On Dec. 19,
1970, Elvis' wife, Priscilla, and his father, Vernon, confronted Elvis at
Graceland about his lavish spending habits. Elvis had spent more than $100,000
on Christmas presents.
Angered by the
confrontation, Elvis drove to the airport and caught the next available flight
out of Memphis, which happened to be bound for Washington, D.C.
After he
checked into his hotel, he changed his mind and decided he would rather head
out to his home in L.A.
Elvis goes back
to Washington, tries to get a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs badge.
A day after
arriving in L.A., Elvis called Jerry Schilling, a member of his "Memphis
Mafia," to have him arrange a flight for the both of them to go back to
Washington, D.C. Jerry didn’t know why he wanted to go back, but he suspected
that getting a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs* badge was a motive.
Elvis gets
advice from a senator.
On a red-eye
flight to Washington, D.C., Elvis met then-California Senator George Murphy.
Elvis expressed to George his desire to do something about the growing
anti-American drug culture and that having a BNND badge would help him make a
difference.
Elvis actually
liked collecting badges; thanks to his level of fame, he regularly interacted
with different police departments, for security purposes, whenever he traveled
or performed. Because of this he received many honorary police department
badges.
Elvis developed
a habit of always traveling with his collection of police badges (as well as a
few of his guns). According to Pricilla's autobiography Elvis and Me, he
expressed to her a strong desire to acquire a badge from the Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, because he thought it would make him invincible,
allowing him to travel anywhere with guns and drugs.
Elvis
personally delivers a handwritten letter to the White House.
George
suggested that Elvis write to Nixon offering to help. Before arriving in
Washington, D.C., he handwrote a letter to Nixon, introducing himself and
asking for the two to meet.
Elvis then
hand-delivered the letter to the White House gate at 6:30 a.m. on the morning
of Dec. 21, 1970.
Elvis’ letter
is delivered to Egil Krogh, Nixon’s liaison to the BNND.
After dropping
off the letter at the White House, Elvis headed over to the headquarters of the
BNND and was able to get a meeting with Deputy Director John Finlator.
Unfortunately for Elvis, though, Finlator denied his request for a badge.
Meanwhile at
the White House, Elvis’ letter was delivered to Egil "Bud" Krogh*,
who was a White House aide and liaison to the BNND.
Egil (a big
Elvis fan) thought that a meeting between Elvis and Nixon was a great idea and
persuaded his White House bosses to allow him to arrange it.
Elvis gets his
White House meeting.
Egil was able
to arrange the meeting. Elvis — who came dressed in a purple velvet jumpsuit
with matching cape and a heavy gold chain, and wearing his trademark sunglasses
— arrived at the White House at noon, accompanied by Jerry and his bodyguard
Sonny West.
Elvis shows off
his collection of badges.
After taking a
few photos, Elvis immediately began showing Nixon his badges from different
police departments.
Elvis tells
Nixon the Beatles are the real enemy.
Then, according
to Egil’s official White House account of that day:
“Presley
indicated that he thought the Beatles had been a real force for anti-American
spirit. He said that the Beatles came to this country, made their money, and
then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme. The
President nodded in agreement and expressed some surprise.
The President
then indicated that those who use drugs are also those in the vanguard of
anti-American protest. Violence, drug usage, dissent, protest all seem to merge
in generally the same group of young people.”
Elvis then told
Nixon, "I'm on your side."
Nixon orders a
badge for Elvis.
According to
Egil, Elvis then asked for a BNND badge, to which Nixon replied, "Can we
get him a badge?"
Egil said yes,
and Nixon ordered it to be done.
Elvis then told
Nixon how much he supported him, and hugged him (to everybody's surprise).
Per Elvis'
request, the meeting was kept secret (he was planning to launch a comeback and
felt it would not be good for his image). It remained a secret for over a year
until a reporter broke the story.
Elvis brings
Nixon a gun.
Before leaving,
Elvis presented Nixon with World War II–era commemorative Colt .45* he had
taken from his L.A. house and carried into the White House, much to the dismay
of the Secret Service.
The gun is on
display at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.
Elvis gets his
badge!
The BNDD
specially designed a badge* with Elvis' name on it. He picked it up later that
afternoon and then headed back to Graceland.
*It is now on
on display in his home in Graceland.
Nixon writes a
thank-you letter to Elvis.
On Dec. 31,
Nixon sent Elvis a warm thank-you note with best wishes for his family and the
new year.
Epilogue
The National
Archives gets more requests for a copy of this photo of Richard Nixon and Elvis
Presley posing in the Oval Office than for anything else in their archives —
that includes the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
