Suzanne 3'ORION' THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK.
March 20th 2008 09:24
The myth of Elvis Presley is forever changing the course of History, but the strange thing is that in death he has become one huge icon to be worshipped. Therefore, since his death, there have been many Tribute Artists. However, today l am going to talk about one named. Jimmy Ellis or better known to many people as simply ‘ORION’.
This story began as a masked fictional character, who according to a writer named Gail Brewer-Giorgio in her book ‘IS ELVIS ALIVE’? Tells the story of a poor handsome young man from the South, who became a very famous Entertainer of that time. I guess, he was a person trapped by his own fame. He also had a drug problem and a bloated body that lead him into major depression.
In order to escape all this stardom, he comes up with a plan to escape all this fame and concoct a death hoax. With the help of his father, he managed to organise a wax dummy to be put into the coffin. A replica or what he looked like, at his prime time years. Meanwhile Orion grew a beard, lost some weight, and disappeared from the face of the earth. As people, knowing he was ‘DEAD’ would not even bother to look for him.
Gail Brewer-Giorgio further wrote in her book, that this book was written before Elvis Presley’s death, but was not published until a later time. Overall, it does seem to go around Elvis’ death and the aftermath of all that happened. It is a good read, but remember, as I said earlier, I do believe that this is only fiction. But it's up to the reader, and what you want to believe.
Going back to Jimmy Ellis – he sounded so much like Elvis, that when he sang, many fans thought he was the real Elvis, and the fact that Jimmy always had his face covered with a mask, just made the truth a little more mysterious. Orion was successful in many ways; he toured all over the world, and had a huge fan base everywhere too. So a little later at one point, the newspapers and television interviews, labelled him ‘THE MASKED MAN WHO WOULD BE ELVIS’.
For many years, people asked the question. Is this really Elvis, with a mask on? Then one day, l think it was the year 1981, but l am not too sure though, but during one of his shows, Orion just pulled off his mask and to everyone’s surprise they finally got to see the face behind the mask, and also got their answer, that Orion, and Elvis are two different people!
Jimmy for many years continued to record and perform Elvis songs, even though he claimed he was never an Elvis impersonator and that he was just being himself, with a resemblance to Elvis’ voice. Fans continued to pour in to watch his shows, and never stopped loving him. He was an amazing man.
Unfortunately, his life was short lived, and in late 1998, Jimmy Ellis was shot dead in his shop, by a thief, also claiming the life of his wife, 44-year-old Elaine Thompson. So what a tragic end to a man who not only captivated Elvis fans, but the whole world with his tremendous appeal, to be the voice of king, leaving behind a memory of what once was the Man behind the Mask..To be called.. ‘ORION’..
Here is a picture taken of ORION – AKA JIMMY ELLIS...Who l believe was simply the best Entertainer..
This story began as a masked fictional character, who according to a writer named Gail Brewer-Giorgio in her book ‘IS ELVIS ALIVE’? Tells the story of a poor handsome young man from the South, who became a very famous Entertainer of that time. I guess, he was a person trapped by his own fame. He also had a drug problem and a bloated body that lead him into major depression.
In order to escape all this stardom, he comes up with a plan to escape all this fame and concoct a death hoax. With the help of his father, he managed to organise a wax dummy to be put into the coffin. A replica or what he looked like, at his prime time years. Meanwhile Orion grew a beard, lost some weight, and disappeared from the face of the earth. As people, knowing he was ‘DEAD’ would not even bother to look for him.
Gail Brewer-Giorgio further wrote in her book, that this book was written before Elvis Presley’s death, but was not published until a later time. Overall, it does seem to go around Elvis’ death and the aftermath of all that happened. It is a good read, but remember, as I said earlier, I do believe that this is only fiction. But it's up to the reader, and what you want to believe.
Going back to Jimmy Ellis – he sounded so much like Elvis, that when he sang, many fans thought he was the real Elvis, and the fact that Jimmy always had his face covered with a mask, just made the truth a little more mysterious. Orion was successful in many ways; he toured all over the world, and had a huge fan base everywhere too. So a little later at one point, the newspapers and television interviews, labelled him ‘THE MASKED MAN WHO WOULD BE ELVIS’.
For many years, people asked the question. Is this really Elvis, with a mask on? Then one day, l think it was the year 1981, but l am not too sure though, but during one of his shows, Orion just pulled off his mask and to everyone’s surprise they finally got to see the face behind the mask, and also got their answer, that Orion, and Elvis are two different people!
Jimmy for many years continued to record and perform Elvis songs, even though he claimed he was never an Elvis impersonator and that he was just being himself, with a resemblance to Elvis’ voice. Fans continued to pour in to watch his shows, and never stopped loving him. He was an amazing man.
Unfortunately, his life was short lived, and in late 1998, Jimmy Ellis was shot dead in his shop, by a thief, also claiming the life of his wife, 44-year-old Elaine Thompson. So what a tragic end to a man who not only captivated Elvis fans, but the whole world with his tremendous appeal, to be the voice of king, leaving behind a memory of what once was the Man behind the Mask..To be called.. ‘ORION’..
Here is a picture taken of ORION – AKA JIMMY ELLIS...Who l believe was simply the best Entertainer..
THIS IS THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK.
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