Jim Morrison, frontman of The Doors, told people throughout his early career that his parents and brother had died, when in fact they were alive. His father, George Stephen Morrison, was a US Navy Admiral who commanded forces during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964, which triggered American involvement in the Vietnam War. Morrison began spreading this false story when he enrolled at UCLA in 1964 and continued it for years, even including it in promotional materials for The Doors' debut album in 1967, before later admitting the deception to Rolling Stone magazine.

In 1969, Morrison explained his lie to the press, claiming he "just didn't want to involve them" and dismissing it as "some kind of joke." However, he refused to reconcile with his family, turning his mother away from a concert in Washington, DC. Speculation suggests Morrison fabricated the deaths to shield his parents from unwanted attention and potential embarrassment from his more provocative lyrics, though this theory raises questions since he began telling the lie before achieving any fame, whilst still a UCLA student. His father's strict, controlling household style appears to have been a significant factor in Morrison's estrangement from his family.