(E! Online) (11/2/03)

By Joal Ryan

Edited By Michael Bennett

NEW YORK, NY - While you were out breaking your back for "The Man" last year, ELVIS PRESLEY was making $40 million in his eternal sleep.

The King, who fell off his Graceland throne in 1977, topped Forbes' annual rundown of top-earning celebs, released Friday.

This is the third time the money-counting magazine has compiled a list that makes working stiffs feel bad about their paltry paychecks. And it's the third time Forbes has crowned Elvis the liveliest dead guy around.

Presley cleaned up thanks to his bestselling greatest-hits collection, Elv1s 30 #1 Hits (with more than 9 million copies sold), and a new remix of "Rubberneckin'" that was used by Toyota to sell cars, Forbes said. And, as if the deceased icon needed more walking-around money, attendance increased 4 percent at Graceland.

His $40 million was up $3 million from the last survey.

Rounding out Forbes' Top 10: Peanuts creator Charles Schulz ($32 million); Lord of the Rings master J.R.R. Tolkien ($22 million); Beatles John Lennon ($19 million) and George Harrison ($16 million); kiddie author Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel ($16 million); racer Dale Earnhardt ($15 million); rapper Tupac Shakur ($12 million); reggae legend Bob Marley ($9 million); and silver-screen siren Marilyn Monroe ($8 million).

All but Monroe were in the Top 10 last year. A 1962 overdose victim, the blonde bombshell nonetheless showed spunked, moving up one spot, from 11th place, and showing $1 million more than the previous survey.

Boosted by the ever-expanding Rings universe (DVDs, movies, books), Tolkien, who died from complications of a bleeding ulcer in 1973, enjoyed the biggest uptick, moving up four spaces and adding a whopping $10 million take to his 2002 total.

Jimi Hendrix had a tough year. For starters, the guitar great remained dead for the 33rd consecutive year. On top of that, he fell from eighth on Forbes' list, to 14th. His earnings slipped from $8 million to $7 million.

In all, the magazine ranked 19 celebs, up from the unlucky 13 included on the previous two lists. The survey took into account royalties, licensing and merchandising earnings raked in from September 2002 to September 2003. In the matter of Marley, incense stores apparently were not polled, meaning his estate came by the bulk of its riches the old-fashioned way, reissued CDs.

The deadest entry on the list was James Dean, who passed in 1955, but still managed to make $5 million from a decades-over film career that consisted of all of three films.

Diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins, whose strict low-carb regimen continues to turn many a Hollywood starlet into fat-burning machines, was Forbes' "youngest" dead celeb. Atkins slipped, and hit his head on an icy New York sidewalk in April. He died eight days later, at age 72. Though gone, he left behind a thriving brand name--books, food, etc.--that grossed $6 million, good for 17th place.

Forbes, which ranks everything and everyone from mega-richies like Bill Gates to mega-resorts like France's Chateau Mont-Tremblant, is not easily impressed. The magazine didn't give a dead celeb a sniff until the stiff had earned at least $5 million.

Musician types were most represented. Eleven singers, songwriters and royalty-rich rockers made the cut--12, if you count actor-singer-swinger multi-tasker Frank Sinatra (11th place, $7 million).

In general, it still pays to be alive. Adam Sandler recently was lauded by Guinness World Records as Hollywood's top-earning actor, with $49.5 million added to his bank balance in 2001. Not even dead Elvis could match that.

But there's still hope for the King. Forbes said it expected Presley to continue his hot streak with to the recent release of yet another new CD, Elvis 2nd to None, featuring the previously unreleased song, "I'm a Roustabout."

Here's a complete look at Forbes' list of top-earning dead celebrities:

1. Elvis Presley, $40 million
2. Charles Schulz, $32 million
3. J.R.R. Tolkien, $22 million
4. John Lennon, $19 million
5. George Harrison, $16 million
6. Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, $16 million
7. Dale Earnhardt, $15 million
8. Tupac Shakur, $12 million
9. Bob Marley, $9 million
10. Marilyn Monroe, $8 million
11. Frank Sinatra, $7 million
12. Richard Rodgers, $7 million
13. Oscar Hammerstein II, $7 million
14. Jimi Hendrix, $7 million
15. Cole Porter, $6 million
16. Irving Berlin, $6 million
17. Dr. Robert Atkins, $6 million
18. James Dean, $5 million
19. Jerry Garcia, $5 million

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