The circumstances of rock legend Jim Morrison’s death have always been clouded by some mystery.
The 27-year-old frontman for The Doors was found dead in the bathtub of an apartment in Paris on July 3, 1971. Though there were witnesses, no autopsy was performed and he was buried quickly in a Paris cemetery. A leading theory for his death was heart failure from a drug overdose, likely heroin.
But a new documentary series streaming on Apple TV+ challenges that story.
The series, called “Before the End,” suggests Morrison may have faked his death. And it offers this dramatic theory: Morrison could be alive and living incognito in Syracuse.
Jeff Finn, the writer-director-researcher for the series, points to a man known simply as “Frank” or “Frank X” who works as a maintenance man in Syracuse.
The film suggests that Morrison met a Syracuse man named Frank, possibly at Rochester’s Eastman Theater, and in some way acquired his ID.
Finn is a self-described “superfan” of Morrison and The Doors who produced the series through his own company, Z-Machine. He says he’s spent 39 years researching Morrison.
As further evidence for his theory, Finn claims that two of Morrison’s ex-girlfriends were shown a picture of the man in Syracuse and burst into tears because of the resemblance. The man in Syracuse also has a scar on his nose in the same place where the real Morrison once had a mole.
The series includes an interview with “Frank,” who gives ambiguous answers to questions about his identity. And at one point, Finn, also serving as narrator, implies Frank could be an impostor.
The crazy claim that the singer once known as “The Lizard King” could be hiding in Syracuse has caught the attention of media outlets around the world.
“Not only does Jeff (Finn) believe Morrison is alive and well, he also set out to prove that he is working as a maintenance man called Frank in Syracuse, New York,” according to a story about the series at the British tabloid The Daily Mail.
A headline at radaronline.com (owned by the same company as the National Enquirer) takes the claim even further: “‘Proof’ Emerges The Doors Wildman Jim Morrison FAKED His Death — and is Alive and Well at 79 Working as a Maintenance Man in Syracuse, New York.”
Such interest does not surprise Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University media studies professor and director of SU’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
On one hand, he wrote in an email to syracuse.com, “It’s a really appealing idea: beloved legend is still alive…and living amongst us right here in the Salt City!!!!. And if Jim Morrison were to resurface from the grave — Twilight Zone style — where better to do so than the birthplace of Rod Serling!”
But then, Thompson said, reality sets in.
“These kinds of documentaries can be so convincing but usually have lots of issues,” he wrote. “I’ve seen 10 people in the last 2 days that look pretty much like Frank X … and therefore, I guess, what Morrison would look like as an old guy.”
Morrison went to Paris in 1971 after The Doors finished recording the album “L.A. Woman.” Reports at the time said he was taking a leave from the band.
His death at age 27 came around the same time as those of three other famous musicians of the same age: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones (of the Rolling Stones). That contributed to conspiracy theories about the “27 Club.”
It’s not hard to be skeptical of the film’s claims.
“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” said Chuck Chao, who has been promoting concerts in Syracuse for nearly 50 years. “I think I’ll go out now and tell people Jim Morrison is my neighbor.”