flight had given him the contact. it was either that or a private investigator john o'grady who had worked on some cases with elvis and who had introduced us to paul friesz who was a member of the bureau of -- >> narcotics and dangerous drugs. >> narcotics and dangerous drugs. that's the full letter to the dea. >> elvis had hired and he always had a private investigator working? >> no, not always, but a few times this was the same guy that, through his attorney was recommended and they kind of became friends. the guy would come to the shows in vegas and tell elvis these great stories and about clients, and then i would go -- you know, elvis and i would have a few arguments from time to time which i loved because it was a real friendship and i'll never forget, i said elvis, they're

telling us about this guy. do you think maybe he -- elvis got real mad at me because he loved the stories. >> yeah. >> but, so, anyway, through that guy is how this badge came into elvis' mind. at one of the few dinners elvis ever went out to at chase's in beverly hills. so that was a year earlier and he'd been trying to find a way to get that badge since then. he went to a meeting and left me his phone number and i kind of started reminiscing about the howard hues books i'd read where he would have some of his guys and our guy and sitting right here in the hotel and he had not come back for a year or so so i'm hoping, boy, i hope they had nice room service because i could be here a long time.

i get a call asking for me and he said this is the white house staff and the president has read mr. presley's letter and would like to meet him in 30 minutes. and i said great. i don't know what i had to do with scheduling. i know where mr. presley is, and i will get that message to him immediately. so i called elvis and this guy picks up the phone and -- hello? i said, yeah, mr. presley there? who's calling? i'm referring to mr. presley, and he said okay. elvis gets on the phone and, boy, he is down. he said, jerry, i'm not doing any good here.

finn wouldn't give him the badge. i said, elvis, you just got a call from the white house and the president wants to meet you in less than 30 minutes. now here's the kind of friend elvis presley is. most people would have beelined it to the white house. he said, jerry, go downstairs and we'll swing by and pick you up. he always included, you know, his friends, and that was a big one. and so i go downstairs. ironically, sonny's coming in from memphis, and i see him getting out of the cab with his luggage and i said give it to the bellman because i see the limousine coming through and here's elvis, we're going to the white house. sonny jumped in the car and we took off up the street to the white house. >> so you get to the white house and this time they let you in. >> we got in, yeah. guards were family.

>> did they -- you don't expect -- actually, you don't personally expect to go to the oval office. >> no, in fact we were told because elvis was the first one to mention it and only mr. presley can go and it was -- oh, and after elvis left there was some conversation, you know, sonny and i said, you know, elvis is really hard to say no to and the white house aide said, you know, it's not even up to the president and it's a secret service. it has to be a certain secret service contingency to, you know, how many people there -- i don't know. anyway, the phone rings, and the same guy that told us that answered the phone, and i just saw his face. he was dumbfounded, and he said the president wants to meet mr.

presley's friends, and of course, we go into the other room. >> now, before presley went into the oval office, before elvis went into the oval office they took his gun away from him, didn't they? >> well, elvis was sharp enough to know, first of all, he did two things. number one, he said i'm carrying weapons and he showed them, and i don't know if he kept them. i think they were left in the office that were used because there was an interrogation. it's a tough word, but why do you want to meet the president? what do you want to talk about? and it was a real nice, serious conversation between bud and elvis. sonny and i were there, but this

was really -- and i was really proud of my friend because he was -- he knew what he wanted to do. everything he had said in the letter he was really, really putting meaning to it in this conversation with bud and -- >> in the letter, he talks about the role he wants to play in helping bridge the gap between the administration and young people to move young people away from drugs. >> yes. >> that's what he says in the letter. >> yes. >> had you heard him talk about this before? >> yes. it's really funny how observing history when elvis came onboard he was the controversial, he was the threat to the youth. he was, you know -- politicians, religious people were speak out against him in the early '50s,

mid-'50s. it was real serious, and i produced a lot of documentaries on elvis, and i know this history very well and that was hard to believe just as we talked about the segregation situation. elvis went through all of that and then he went into the army and he came back and people were saying, hey, even those establishment people, he's a pretty cool guy. he's a responsible guy, and elv elvis, when he started seeing ten years later rock groups and stuff, he felt somewhat, obviously, responsible for the new rock 'n' roll movement. i mean, he -- if you had to pick one time, one person and arguably there was a lot of influence, if you had to pick one it's elvis presley, okay?

