Orson Welles would be proud. The hoax of Paul the Octopus is still drawing plenty of news coverage from beyond the grave. His story still has legs, even if nobody can predict which way they will go. But it’s true. The Independent revealed that the amazing cephalopod that got lucky on a 256/1 chance of predicting the outcomes of eight matches correctly for the 2010 World Cup was an elaborate PR stunt by British entertainment conglomerate, the Merlin Entertainments Group (MEG).

News broke that Paul died of natural causes Tuesday in his tank at the Sea Life aquarium in western Germany at the ripe old age of 2 ½. The death was not unexpected, since octopuses rarely live beyond two years. For those who don’t know, MEG manages the aquarium. MEG used Paul as a PR test, highlighting the naivety of the media and how anything sports-related can attract coverage. The truth is that Paul did not actually accurately predict the outcome of all those matches. Ever since his inception into the press, Paul was relentless marketed as a brand to make money. He even had his own agent, Chris Davis, who did 30 media interviews Wednesday, including a breaking news piece on BBC.

Davis, who has a showbiz list of more than 100 clients, said the aquarium was getting 200 media members per day asking questions in the summer. They needed someone to handle it, so Davis became Paul’s agent. There have been some fabrications regarding Paul, such as him recording an album of Elvis songs. But, there are some things in the works for the octopus, such as cuddly toys, an iPhone app, and a documentary due to release next year. According to the doc’s film company, Cinema Vertige, it’s called “Tentacles of Divination (The Extraordinary Tribulations and Fabulous Destiny of Paul the Psychic Octopus, Seer of Seers).” Seems a bit wordy, right?

The World Cup PR stunt worked though as attendance at the Sea Life Aquarium has quadrupled thanks to Paul. Davis said Paul has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds since the summer and was on his way to being worth a £1m brand by January. There is a happy ending to this story. The profits from the aquarium are going to a turtle sanctuary in Greece. No matter how you view it, Paul will not be forgotten. He is expected to be buried on the aquarium’s grounds and a modest memorial will be erected at the aquarium in his memory.

A video news brief on the death of Paul the Octopus can be viewed here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11629144