“Frank Sinatra will be in the vicinity should we need or want him”
In 1972, the White House put together this list of celebrities who planned to attend the Republican National Convention.
More - RNC documents from the Nixon Library
Source: nixonlibrary.gov
Andy Warhol snaps a Polaroid of Jack Ford at the White House. Oh, and that’s Bianca Jagger sitting with them. The three met on the balcony off the White House residence. July 2, 1975.
The 2012 White House Correspondents Dinner will happen on Saturday. Jimmy Kimmel will host the event, and Lindsay Lohan is reportedly attending.
In 1962, the star line-up included actors Elliot Reid, Peter Sellers, and jazz musician Benny Goodman. Here they are arriving at the airport for the Dinner, with an unidentified man. 4/27/62
-from the JFK Library
Source: jfklibrary.org
“My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
Harry S Truman
Bacall and Truman are at the National Press Club canteen, February 12, 1945.
awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:
Lauren Bacall and Harry S. Truman
Jimmy and Andy in the Seventies
Jimmy Carter with Andy Warhol during a reception for inaugural portfolio artists. 6/14/1977
RIP Andy Warhol: August 6, 1928 - February 22, 1987
Source: research.archives.gov
Muhammad Ali turns 70 today, January 17.
The boxing legend and activist visited the White House on 1/24/83. Here’s a photo of Ali getting “punched” by President Reagan.
Happy Birthday Muhammad Ali!
-from the Reagan Library
Source: reagan.utexas.edu
Presley responded that he did his thing by “just singing.”
Elvis Presley arrives unannounced at the gate of the White House. He is there to see President Nixon and he is ready to sign up as a federal agent to combat drugs. It’s December 21, 1970.
What happens next? A Nixon Aide took these notes:
“The meeting opened with pictures taken of the President and Elvis Presley.
Presley immediately began showing the President his law enforcement paraphernalia including badges from police departments in California, Colorado and Tennessee…
The President mentioned that he thought Presley could reach young people, and that it was important for Presley to retain his credibility. Presley responded that he did his thing by ‘just singing.’ He said that he could not get to the kids if he made a speech on the stage, that he had to reach them in his own way. The President nodded in agreement…
Presley indicated to the President in an very emotional manner that he was ‘on your side.’” Read More
No video was taken of the President meeting The King, but here’s a sequence put together from the White House contact sheets.
From the Nixon Library - Elvis in the Oval Office
Source: research.archives.gov
“Why would Frank Sinatra make a good president? Well, let’s look at the facts… Frank Sinatra would make a president who was strong on defense, but again, will have concern for humanity. Scientists at his urging have developed an intercontinental ballistics missile that is not a weapon of mass destruction - it only hits photographers.”
-Ronald Reagan at the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Frank Sinatra, 1977
Ninety six years ago, Frank Sinatra was born (December 12, 1915 - May 14,1998). The entertainer’s career spanned several administrations and Sinatra supported a range of presidents including Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and later, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.
At the 1977 roast of Frank Sinatra quoted from above, Governor Reagan also joked,
“But seriously, this is Frank Sinatra’s night, and I’m here out of gratitude. Frank worked for me in all my campaigns. He was with me all the way to the Governors Mansion. Without his help, who knows? I might have been president.”
Just 4 years later here they are, with Nancy Reagan, in the White House. In the photo, President and Nancy Reagan receive a baseball from their friend, Sinatra, during a meeting in the Oval Office.
Happy birthday to the Chairman of the Board! What’s your favorite Frank Sinatra song?
Source: reagan.utexas.edu
Let’s go back to the days when Firestarter was in the theaters and Ronald Reagan was in the White House…
President Reagan with Drew Barrymore at a ceremony launching the Young Astronauts program on the south lawn, 1984.
Source: reagan.utexas.edu
Princess Diana dancing with John Travolta in the White House
On this day in 1997, people around the world mourned Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in France. This picture of her dancing with John Travolta at a 1985 White House State Dinner comes from our holdings at the Reagan Library. November 9, 1985.
-read more at the US National Archives on Facebook
