Press Release nr97-80
Press Release · Tuesday, July 29, 1997

Washington, DC

College Park, MD . . . To mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley on August 16, 1997, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has launched a new on-line exhibit entitled, "When Nixon Met Elvis." The new exhibit on the World Wide Web uses original letters, memoranda and photographs from the holdings of the National Archives to tell the behind-the-scenes story of the historic meeting between President Nixon and Elvis Presley on the morning of December 21, 1970.

Elvis Presley personally delivered a 5-page letter to the northwest gate of the White House requesting a meeting with the President. The letter, written on American Airlines stationery, outlined Mr. Presley's intention to offer "any service that I can to help the Country out. I have no concern or Motives other than helping the country out . ." He also said that he hoped he could obtain the credentials of a Federal agent in the war on drugs.

The full text of the letter and the 28 photographs taken on the occasion of that meeting are featured in the exhibit. High-resolution versions are available for downloading. Also on-line is Presidential aide Egil Krogh's detailed synopsis of President Nixon and Mr. Presley's conversation that took place that afternoon in the Oval Office.

This exhibit is the most recent addition to NARA's award-winning Online Exhibit Hall, which has been hailed by the Los Angles Times as "one of the most captivating sites online." All the documents and photographs in When Nixon Met Elvis are in the custody of NARA's Nixon Presidential Materials Staff, College Park, MD.

NARA's Online Exhibit Hall may be accessed at http://www.archives.gov/exhibit-hall/.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail at public.affairs@nara.gov. Visit the National Archives Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.archives.gov/.

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