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(#11) The Famous Photo Of The Duo Is The Single Most Requested Photo In National Archives History
The handshake that preceded the spontaneous hug between Presley and President Nixon is the subject of one of the most famous photographs in White House history. Photographer Ollie Atkins had snapped the photo of the meeting; the picture perfectly captures the bizarreness of the occasion - and the powerful dichotomy between the two men.
The image has since become the photograph that is most frequently requested from the US National Archives.
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(#1) Presley Decided To Fly To Washington On A Whim
By the end of the '60s, Presley had turned his career focus back to music after a stint in the film industry, but he'd also become prone to prescription pill use and erratic behavior. Such an episode occurred in December 1970, when Presley got upset that his father and wife thought it was excessive to spend $100,000 on Christmas gifts.
Presley stormed off to the Memphis, TN, airport and boarded a plane headed to Washington, DC, where he got a hotel room. He soon lost interest in the city and returned to the airport, hopping on a plane bound for Los Angeles, CA. He stayed in California for a single day before he resolved that he had business to attend to in the nation's capital.
Presley's wife, Priscilla, recalled, "We were mystified. For the first time, he was traveling alone - without even one bodyguard. Elvis didn't even know his own phone number, nor did he carry cash. How was he going to get around?"
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(#12) Presley's Wife Claims It Was All A Scheme To Legally Carry Substances Into Foreign Countries
According to at least one source close to the King, Presley's intentions were less than honest when he went to the White House in search of a federal badge. His wife at the time, Priscilla, wrote in her memoir, Elvis and Me:
The [official] badge represented some kind of ultimate power to him... he [believed it meant he could] legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any [substances] he wished.
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(#2) Presley Wrote A Letter To Nixon On American Airlines Stationary
After boarding a late-night flight to Washington, DC, Presley decided to make a formal request for a meeting with President Nixon in writing; he used American Airlines stationary. The hurriedly scrawled letter featured questionable penmanship and heaped praise of the president:
Dear Mr. President,
First, I would like to introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley and admire you and have great respect for your office...
P.S. I believe that you, Sir, were one of the Top 10 Outstanding Men of America also. I have a personal gift for you which I would like to present to you, and you can accept it, or I will keep it for you until you can take it.
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(#10) Nixon Gave Presley A Federal Agent Badge And Sent Him On His Way
The meeting ended with what Bud Krogh described as "a surprising, spontaneous gesture," in which Presley "put his left arm around the president and hugged him." Then, President Nixon turned to Krogh and asked, "Can we get him a badge?"
The answer was yes, and Presley walked out of the White House in possession of a genuine badge from a predecessor agency of the DEA - but he did not have any actual authority.
Presley had brought along his collection of badges from various police forces to show the president, and his new federal badge was added to this, as it functioned as little more than a souvenir. That didn't stop Presley from referring to himself as a "Federal Agent at Large."
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(#5) Presley Posted Up At A Nearby Hotel And Waited For Nixon's Reply
Presley appeared in DC ready to wait as long as it took for Nixon to respond. In his letter, Presley stated his intention to stay in a local hotel under a pseudonym, Jon Burrows, until the two could meet. He wrote:
Sir, I am staying at the Washington Hotel, Room 505-506-507. I have two men who work with me by the name of Jerry Schilling and Sonny West. I am registered under the name of Jon Burrows. I will be here for as long as long as it takes to get the credentials of a Federal Agent.
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Amazon Pictures once filmed a comedy about a legendary meeting between the superstar Elvis Presley and US President Nixon in 1970. Many people have also seen this classic photo of them. In the morning, Elvis Presley personally handed a handwritten note to the White House security guard, stating that he wanted to visit the president, and presented him with a pistol from World War II as a gift.
Elvis Presley described that he wants to be appointed to a position in the national fight against drug crimes. Richard Nixon and his officers believed that Elvis Presley was sincere and he could help combat drug abuse in America, so they arranged a meeting that afternoon. The random tool introduced 12 details about this weird meeting in the White House.
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