Could Jim Morrison Still Be Alive? I Want to Believe
Did Jim Morrison fake his own death? I’ve always had a soft spot for rock and roll mysteries. Maybe it started when I was a kid, watching Eddie and the…
Exactly two years after the death of Brian Jones at age 27, Jim Morrison died in Paris at the same fateful age. Morrison’s death is still a bit of a mystery. His cause of death is listed as congestive heart failure, but an autopsy wasn’t performed by French authorities, as an autopsy wasn’t then-required by law. It’s hard to imagine the rock landscape without The Doors and without Morrison’s one-of-a-kind voice and performance style. He was bold, sexy and mysterious. Countless lead singers continue to emulate his entire vibe to this very day.
Antoine Antoniol/Getty ImagesDid Jim Morrison fake his own death? I’ve always had a soft spot for rock and roll mysteries. Maybe it started when I was a kid, watching Eddie and the Cruisers, hoping against hope that Eddie Wilson wasn’t really gone. That somehow, someway, the music meant too much for him to just vanish forever. I wanted to believe he had found a way out, a way to escape the madness of fame while still watching over his legacy.
Now, Jim Morrison’s story has me feeling the same way.
(Original Caption) Jim Morrison (L), lead singer of the rock group "The Doors" is accompanied by his attorney Max Fink as he arrives at the Los Angeles Federal Building to appear before the U.S. Commissioner for extradition proceedings to Florida.
It’s been more than 50 years since the Lizard King was reportedly found dead in a Paris bathtub. But what if that’s not the whole story? What if Morrison pulled off the ultimate rockstar escape and started a new life, away from the spotlight?
The Strange Death of Jim Morrison
On July 3, 1971, Morrison’s girlfriend, Pamela Courson, claimed she found him dead in the bathtub of their Paris apartment. He was 27 years old, another tragic member of the infamous 27 Club. The official cause of death? Heart failure, no autopsy.
That alone is enough to raise eyebrows. No autopsy? For one of the biggest rock stars in the world? His death certificate was signed by a doctor no one could later trace, and by the time The Doors’ manager Bill Siddons arrived in Paris, Morrison was already in a sealed coffin. The American press didn’t even get the news until two days after he was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Too many questions. Too many inconsistencies.
And that’s exactly what fueled the wildest Morrison conspiracy theory of them all—that he faked his own death.
American Rock singer Jim Morrison (1943 - 1971), of the group the Doors, performs onstage at Town Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1967. (Photo by Jack Rosen/Getty Images)
The "Frank X" Theory: Jim Morrison in New York?
A new docuseries, Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison, digs into the idea that Morrison didn’t die that night in Paris. Instead, filmmaker Jeff Finn claims to have found Morrison living under the name Frank X, a maintenance man in Syracuse, New York.
Sounds crazy, right? But then you start looking at the details… and suddenly, you want to believe.
- Photo evidence: When shown a picture of Frank X, two of Morrison’s ex-girlfriends broke down in tears, convinced it was him.
- Physical similarities: Frank has a tiny scar where Morrison had a mole, as if it had been removed. His brown eyes appear ringed with blue, almost like he’s wearing colored contacts to cover Morrison’s famously intense blue eyes.
- Connections to Morrison’s world: In a 2013 photo, Frank X is seen with John Densmore, The Doors’ drummer. Several of Morrison’s old friends follow Frank on social media.
- A social security mystery: Morrison’s Social Security profile is still active—and it traces back to New York.
Finn even claims Morrison’s ex, Sally Stevenson, once told him about a book she was writing where a rock star fakes his death to escape fame. Morrison’s response? "If you don’t finish it, I might steal your ending."
The Ultimate Escape?
There’s a reason the idea of Morrison still being alive hits different. Unlike many rock stars who burned out chasing fame, Morrison hated it. He wasn’t just a singer—he was a poet, a writer, a wanderer who dreamed of escaping the circus of rock and roll.
In fact, Morrison had told friends he wanted to disappear. He admired Arthur Rimbaud, the French poet who vanished at 21, living the rest of his life in obscurity. Could Morrison have done the same?
Even Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek admitted he wouldn’t be surprised.
And then there’s Frank X himself. When asked if Morrison could have faked his death, he answered:
"I have no idea. But if anybody could have pulled it off, it would be him."
When directly asked if he was Jim Morrison, Frank simply said:
"I'm not Jim... except I love the song by Jimmy Cliff: 'We all are one, we are the same person.' That’s one way to look at it."
Not exactly a straight “No.”
Why I Want to Believe
I know. The logical part of my brain says Morrison probably died in Paris that night. That it was just another tragic chapter in rock and roll history.
But then, I think about Eddie Wilson. I think about how Morrison hated fame, about how easy it would have been for him to disappear.
And I think about Frank X. The scar, the contacts, the connections, the way people who knew Morrison reacted to seeing him.
It’s probably a fantasy. But if Jim Morrison is still out there somewhere, living a quiet life in New York, watching the world from the shadows…
I’d like to believe.
