New show, exhibits to mark Elvis 75th birthday

Elvis Presley performs in concert during his ''Aloha From Hawaii'' 1972 television special.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Elvis Presley's legacy will be marked in force next year in a 75th anniversary birthday celebration featuring a new Cirque du Soleil production, movie marathons, a Facebook application and a cruise.

Elvis Presley Enterprises on Thursday rolled out a year of events to mark what would have been the singer's 75th birthday on January 8, including a cake-cutting ceremony at his Graceland home in Memphis with wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie.

Celebrations during the year include a special exhibit at Graceland of Elvis costumes, an all-day marathon on TV channel TCM of Elvis movies on January 8, an exhibit of Presley's impact on pop culture at the Newseum in Washington D.C., and a new Jailhouse Rock doll from the Barbie collection.

Canadian circus group Cirque du Soleil will unveil its own tribute to the life and music of the King of Rock and Roll with its new show "Viva ELVIS" in Las Vegas, which premieres at the end of January.

Presley died on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42 of heart problems and a cocktail of prescription drugs. He is one of the top earning dead celebrities, bringing in $55 million in 2009, according to Forbes.com.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)