{"id":6508,"date":"2017-05-19T10:50:35","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6508"},"modified":"2017-05-24T08:18:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T12:18:27","slug":"the-president-and-the-king-or-art-imitates-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6508","title":{"rendered":"The President and The King or Art Imitates Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was traveling on an airplane recently and stumbled across an interesting film while browsing the in-flight entertainment options at my seat. Elvis and Nixon <\/em>is an eighty-six-minute history\/comedy treatment of the infamous December 21, 1970 meeting between \u201cThe President and The King\u201d. \u00a0The film features Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon, Michael Shannon as Elvis, and Johnny Knoxville and Alex Pettyfer as Memphis Mafia members Sonny West and Jerry Schilling. Having worked at two libraries holding materials created by the man who photographed the meeting, I am quite familiar with Presley\u2019s visit to the White House. I had several hours remaining in my flight, the book I had been reading had become boring, and this movie seemed to scream “watch me!,” so I decided to view it.<\/p>\n

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Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon, the most popular photograph in the history of the National Archives and Records Administration. From the Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection, C0036, Box 21 Folder 8. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

The meeting between Nixon and Elvis was hastily arranged by both Presley, himself, and Special Assistant to the President, Egil \u201cBud\u201d Kroh.\u00a0 Elvis simply showed up at the White House gate on December 21, 1970 and asked that a letter he wrote to the president be delivered to him. Presley, an avid badge collector, wished to meet with Nixon to discuss America\u2019s growing problem with dangerous drugs and volunteer to help out in the effort to stop it. He also hoped that Nixon might give him a badge from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs for his efforts.\u00a0 Krogh thought a meeting with the famous rock star would provide the opportunity for the president to earn a little \u201cstreet cred\u201d with America\u2019s younger set.\u00a0 Fifteen photographs of the meeting in which Elvis and Nixon exchanged gifts and compliments were captured by White House photographer Oliver \u201cOllie\u201d Atkins.\u00a0 At the conclusion Nixon instructed assistants to make certain the appropriate official secured the badge for Elvis.<\/p>\n

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Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon (left) and Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley (right) in Liza Johnson\u2019s ELVIS & NIXON, an Amazon Studios \/ Bleecker Street release. Credit: Steve Dietl\/Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street. In this still from the film Oliver Atkins, played by Gus Rhodes, is taking the infamous photograph while Egil Kroh, played by Colin Hanks, looks on. Used with permission.<\/p><\/div>\n

The National Archives and Records Administration’s Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum holds negatives to photographs Atkins took while serving as Nixon\u2019s photographer (1968-1974). Included in this collection are all 15 images of the famous meeting between the two. The photo of the two in mid-handshake, smiling, and looking directly at the camera is regarded by NARA as it’s most requested photograph, ever.<\/p>\n

The George Mason University Libraries\u2019 Special Collections Research Center maintains a collection of photographs personally donated by Atkins in 1977. Atkins was an early neighbor and long-time friend to George Mason University since the early 1960s. This collection features about 60,000 photographs he made between 1943 and 1974. The photographs document his work as a photographer for the American Red Cross, The Saturday Evening Post<\/em>, and the White House. \u00a0The White House photographs, which comprise a selection of prints he made while he was White House Photographer, contain two different images from the Nixon-Elvis meeting. For more information on the Atkins Photograph Collection visit the finding aid at http:\/\/sca.gmu.edu\/finding_aids\/atkins.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A storage box from the the Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection, C0036. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Photographer Olliver F. Atkins. Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection, C0036, Box 27 Folder 4. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Two films have been made and several articles and books, including one by Egil Kroh, himself, have been written about the very brief but intriguing meeting. Krogh\u2019s 1994 work, The Day Elvis Met Nixon<\/em>, is his personal recollection of the meeting from memory and notes he made while taking part in it.\u00a0 Comparing the meeting as portrayed in Elvis and Nixon<\/em>\u00a0with Krogh\u2019s written description of the actual meeting might lead one to the conclusion that a bit of artistic license was taken in parts of the 2016 film.\u00a0 Of particular note is a sequence during which Elvis eats M&Ms belonging to Nixon and another where he teaches the president some karate moves. Each of these, while perhaps not historically accurate, is very funny!<\/p>\n

