about harry s truman's relationship with celebrity athletes, politicians and entertainers using letters, photos, and old film footage. the harry s truman presidential library in independence, missouri, hosted this event. it is about 45 minutes. >> we would like to welcome you all to the truman library. my name is david clark. i am a archivist europe the truman library. i have been here 16 years, working here. over the years we have developed different programs and presentations for the public, i came across an idea of doing harry s truman and the rich and famous. i saw a number of documents and photos related to those people. i liked watching tv and movies as i was growing up and still do, so i saw these and we were asked to do a presentation, i said this is something people might be interested in. this presentation has documents,

photos, sound clips that i want you to enjoy. as we get to the photos, i like to have this interactive, i will point out people and say, let me know if you know who that is. as soon as people are well-known, they may not have been well known in the 1940's and 19 these, but i think you will recognize them. there are different categories we will go through. entertainers, athletes, politicians, military people. if you have questions or comments, let me know. we will start. the first section is entertainers. can anybody identify who is in the photo beside president truman? >> jack benny. >> correct. jack benny. this is president truman and jack benny. they are playing and he filmed one of his shows here in the truman library in 1959.

this is a newspaper clipping from about the 1948 election. somebody added comments to it. there is a collection here at the truman library. many of the letters that are in our collection from truman, he expresses interest in their families. as well as people writing back to him express -- how is margaret? i hope they are doing well. this is a letter that talks about the enclosed picture, which is the clipping he is referring to. it brought back fond memories of our press club engagement. of course, they had to have a corny joke to it, but i still like it. all good wishes and congratulations to your family. if you need anybody for entertainment purposes, let me know. president truman did not seek

out entertainers, or well-known people, yet, he cultivated relationships with them. especially with jack benny. he had a good friendship with him. here they are again at the truman library. this is, umm, at the library again. then there is, uh, a clip. ♪ [happy birthday on violin] [laughter] [applause] >> i don't know, one night you

are the star of a big hour-long coast-to-coast television show, then the next night you are playing fiddle at a birthday party. [laughter] [applause] >> sir, do you remember the time you floored me with one of your remarks? i am not making this up. it is when mr. truman was president. i called on him, by appointment , of course, in the white house, as i left his office after a brief chat, i said something that sounded a little silly. i suppose. i do not know. i said, gee, mr. president, i would give anything for an autographed picture of you. the president looked at me and said, jack, i have been listening to your programs and i wonder just how much would you give. [laughter]

>> anyway, in my home in beverly hills i now have a very handsome autographed picture of president truman hanging in my den. during the hot weather, facing mr. truman, i have a picture of general macarthur. you would be surprised how much i save on air-conditioning. [laughter] david: this is the next picture. this is at the national convention american legion on october 10, 1962. harry truman is on the left. anybody -- >> duranty. david: good. jimmy duranty, that is correct. then we have a little bit of correspondence between jimmy duranty and president truman. i like the letterhead on this one with jimmy up here.

it talks about some things that are going on. jimmy and president truman's daughter did shows together an interesting things they talked about. he says, both margaret and i, what they had done together, and this is truman again. this is the correspondence we them.tween there is another letter from jimmy duranty. he talks about, he has being around for at least 100 years and mr. president, i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your lovely letter. there is not a lot of correspondence between president truman in any of these, but they are fairly heartfelt letters that they send.

here is -- this is a telegram from jimmy, wishing president truman happy birthday. it says, president truman, sincerely jimmy durante. here is another one, anybody want to venture who is the one on the left? a couple of people over here. harper marx.k -- david: that is right. harper marx. in the left-hand corner it is hard to see. it is said -- it says, i am just wild about you, harry. this is at the fairfield air force base in california. president truman was on his way to meet general macarthur in 1950, he stopped there to visit some of the troops that were wounded during the korean war. here is a letter, a couple of letters back and forth between the two.

