Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

The rollercoaster rise and tragic fall of the mystery masked man with the voice of a legend.

Jeanie Finlay's extraordinary documentary tells the story of Jimmy Ellis – an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis, back from the grave. With a fictional identity torn from the pages of the best selling novel Orion by Gail Brewer Giorgio, the backing of the legendary birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll Sun Records and a voice that seemed to be the very twin of Presley’s himself, the scheme – concocted in the months after Presley’s death exploded into a cult success – and the “Elvis is alive” myth began.

The story of Orion proves that fact is indeed ‘stranger than fiction’. This is the story behind that story. Who was that masked man?