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Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley, December 21, 1970. Oliver F. Atkins Collection, C0036, Box 21 Folder 8. Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p><\/div>\n

I found Elvis and Nixon<\/em>\u00a0to be a fast-moving and fun film. \u00a0Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon each did a fine job portraying their character\u2019s unique posture, gesture, and speech. \u00a0The film succeeds in portraying an actual historical event\u00a0while flavoring it with clever comedic moments. It is one of those films which can reach a broad audience and illustrate a moment in history, all while being entertaining in the process.<\/p>\n

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To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a> or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was traveling on an airplane recently and stumbled across an interesting film while browsing the in-flight entertainment options at my seat. Elvis and Nixon is an eighty-six-minute history\/comedy treatment of the infamous December 21, 1970 meeting between \u201cThe President and The King\u201d. \u00a0The film features Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon, Michael Shannon as Elvis, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[198],"tags":[484,483,445,142,57,145],"class_list":["post-6508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-photography-collections","tag-elvis-and-nixon","tag-elvis-presley","tag-film","tag-oliver-atkins","tag-photography","tag-richard-m-nixon"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1GY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4417,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=4417","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":0},"title":"Nixon during Watergate","author":"admin","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Another blog post on President Richard Nixon's activities during the Watergate investigation. The first one can be found here. In June of 1973, Nixon hosted Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev for a second round of talks on arms reductions known as Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). They traveled around to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nixon and Breshnev meeting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/NixonBrezhnev.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4345,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=4345","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":1},"title":"Nixon during Watergate","author":"admin","date":"May 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today marks the 40th anniversary of the start of hearings by the Senate Watergate Committee that investigated criminal activity by White House officials and the Committee for the Re-Election of the President.\u00a0 While the hearings played out on national television and radio, President Richard M. Nixon continued to carry on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nixon and family ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/nixonandfamily197305.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5377,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5377","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":2},"title":"Two New Exhibitions in SC&A Feature Items from Collection of Rare Books by Jan Morris and Oliver Atkins Photographs","author":"Bob Vay","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SC&A has completed two new exhibits of materials from its holdings. \u00a0On exhibit displays a group of books by historian and travel writer, Jan Morris, while the other features photographs from photographer, Oliver Atkins. Both exhibitions run through December 2015. \"Excerpts from a Life Well Traveled: The University Libraries' Jan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jan Morris, as photographed in 1974. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/janmorris_headshot_f423aeb0ce-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4725,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=4725","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":3},"title":"Nixon during Watergate","author":"admin","date":"November 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Another blog post on President Richard Nixon's activities during the Watergate investigation. The first one can be found here, and the second one can be found here. On November 17, 1973, Richard Nixon famously declared \"I'm not a crook\" to a room full of Associated Press managing editors. According to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"Richard and Pat Nixon walk their dogs at Camp David (November 1973). Oliver F. Atkins photograph collection, Box 21, Folder 2. George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives. Copyright not held by George Mason University Libraries. Restricted to personal, non-commercial use only. For permission to publish, contact Special Collections and Archives.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Atkins00438.jpguserid4usernamejlee44resolution4servertypeJVAcid15iidGMUDPSdpsvcidNAusergroupOliver_F.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5117,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5117","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":4},"title":"The resignation of Richard Nixon","author":"admin","date":"August 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the final post in a series on Richard Nixon during the Watergate investigation. The first one can be found here, the second one can be found here, the third one is here, and the fourth one is here. Although Nixon made transcripts of the Oval Office tapes available\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nixon and Ford talking in the Oval Office before Nixon announced his resignation, effective at noon the following day (August 8, 1974). Oliver F. Atkins photograph collection, Box 48, Folder 1. George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives. Copyright not held by George Mason University Libraries. Restricted to personal, non-commercial use only. For permission to publish, contact Special Collections and Archives. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/NixonFordOvalOffice.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":693,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=693","url_meta":{"origin":6508,"position":5},"title":"Richard Nixon’s Guide To Leisure","author":"admin","date":"April 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Serving as President of the United States is clearly a 24\/7 job. However, just because you happen to be the leader of one of the world's superpowers, it doesn't mean you can't have a bit of downtime. Richard Nixon shows how it's done: 1. 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