he says, it was appropriate to write you after the election. he wanted to let him know he would be back in the seat again. my best to mrs. truman and margaret, who are thought were great on the market ratio. how are you in the key of d flat? -- great on the martha ray show. how are you in the key of d flat? they also have a good sense of humor with relationships with the people. from the man who says nothing, to the man who always says the right thing, respectfully, harpo. and this was groucho marx. i am wild about you, old piano player. this is a letter signed by groucho marx, dear harry, talks about several different things. you remember me but i am that

guy with the black mustache, glasses and increasing baldness. he goes on to say that i just want to join the thousands who are wishing you a speedy recovery and many years of our only living ex-president. oh, i forgot, hoover is still alive. i don't think he cared much for hoover. [laughter] this was after president truman had his gallbladder and appendix removed after he was out of anybody want to guess who the person is on the right? right here. >> bob hope. david: yes, thank you. this is harry s truman and bob hope kicking off the american red cross fundraising campaign in 1948. and this is a christmas card from the bob hope family to president truman, 1967.

there are a number of christmas cards from the whole family in the presidential papers after truman left office. this is one i like. this is written really colorful, just showing their friendship as it developed over the years. this is 20 years after the previous photo. and bob hope again. this is the truman home on may 11, 1968. as you can see, president truman is looking a little older in the mid-1960's, his health to -- started to decline. he would come to the library to work after it was opened in 1957. by the mid-1960's, he was 80 years old and his health started to decline. he was not able to come to the library as often. when he did come, he would greet people and give them tours of the library. he was happy to meet people and have them here at the library.

here is a letter from bob hope. it talks a little bit of making fun of jack benny in the second paragraph there. he says of course jack played the fiddle, i guess i will have to go back to mild tissue paper. anybody want -- how about this? iano?ady on the p gentleman in the back. >> lauren bacall. this is when harry truman was vice president. this photo did not go over well. [laughter] he did not like this photo, but it is a fairly famous photo. we like to include that.

this one may be a little harder. the person on the right, anybody want to guess? ok, right here. no, good guess. hirley temple. >> loretto young. david: no. [indiscernible] bankhead. it was a little harder to figure out who that was. bankhead. this is when truman was camping in 1948. here is a letter from tallulah bankhead president truman sent a message about her performance. he said, i was never so surprised in my life when it led

to the assembled guests, your warm and generous telegram on my receiving of the award. he was appreciative and took time out of his schedule to send a note. congratulating her on the award. the person on the right anybody , recognize that person? this lady back here. i believe that's danny thomas. >> that's right, danny thomas. unfortunately, we do not have information about when and where this was. over the years we received quite a number of different collections that were donated. unfortunately, there are many that do not have dates, names, or places. i did recognize him, you are right, that is danny thomas. this might be tough. let's see if you can recognize the person on the left. yes, this gentleman here. >> it looks like jimmy carter. david: no, it is not jimmy carter.

anybody else? all right. douglas fairbanks junior. this is during a visit to new york, president truman -- that is what is written, it is a little hard to see. that was a gift from douglas fairbanks. this was taken here at the truman library. he is a native of independence. anybody want to venture a guess? on this side of president truman. this lady back here. [indiscernible] david: you want to repeat that? >> ginger rogers. david: yes, thank you. this is here at the library in 1964. the next few -- some of the next few are multiple people. we will do some guessing.

does anybody want to see who the person in the middle is there? >> lucille ball? david: no. >> marilyn monroe? david: no, not marilyn monroe. turner. this was march, 1945. this was at the u.s. capitol. admiral halsey and senator buckley became senator truman's vice president. ok, the person on the right. yes red skelton. thank you. red skelton's wife was walking down the street and president truman stopped and greeted them and they took the picture. unfortunately we do not have a lot of information other than that. ok.

so we have -- this one is a little bit later. two people, the one on the left, and the one in the middle. any guesses? this gentleman. >> the one on the left is matt parker. the one on the middle is milton -- i can't think of his name right now. david: this gentleman right here. >> the one on the left is from gunsmoke. david: yes, that is. it is milburn stone in the middle and tim curtis from gunsmoke. a similar picture, who is the one on the left? this lady back here. >> i think it is lucille ball. david: no, it looks like her. look who it is on the right and that will give you a hint.

