Orion (1978 novel)
From Kook Science
Orion: The Living Superstar of Song is a novel attributed to Gail Brewer-Giorgio,[i] recounting the life and faked death of fictional American rock star Orion Eckley Darnell. It was first published in 1978 by Golden Eagle Publishing with co-author credits given to Gene Arthur and Brewer-Giorgio; Arthur's credit was excised in later editions.[ii] According to Arthur, the novel was based on his research into the life and allegedly faked death of Elvis Presley,[S] while Brewer-Giorgio denied these claims and dismissed Arthur's involvement with the novel, asserting it was written entirely by herself and before Presley's death in 1977, and thus that the striking similarities between the novel and her later books about the faked death of Presley are either entirely coincidental or divinely inspired.
The novel was bundled in 1988 with copies of The Most Incredible Elvis Presley Story Ever Told (Atlanta, Ga.: Legend Books), Brewer-Giorgio's first ostensibly non-fiction book on the faking of Presley's death.
Editions
- Arthur, Gene; Brewer-Giorgio, Gail (1978), Orion, Atlanta, Ga.: Golden Eagle Publishing Company — limited-run first edition
- Brewer-Giorgio, Gail (1979), Orion: The Living Superstar of Song, Atlanta, Ga.: Capricorn Corporation
- Brewer-Giorgio, Gail (1981), Orion: The Living Superstar of Song, New York: Pocket Books
- Brewer-Giorgio, Gail (1988), Orion, Atlanta, Ga.: Legend Books Inc.
- Brewer-Giorgio, Gail (1989), Orion, New York: Tudor Books
Press Coverage
- Shroder, Tom (13 Aug. 1978), "One year later... People are still cashing in on Elvis. Some people believe he may still be alive.", Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahasee, FL): 1B, 6B, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/245918168
- TD (22 Sep. 1978), "Latest plot in book about Elvis is $9 million lawsuit", Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL): 25, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/245807581/
- AC (4 Feb. 1979), "Beleaguered First Novel Fighting for Life", Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA): 10, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/398942292/
- Post, Hyde (27 May 1979), "'Orion,' Book's Fictional Elvis, Appears After Cobb County Woman Creates Him", Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA): 12-B, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/399000123 — regarding the mysterious "Orion".
- AC (31 Jan. 1980), "East Cobb Author's Book, 'Orion,' Gives Twist To Presley's Death", Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA): 20-G, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/399331259/ — regarding the Capricorn edition
Notes
- ↑ User Mary200357, in a defunct message board post on Suite101.com, dated 4 Apr. 2004 (under the title "Re: Re: Re: Re: Gail Brewer"), relates that one Evelyn Metzer was the ghostwriter of the book, and that it was based on Gene Arthur's research, http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/elvis_presley/86125/1763-1772 (offline); the thread was reposted by User TimeIsOnMySide in a message board post on AronSivle.proboards.com, https://aronsivle.proboards.com/thread/115/death (archived, https://web.archive.org/web/20211211161812/https://aronsivle.proboards.com/thread/115/death). User Mary200357 further states in the thread that the novel Orion and the subsequent books and documentaries featuring Brewer-Giorgio that relate to the alleged fake death of Elvis were financed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) as a marketing tool.
- ↑ The early publication history and the conflict between Arthur and Brewer-Giorgio over the rights to Orion are detailed at great length in Denisoff and Plaskete's True Disbelievers: The Elvis Contagion (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1995).