Fact Check

Jim Morrison Found Alive in Paris Assisted Living Facility

Fake news reports that the Doors singer, who passed away in 1971, has been found alive in a Paris retirement home.

Published March 19, 2016

Claim:
Doors singer Jim Morrison has been found alive in a Paris retirement home.

On 17 March 2016, the Nevada County Scooper web site published an article reporting that Jim Morrison, the Doors singer/songwriter who passed away in Paris (under somewhat mysterious circumstances) in 1971 at age 27 had been found alive in a Paris retirement home:

According to Reuters and the Associated Press International, James Douglas Morrison, the lead singer of the rock group, "The Doors," is alive in a Paris retirement home.

Morrison, who rose to the heights of rock legend in the late 1960's, was said to have passed away in the bathtub of his Paris apartment on July 3, 1971. The fact that there was no autopsy and no one who claimed to have ever seen his corpse, the legend, mystery, and controversy surrounding the Lizard King has continued to swell.

Reuters Paris beat reporter, Belda Sauvé, who has been investigating various Morrison rumors for the past 45 years, broke the story last evening and sat down for a Scooper exclusive.

"I was contacted by a nurse from Petites Soeurs des Pauvres, an assisted living hospital for the infirmed," Ms. Sauvé told the Scooper. "This nurse informed me that she was caring for a patient named Jacques Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The patient, who is suffering from alcoholism and liver and kidney failure, as well as moderate dementia, told her he was the grandson of the famous French post-impressionist artist, Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec. Everyone believed his story because they knew that the senior Toulouse-Lautrec was a raging alcoholic that cavorted with prostitutes."

Neither Reuters not Associated Press (nor any other legitimate news agency) reported on this story, however, because it isn't true. This tale is purely the invention of the Nevada County Scooper, a site described by its disclaimer as being "satirical in scope and intent":

This website is satirical in scope and intent. It provides fake news and social criticism in a satirical setting. If this offends you, you might want to consider doing something else with your time rather than looking at the Internet. Really, the quality of your life will improve dramatically. Our intention is not to fool anyone, but if you do get fooled, don’t sweat it. Please have fun and lighten up and watch out for Snopes.com, we're not sure they've had all their vaccinations.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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