miss kitty, from gunsmoke. this was october, 1963 here at the truman library. this looks fairly young, the person on the right. standing up. [indiscernible] david: yes, very good, pat boone. this is another one of the photos, we do not have much information about other than it is pat boone and president truman is playing the piano. there are a number of people on here so we will do one at a time and go through. not this one, anybody know the next person over? to the right. go ahead. [indiscernible] david: no, the next one over, to

the right. you can either look at murder she wrote, she played mrs. potts in -- yes, ok. angela lansbury. the next gentleman with the mustache you might recognize. he was on batman. >> [indiscernible] david: yes, very good. he played the joker on the batman. i believe he was in a lot of other things, but that is what i recognize him from. van johnson was in a lot of war movies. then there is margaret truman, president truman's daughter.

then there was a child actress. round to the next one, that last one was at the presidential ball in january 1, 1946. this is the white house news photographers ball. anybody recognize any of the ones in the photos? this gentleman. on the right. that's right, wally cox on the right. anyone have an idea of who is next to him? >> is at danny thomas? david: no. >> eddie fisher? david: no. >> liberace? david: yes, very good, liberace. there is dorothy l'amour. liberace, young looking liberace and wally cox.

this is a number of people, this is the 50th anniversary of the american movie theater at the white house. there are two people that are interesting to me that they are in the same photo. the lady on the left and the lady on the right. anybody want to guess who the two are. >> elizabeth taylor and debbie fisher? david: yes, debbie reynolds. those are the two. elizabeth taylor, truman, and debbie reynolds. this is a photo taken in front of the truman home, it is really hard to see, but you can see president truman in the back window. anyone want to venture guess who is in the photo? >> jackie cooper? >> henry fonda. david: jacqui cooper, henry

fonda, ok. >> [indiscernible] david: yes. -- paul reiner, henry fonda, tippi hendren. i tried but was not able to determine who that was. this is at gilbert stadium in los angeles. it is hard to see the people but if you look closely, above that railing you could see there are three well-known people. >> ronald reagan in the middle. david: ok, ronald reagan. anybody want to guess the other two? they are a little hard to see because you only get the tops of their heads. >> nancy davis, next to ronald reagan?

david: no, that is a good guess because it is hard to tell who it is. humphrey bogart. it is a little hard to see. you're right. it is lauren bacall. it is a little hard to see, this is ronald reagan before he became republican. there is some correspondence -- this is the only letter we have between harry truman and humphrey bogart. he says he encloses a check in payment of a bet made some years ago then president truman writes back. in the second paragraph, it says, humphrey bogart would appreciate to have it to frame

it -- if i may say, my son who may run for president on the democratic ticket in 1999, unless you still hold office. [laughter] this one is at a theater in new york on april 22, 1964. any guesses who is in the middle on the right? >> on the right it is duly -- duey. david: yes, thomas dewey. he ran against truman in 1948. we have a gentleman in the back. >> george montgomery? david: no. any other guesses? >> robert preston? david: yes, very good, robert preston. this one is in 1964 here at the

library the person on the right. , >> glen campbell. david: no, good guess. >> jack lord. david: yes. this is jack lord. he played stony burke in a western that ran in 1962 and 1963. he was here visiting at the library. this one is at a performance at the theater in new york in 1959. recognize the person on the right? over here. >> andy griffith. david: yes. scott brady and doris gray. truman with a prop gun, then andy griffith. this is correspondence with howard hughes.

this is at the time that howard hughes crashed his xf11 plane, crushed his collarbone, damaged his lungs and burned his hand. he thanked him for his concern and caring enough to write. the person you will probably recognizes the one on the right. anybody want to guess who that might be? this gentleman right here. >> jimmy stewart. david: yes, correct. i was not sure if someone would recognize him or not. this is at the air force association in 1946. you have general doolittle.

