the so-called Memphis Mafia, a close group of friends and family who looked out for him. Their son Danny sold it to an Elvis collector in 2002. There are letters of authenticity signed by Dr. Nichopoulos and Billy and Jo Smith, validating both pill bottles.” The item will be on sale at Julien’s Auctions in New York. While some might think a pill bottle would have no worth or that someone might be insane wanting to buy such an item, Darren Juilen from the auction revealed that there is a desire for such items by Elvis’ fans. “There is no question that Elvis took these pills. Nobody else would have taken his prescription. It may seem a little macabre but anything touched or used by a rock icon like Elvis is desirable to fans. ‘Some years ago, we sold the first Elvis pill bottle that a lady found in the trash at Graceland for a considerable amount of money and we started to realize there was a market for this type of thing. These items are quite poignant and significant because it was his addiction to these pills that led to his downfall and death. They played a part in both his life and death.” Joy feelings magazine