Elvis' lover says his tragic demise was avoidable as she shares reason behind downward spiral

A two-time Oscar -nominated star who was Elvis Presley' s lover during the mid 60s believes his tragic demise was avoidable.

Veteran entertainer Carol Connors claims that the King would have stood a chance of beating drug and health issues had he accepted the lead role in A Star Is Born opposite Barbra Streisand . However his manager Colonel Tom Parker clashed with Streisand and pushed Elvis away from that 1975 opportunity.

The extraordinary story is one of hundreds she has to share as part of a celebration of her astonishing Hollywood career in the memoir Elvis, Rocky & Me.

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Carol outlines her whirlwind life of "highs and lows" which saw her discovered by tormented producer Phil Spector as a teenager. Her talent as a musician and songwriter saw her co-write the 1976 Rocky theme tune Gonna Fly Now for Stallone’;s breakthrough movie - creating the lyrics in the shower. But her interactions and friendship with Elvis remain the most astonishing moments in her life.

Carol exclusively revealed: "I saw him right near the end when he was at the International (Hotel) in Vegas. It was very tragic because I believe this from my heart. If Elvis would've done the movie A Star Is Born he’d be alive. He was offered the role Kris Kristofferson took, but Colonel Parker and (Barbra) Streisand did not get along."

She continued: "And he told me 'My boy ain't going to play no second fiddle to a Streisand and end up a drunk.' They turned it down. I believe he would've gotten nominated an Oscar. I don't know if he would've won it, but he would've been up against us with Rocky. I believe it totally that it would've saved his life; perhaps made him look at his life."

She also spoke on his love for acting.

"Returning to films would've given him a sense of purpose," she said. "He wanted to be respected as an actor. He loved James Dean and felt he could have that range."

However Carol believes Elvis’ "demons" - increased by opiate medication and life stresses added to his inner circle being unable to convince him to seek rehab -were too much.

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She said: "It was heartbreaking because when we were together he drank water. And I saw all the different changes. And I was on my own path. He was so happy for me. I just wish somebody would have done an intervention. But I don’t know If anybody could have - because Elvis was Elvis. “He was beyond super stardom. It happens to very few people at that pinnacle. And it happened to him and Marilyn Monroe."

Elvis, who took a cocktail of drugs in his final year, passed in his Graceland mansion bathroom on August 16 1977, with medical examiners deciding his fatal heart attack was prompted by a blocked bowel.

Carol came into The King’s life when Elvis ordered friends to be introduce him after being wowed by her voice on 1958’s hit single To Know Him Is To Love Him.

Six years on, the pair embarked on a secret love affair while he was seeing Viva Las Vegas co-star Ann Margaret and future wife Priscilla.

"He once told my friend: 'we went together for two and half years'; but I corrected him: 'It was more off than on.' for nine months," she shared. "I always believed Ann-Margret was one of his great loves."

She added: "I asked him once, but he wouldn’t answer. I always wondered how he felt about me, and one of the The Memphis Mafia told me ‘Elvis adored you. He thought you were so pretty.’ I knew people said then I looked like Priscilla. We always remained friends, because he was my first.”She joked: “I didn’t have a baby with him - because I too stupid. I will always remember him as being so beautiful."