colonel fitch. all right. this is the book signed by audie murphy who was a hero in world war ii. it is interesting seeing the address, 753 and a half. i never heard of an address that is a half. it is a book that he signed. audie murphy played himself in the movie that was made with that title. this was the inaugural party on january 19, 1949. see if there is anyone you recognize. they are not as well-known but we will go through the names.

there are some people that are unidentified. unfortunately. this is a letter signed by walt disney. in the 60's. we don't have a lot of walt disney but this is one of the few we have. president truman gave him memoirs. we will have a video clip. ♪ [jazz singer]

♪ >> i am just wild about harry harry is wild about me i am just wild about harry and he is just wild about cannot do without he is just , wild about meeeeeee ♪ [applause] david: this would have been 1959 at harry truman's 75th birthday party. let's go to the next one, the next section is about athletes.

a lot of these are about baseball. it is interesting, as we go shrough the photos, best -- bes truman was a lot more interested in the baseball games than harry was. we have baseball passes with the president so he could attend the games in washington each year. this is opening game at griffith stadium on april 18, 1950. i'm sure you recognize margaret and bess, president truman, guess who that is next to harry? >> [indiscernible] david: yes, very good, very good. here is another one. this is april 20, 1951. very good. all right.

>> casey stangl. >> yes, very good. here she looks terrified. if you see the ball way up at the top in the middle. this will be a little bit tougher unless you are a real baseball fan, i think. 1946, he played for the detroit tigers. repeat that. >> hank greenberg. david: yes, thank you. how about this? this is at the kansas city stadium in 1961. anybody want to say who that person is on the right? >> charles finley? david: yes, that's exactly why i

understand why they are booing because he moves them to oakland. he left the area without a baseball team. bess is keeping score. charlie finley is not a well-liked man here in kansas city. this is 1961, i have a guest back here -- ok, mickey mantle. who is the other person. >> [indiscernible] david: yes, very good. this is when they were in the home run race, see who could get the most home runs that year. >> the year that roger got 61. david: yes, there was. the baseball players the one on the right?

this is october 3, 1952, the democratic rally in jefferson city. this is in correspondence, we have this signed by babe ruth, which is i'm sure is not -- i don't know how common it was for letters to be sent from babe ruth, but he is trying to raise money for the babe ruth foundation. the next letter is signed by dizzy dean, the picture for the cardinals. part of the babe ruth foundation as well. this next one is one of my favorite photos. there is a fellow archivist here who does not like this photo. [laughter] david: you can see why. this is the way the photo was when we got it from the papers. he was a friend of his.

at some point they doctored the photo and put president truman there. i like it, i think it is entertaining. [laughter] politicians and military leaders. i think these ones will be easy to recognize. anybody want to guess? one on the left and the one on the right. >> [indiscernible] david: yes, that is exactly who it is. fdr, vice president truman returning to the capital. >> i start by saying the character of my friend was proved on that day. he was frightened as he should have been but no man has ever been faced so abruptly in such a steep responsibility. and yes there was never the

, slightest hint that he would try to evade what was struck upon him. i knew then he was a good man. later i thrilled to watch him grow to greatness. with every decision he grew, and until the entire world he was a powerful figure. the decisions he made then, shaped the very world we live in today. those were the years, a thrilling record, as we shall see in this film a specially prepared for us by mr. walter riley, and directed by doris shapely. david: this is a letter from eleanor roosevelt, 1955, wishing president truman birthday wishes. we do have quite a bit of correspondence between president truman and eleanor roosevelt,

some of which is on our website. this is a book, we are not sure how this came into president truman's possession but it is a copy of mein kampf. from 1926, it is apparently signed by adolf hitler. so. that is one of the prized possessions here at the library. who can name the person in the photo? >> stalin. david: yes. potsis that potts dam -- dam. this is 1945. sorry, ok, thank you.