so he felt he was proud of that and he felt a responsibility toward it, and when he started hearing -- and he hated to see a rock group walk on stage with torn jeans, back then and messy t-shirts. he said people pay to see a performance. i mean, he really -- he really wanted it to be a respected art form. it's just, you know, the youth, the rebel becomes the establishment and that's kind of what was happening, but also it was a very tough time in our history, and for one of the first times what i'd said earlier, young people, this music gave us a voice for the first time. this was being used politically as well and elvis never believed

in using the music politically. that's just the era he came up with. that was not -- so with all of those things, that's what that letter meant. that meant he really did want to do something and elvis had a way that he could talk to people. people would talk to him. i mean, big stars, politicians and they would talk to him and tell him things that, you know, they would aren't say publicly and there were a couple of big-name musicians that i'm not going to mention, but where elvis felt one of them in particular was a great artist and he was kind of going through this period and changed this dress and, you know, cut his music. elvis talked to him and said, man, that's not who you are and

the guy changed back. sowell i haves had influence and he really had influence, specially in the music business and he knew he could talk to anybody, you know? he could go to the worst section of town and where aear all of t diamonds and people accepted elvis presley and he really wanted to get -- i mean, this is a worn-out phrase, but he wanted to give something back, and if you're elvis, this is how you do it. >> so it wasn't because some would say that he wanted the badge, but it was more than just getting a badge. >> it was more -- he wanted the badge, too, but it was more than that. i think both things were equally important, if you will. >> so the call comes in. you're sitting there and the secret service guy is very surprised. you've now been invited into the oval office, you and sonny. tell me what happened.

>> i never will forget the door was closed, and we get to the door and who opens the door, not secret service, not the president, but elvis and i kind of -- it was like being at graceland. there are similarities between the two buildings, if you will, and he opens the door real wide and he's beaming. i know whatever -- things are going well, but i -- just a second or two i see this oval room, and i realize that the oval office is oval. that's why it's called -- you never think about that when you see flat pictures, you know? and the camera at the end, the president was on his desk, president nixon signing something. i was going to be a history teacher and i was stunned.

elvis thought i was afraid and he kind of pushes me in. it's okay, don't be afraid, come on in and then sonny came in behind me and the president hears us and he wasn't sitting down at his desk. he was leaning over his desk and he came over to elvis and he made this great introduction, and i could tell that he was proud that sonny and i were there with him, and of course, bud was there and elvis and bud had gotten along really great. bud really got what elvis wanted to do and where he was coming from, and so president nixon came over and kind of -- like a guy's guy hit me on the arm and said elvis, you got a couple of big ones here. he said you guys play football? we talked a little bit about football, and elvis kind of -- oh, and then the president went

and got some cuff links, presidential seal cuff links for sonny and came back and gave them to us, just a real warm feeling. another thought i had, i was in the presence a very different feel, but two guys, greats at the top of their field who had both come through some tough times at recent, and i really saw what the bond was. they both related to each other and they were both very -- it was an honest thing. neither one was trying to impress the other one. they both -- and that was a remarkable thing to experience, to be there and see that and see that, and, you know, these guys

stayed in touch for the rest of their lives. when president nixon had the football, and elvis called him in the hospital they had a nice talk. when elvis was in the hospital president nixon called him, and i mean, it wasn't just a one-time thing, that respect. and i remember after elvis' passing, a long time after, and i saw president nixon doing a speech, and i could still tell the way he talked about my friend there was still respect. you can read, and you can talk, and you understand the iconic image and there was a movie made that they actually asked me to produce. it was a comedy, but this was a true american story and these guys, this really represented what i think this country is all about and it was -- it was a

