Danny Gans Death Similar to Elvis Presley
June 10 2009, Published 10:38 a.m. ET
Danny Gans and Elvis Presley had something else in common besides dying young and being Las Vegas showstoppers. Both entertainers were linked after their deaths with Dilaudid, a highly addictive opiate nicknamed "drug store heroin."
Las Vegas Coroner Mike Murphy ruled Tuesday that Gans' death on May 1 was caused by toxic levels of the painkiller, officially known as hydromorphone. Murphy characterized it as an accidental death.
Dilaudid, said to be two to eight times more potent than morphine, was Presley’s favorite drug.
Gans, a vocal impressionist, included a karate-kicking overweight Presley among his spoofs of musical greats. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
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