here is another photo, anybody want to guess who is on the left? >> churchill. david: thank you. this is july 23, 1945. this is a dinner program, from potsdam. president truman was a very prolific letter writer. he would write to relatives and other people. he got the sign and he stuck it in an envelope and mailed it to margaret. if you look closely at it you could see on the slide on the left, there are three signatures josephby harry truman, stalin, and winston churchill. there are a lot of signatures on the right as well.

he just stuck it in an envelope and sent it to his daughter. that is one of our well-known documents here at the library. here are birthday wishes from winston churchill. anybody want to guess who the person on the left and in the middle is? >> patton. david: and the one on the left? >> eisenhower. david: yes. this is july 21, 1945 in berlin. how about this one, anyone want to guess? >> macarthur? david: yes, general macarthur on wake island 1950, they met there to discuss what was going on in the korean war.

>> is this when he got fired? >> it was a while after that, but this led to it. how about a guess on this one? who is on the left? repeat that. >> eisenhower. david: ok, we have eisenhower and truman. hoover. this is june 1947. this is a letter we have signed by martin luther king jr. that he sent to president truman, talking about things at the time. you may or may not know, president truman did a lot. he desegregated the armed

forces, and did a lot of things that related to that. the advancing of civil rights. the person next to the right, between bess and president truman. >> queen elizabeth. david: yes. queen elizabeth. his birthday wishes from president truman. there were a lot of telegrams that were sent back and fourth. he would send also. this is from king george. this is a book signed by j edgar hoover, who was head of the fbi for a long period of time.

a letter signed by him that accompanied the book. that is eisenhower again here at the library in 1959. a letter signed by president eisenhower in 1961, thanks for inviting me to the library. soon after that it was eisenhower building a library in abilene. this is a little bit harder to see. birthday wishes from eisenhower. do you recognize a person on the left? go ahead and say. >> jfk. david: yes, thank you.

this is at the truman library in 1959. there is a letter, and he invited the president and mrs. truman to spend the night at the white house when they are coming there. truman and eisenhower did not get along so well while eisenhower was president. later, they reconciled, but he was not invited back to the white house. there was a telegram from robert kennedy to president truman, birthday wishes. and one from edward kennedy in 1866. a lot of correspondence between president truman and president kennedy. anybody recognize who is sitting at the desk? go ahead. >> lyndon b. johnson. david: yes, thank you.

this is here at the library on july 30, 1965. there is also hubert humphrey, here's another clip. [applause] >> mr. president, 1000 of your friends, led by that able and attractive young senator, jack kennedy have gathered -- [applause] have gathered to celebrate your birthday. i have been honored to have the assignment of speaking for the whole group, wishing you a very, very happy birthday. [applause] if scheduling was arranged fight arranged by democrats and is

led by democrats. i believe, mr. president, the happy birthday wish is nonpartisan and comes from americans everywhere. and freeman everywhere who cherish liberty. happy birthday harry truman. [applause] david: this is also from the 75th birthday celebration in 1959. here is a letter from lyndon johnson to president truman. he said, have a wonderful day in independence, he would not have missed it for all the prize beef cattle in texas. that is the way he talked, he like to butter people up. all right, who is playing the piano? >> richard nixon. david: yes. this was in 1969.

at the truman library. we have some correspondence from nixon to truman in 1964. truman had fallen and hurt -- inf in the back of, the bathtub. this was correspondence. nixon said, i am sorry to read of your accident, i hope you are well. truman in his response. by this time he was starting to decline. the libraryome to as much. president truman passed away in december of 1972. there was not as many photos and things because his health was declining. we have come to the end of our presentation. does anyone have questions or comments that you would like to

bring up? yes, over here. >> you have done a great job. david: thank you. [applause] david: i appreciate that. if there are not any other questions and comments, thank you for coming to the truman library today, i hope you enjoy your visit today. thank you for coming. [applause] >> today beginning at 6 p.m. eastern on american history tv, robert o'hara talks about the life of civil war quartermaster general montgomery c. megs.