real sincere, wonderful american story. >> when you get the cuff links, elvis decides they're not good enough. >> no. he -- you know, again, bless his heart, he doesn't forget anybody. he's thinking of our wives, and he goes, mr. president -- he called him mr. president, he said mr. president, you know, they have wives, too, and the president said oh, well, let's see what we can -- let's see what we can find. he walked back over to his desk and he's rummaging around. this is how comfortable elvis felt. elvis was rummaging in the president's desk with him being looking for things for our wives, and then there were some pennants that had a presidential seal and the president and elvis gave us, actually the president gave it to us.

>> did the president look awkward when this was happening? >> yeah. he did in body language, but i don't know. i just remember a smile in his eye. he, you know, and elvis gave him another hug, you know? elvis was hugging the president of the united states and and it was somebody that had just given the christmas pressen, if you will, i don't think president nixon or anybody was used to, and that's how elvis expressed himself and there was one thing about elvis, he was himself, you know? he had a big heart and it meant so much to him. >> what -- what does he say to you when you leave the oval office?

>> well, first of all, it was kind of like -- you know the president got it and i didn't want to stay around because the badge was on the way. so they start taking us on a tour of the white house, but there was just too much commotion. the girls that worked at the white house were peeking out of the offices, and elvis kisses one of the secretaries and they're trying to -- and at this point after leaving the president, the tour should have happened before meeting the president if that would have worked, but that was -- i would say outside of the birth of his daughter, probably the second most important moment maybe in

elvis' life. i hope that's right, but for him meeting his president and being accepted that way. >> what does he say when he sees the situation room? >> well, you know, another one of our favorite films was "dr. strangelove" with peter sellers. i don't know if you remember, but they had this big war room and one of the characters is i'm trying to think of the actor that played that part, and he iis like the military commander and strangelove is this guy in the wheelchair that elvis could emulate totally and do that scene, but there was a great line in the movie which we hadn't seen in a long time and bucky churches goes, you can't fight in the war room, so when we went down to the situation room and it looked exactly like the war room, and he turns to me

and says you can't fight in the war room and we're dying laughing. it was that kind of mood. >> you actually decide -- you understand up having lunch in the white house mess. >> yeah. the tour wasn't going to happen seriously with all of the commotion. so while we were waiting, he said you know you can have lunch in the mess hall and elvis immediately said yeah. he's not one to really eat publicly a lot because it's just too confusing or whatever, but elvis was not going to leave the white house until that badge came so that made sense to him, and the only table for four was, like, right in the middle of the white house mess hall which i think was served only by the

navy. i'm real impressed. i mean, this is -- i'm looking at every piece of wood and everything. i'm in the white house, you know? this is huge. i'm 28 years old, you know? and i was going to be a history teacher and -- so we have a nice lunch just talking about nothing even that much, and i think bud got elvis' -- somehow, i think at the end of the lunch bud was notified, i'm not sure, that the badge was there. you know, it was a great line when elvis had told the president, you know about why he wanted the badge or whatever, and bud said the president said,

well, bud, do you think you can do this? bud says, well, you're the leader of the free world so the president called finn later and said i want mr. presley to have the badge. >> so he gets his badge that day. >> he got the badge that day. >> um, what -- you're leaving the white house. where do you go? >> we go back to the hotel because -- you know what? i don't even remember going back to the hotel. i want to say we go straight to the airport. i've got to get back. don't forget, i have a little job as an assistant phone editor i'm worried about, and i have to get back to l.a. so sonny, myself and elvis are in the limousine. they are going back to memphis. i'm going to los angeles, and that's when elvis proceeds to talk to me about coming back to work for him.

