LAS VEGAS -- Elias F. Ghanem, who as chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission presided over the Mike Tyson ear-biting case, died Monday at his home. He was 62.

Ghanem had been diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1998. A Lebanese immigrant, he rose from emergency room doctor to become one of Las Vegas' most prominent physicians.

Nicknamed the "physician to the stars," Ghanem's patient list included Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby and Ann-Margaret and gaming giant Barron Hilton.

"He was an amazing man, (and) I count it a great privilege in my life that I got to be his close personal friend," said former President Bill Clinton, who visited Ghanem last week at a Las Vegas hospital.

Former Nevada Gov. Mike O'Callaghan called Ghanem "a very special person" in the lives of four generations of his family.

"He not only was an outstanding family doctor, he practiced medicine with both his head and heart," said O'Callaghan, Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Ghanem was first appointed to the boxing commission in July 1987 and served four times as chairman, holding the one-year post for the past four years.

During his tenure, Ghanem was credited with instituting health and safety measures that have been adopted worldwide. They include mandatory tests for HIV, and hepatitis B and C.

Ghanem presided over a hearing that drew worldwide attention after Tyson bit the ear of ex-heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield in 1997. Tyson's boxing license was revoked and he was fined a record $3 million.

Born March 12, 1939, in Haifa, Israel, Ghanem was one of two sons of an oil company executive. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Ghanem emigrated to the United States in 1963 and enrolled at Charlotte College in North Carolina and later at Duke.

After an internship at UCLA, Ghanem moved to Las Vegas in 1971. He soon became an expert in emergency medicine. After a stint at Sunrise Hospital, he opened a 24-hour clinic near the Las Vegas Hilton. It grew into a string of clinics.

Ghanem is survived by his wife, Jody Ghanem; two sons, Elias Ghanem II and Farid Ghanem; a daughter, Crystal Ann Ghanem; a brother, Nasser Ghanem; and six nieces, all of Las Vegas.

Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Catholic Church. Interment will be in Las Vegas, Palm Mortuaries officials said.