rudkipon66 Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 The Elvis is Alive Museum is on old US 40 in Wright City, MO west of St. Louis. It was one of the great roadside attractions in the St. Louis area and the country...Elvis is alive somewhere, but one of his messengers has, alas, turned the light off...Tsingtao, Kip (by the by, everything in the museum is for sale in one big lot on Ebay (go to Ebay and type "elvis is alive museum" in the search blank...at last check the lot was going for $7,300.00...there is a couple of days left, from what I recall) Dave has LEFT THE BUILDING After a 17-year crusade, minister puts his Elvis is Alive Museum collection up for bid on eBay. By Joel Currier ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 11/02/2007 WRIGHT CITY — While Bill Beeny doesn't expect Elvis will swagger into his quirky roadside museum, he still believes "the King" is out there somewhere — alive and well. But, after 17 years, Beeny has decided to end his crusade of proving that Elvis never died. The 81-year-old Baptist minister has put his Elvis is Alive Museum collection up for bid on eBay in hopes that someone will carry on his mission. A 16-foot-tall wooden statue of Elvis in a white jumpsuit towers above the 400-square-foot museum, which sits on a stretch of frontage road and is visible from Interstate 70 in Wright City. Inside the tiny two-room shrine are hundreds of photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, copies of FBI files, a gravestone and a full-size bronze casket with the remains of a wax Elvis head attached to a stuffed body dressed in a polyester suit. Beeny, an evangelist who has preached on radio and television and run missions in the St. Louis area for years, is trading his passion for the King to help the poor, hungry and those addicted to drugs. "I've enjoyed it, and it does tear out a little piece of my heart to close it down," Beeny said. "I feel I should do something more important." The money from the sale of the collection will go toward child care for single mothers, opening a food pantry and providing therapy for drug addicts in fast-growing Warren County, Beeny said. He hopes a responsible buyer will open a new museum dedicated to the theory that Elvis lives. The museum's facade conjures memories of kitschy roadside treasures of the past when cross-country travelers drove on Route 66. The paint is fading and chipping off the Elvis statue out front. Beeny sells plenty of oddball souvenirs, such as Elvis toilet paper, Elvis drivers licenses and Beeny's own book, "DNA Proves That Elvis is Alive." But he says he has never charged anyone a penny to view the collection. "The museum has always been a hobby," Beeny said. "It's given me a sense of joy." It is the only museum in the world that obtained Elvis' DNA when he was performing and the DNA of the cadaver buried in Elvis' grave, Beeny claims. He says a lab in North Carolina tested the DNA samples and confirmed they were not from the same person. Although thousands of articles from media across the country and worldwide have covered Beeny's obsession, nobody dropped by to see the collection during a three-hour stretch Thursday. Wright City Mayor Eileen Klocke had heard about Beeny's decision to shut down, but said it wasn't exactly the buzz around town. She admitted she had yet to see the museum. "I might sneak in there and just check it out," she said. On Thursday evening, the highest bid for the museum's collection on eBay stood at $640. Beeny insists it is worth many times that amount, and will opt to put the collection in storage if no bidders meet his minimum asking price, which he declined to reveal. Forbes.com on Tuesday released its list of the top-earning dead celebrities, and Elvis ranked first, with earnings of $49 million in the past 12 months. Elvis would have turned 72 in January. Elvis probably would support his decision to trade the museum for social work, Beeny says, but he doesn't hold out hope that the King will drop by Wright City to deliver his blessing. Beeny thinks Elvis is vacationing somewhere in Hawaii, where he filmed several movies. "I'm sure he's got bigger fish to fry," Beeny said. "If I get a million-dollar check, I'll know who it's from." jcurrier@post-dispatch.com | 636-255-7210 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 That's a shame - or at least it's a shame that I haven't seen it. Aside from the DNA tests, there doesn't seem to be anything unique or irreplaceable in the museum but the museum itself is certainly unique and, obviously, Bill Breeny is, too. Sadly, it isn't actually "going for $7,300" since he has a reserve set that is apparently higher than that. I've added it to my watch list and hope someone steps up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted November 9, 2007 Report Share Posted November 9, 2007 Beeny lowered his reserve and the auction has closed with a winning bid of $8300. Nothing to do now but wait to see what winner imjustandy has in mind for the collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Reese Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 Okay, which one of you folk is imjustandy on eBay and placed the winning bid of $8300? Let us know where you are putting the new museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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