i think he was very pleased with how i'd handled the washington stuff. he was very happy that i went back with him even with the possibility of losing my job and he offered me a really great job as a personal p.r. and record promotor for his new records, and he wanted me to be the guy that would take his new recordings to put program directors around the country, and he kind of put a personal touch and tried to give his records more attention and so, i never gave him an answer that i was going to go back to work for him or not. i was really thrilled that he wanted me to. about two weeks later i get this box of business cards, and

they're red and then black. it goes jerry schilling, personal public relations for elvis presley and under it, special deputy, and i think -- i meant to bring one today. maybe my wife did, but i thought, you know, everything he had done for me, and i really loved the guy and i thought if he really wants me to come back that much then i'm going to come back, so i went back to work for him. and it was for a number of years. >> did he talk about nixon -- president nixon? did he tell you what it had been like when it was just the two of them or the three of them with bud crowe? >> he talked about it a lot, and i know that's all he talked

about when he went to graceland from talking to my friends. don't forget, i've left and i'm in los angeles and i don't see him for a little bit after that, but he -- i really think he had this real love for the president, you know? i think he understood how it was to be in that position, and the fact that the president was so gracious to see him, to listen to him, and to actually agree with him, and you know, they both made -- this tells where they both were coming from. the president could have used this for publicity and maybe as halderman or somebody said, this could be a great way to reach the youth. elvis could have used it, you

know, as a pride and all that. they never told anybody. this was a private meeting between these two giants and i think it was over a year later did it come out of "the washington post." >> do you remember elvis' reaction when it came public? >> honestly, i don't. i don't, but i know it was probably fine because he was so proud of the meeting, and he talked so much about -- i'm surprised it didn't come out prior. >> because he would tell people about it. >> oh, yeah. you know what? what i did notice as other badges he had like chief of police badge. these were real badges, okay? he would show them a lot. this badge he was much more conservative with.

he never went anywhere without it, but he didn't flash it. if it was somebody, many a friend of his in law enforcem t enforcement, then a private conversation he might, but it wasn't -- and we would get a call like every six months, is mr. presley still -- just wanted to check on the badge and make sure he still had the badge. >> so he'd carry it in his suit jacket? >> yeah. >> what did elvis think when he watched watergate happen given that he felt a certain sympathy for president nixon. they both were in a glass bowl of sorts. do you remember him saying anything?

i really don't remember him saying anything. i kind of feel i know his feeling. >> that's all right if youio don't remember. >> yeah. don't remember. >> yeah. don't remember. >> yeah. what did sonny say anything about this trip to you? what did he say? was he just completely awe struck? >> you see, sunny got there and we were on the way and, you know, i think, first of all, sonny was getting over the shock of where was elvis? sonny was the official bodyguard. >> and he'd lost him? >> he'd lost him, you know, that's why he was the first person to pick up the phone down at graceland. he didn't know where elvis was or anything. i knew -- and sonny, he was, as i was, very happy for our friend. i mean, this was a big day, and

not only did he meet and talk with the president, but he got the ultimate badge. it was like someone giving us a maserati and it was by somebody that's, you know, that was special and so, you know, after lunch and stuff we were just smiling and laughing and having a good time, you know? >> did people ask for his autograph as you were walking through the white house? we walked through pretty darn fast and he did sign some autographs, yes. yes. >> he -- i heard that he went back to the white house again and he didn't see president nixon, but he went back. >> he went back to washington, and he went to the fbi. he wanted to see j. edgar

hoover, but he wouldn't see him. >> j. edgar wouldn't see him? >> that's my understanding. i didn't go on the second trip because i did keep my job as a film editor at paramount, but i don't think he ever went back to the white house. this was the first time i ever heard that. >> did he send finn a present when he retired? >> it sounds like something he would do, but i'm not aware of it. >> another white house staffer from that period remembers that, but he did go back to washington, but this time to see j. edgar hoover. >> yes. he did tour through the fbi and brought some of his friends from memphis, the former sheriff of memphis, bill morris. elvis felt there was something getting ready to happen to him with presi