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Sonny West Dead At 79

May 26, 2017 | People

Sonny West has passed away at the age of 79 on May 24. He was Elvis Presley's former bodyguard and one of the authors of "Elvis, What Happend?". It was last year that Sonny West was confirmed to have stage 4 lung cancer - after he had been battling with serious medical issues over the last 5 years.

Source:Various
Pieter wrote on May 26, 2017
I met him once back in the late 80's, he seemed like a nice gentleman to me.
LonElvis wrote on May 27, 2017
I am sorry for his and anyone's death but still believe he was wrong to write EWH. No matter how he tried to convince himself and us that he was trying to help Elvis, it's always seemed clear his goal was to embarrass Elvis and make money. Poor Elvis went to his grave worrying about that book.
Gorse wrote on May 27, 2017
Yet another member of the inner circle departs as one would expect with the passing of time. I am continually surprised after reading through hundreds of comments on Youtube that so many people know more about Elvis, his women and friends than I know about my wife, and at times even myself.. We might stumble upon the the real reasons for that infamous book but only he knew in the deep recesses of his mind !!
Dazman wrote on May 27, 2017
RIP Sonny. All you armchair critics have to realise that EWH was released 2 weeks before Elvis' death, so he is no Albert Goldman. Also that book was written through the prism of Steve Dunleavy, which is where you get the unrealistic stories about Elvis. In the words of the late Marty Lacker, They would've taken a bullet for Elvis.
LonElvis wrote on May 28, 2017
Scott - I'm talking about his role with the book. Good guys don't write revengeful, tell all books about their friends. The "trying to present Elvis a challenge" line was BS and we all know it. I don't see how Elvis fans can say Sonny is a good guy after EWH. It's not Dunleavy's fault. Sonny, Red, and Dave are to blame for the book and the harm it caused Elvis. Sonny is no hero.
circleG wrote on May 29, 2017
I met Sonny and his dear wife ten years ago in the airport and they were great and quite funny. He took my address and posted a signed photo to me absolutely free. I kind of felt sorry for him. I agree with LonElvis on his views. I think a moment of hateful thinking mixed with the shock news of Elvis death ended up with him feeling regret for the rest of his life. His later book was very sincere and honest. RIP Sonny
Natha wrote on May 30, 2017
To state that "he wrote the book for Elvis as a wake up call for him and not for his fans" does not make any sense of course. Everybody knows that the sheer writing of a book means that others - the fans and the world - will read it. So if you only want to make a wake up call, don't write a book! Anyway, we may have our views on his life, his decisions and his impact on the Elvis world (as it were). Still for his dear and near ones this will be a loss. So my condolances to those who will miss him dearly.