Why Elvis Presley Repeatedly Called Then-President Jimmy Carter in the Weeks Before His Death
Elvis Presley didn’t have the easiest time toward the end of his life. The King used his influence to reach out to those in power, including then-President Jimmy Carter. He spoke with the politician regarding legal issues. And he called the White House on other occasions, too.
Jimmy Carter received a late-night phone call from Elvis Presley himself
Jimmy Carter picked up the phone one night in the summer of 1977 to find Elvis Presley on the line. “He was totally stoned and didn’t know what he was saying. His sentences were almost incoherent,” shared Carter (via The New Yorker).
The reason for the call? Presley wanted to request a presidential pardon for a sheriff known to Presley that happened to be in legal trouble at the time. “I talked to him for a long time, and I finally extracted that from him,” Carter said. “I asked him what the sheriff’s sentence was, and he said that he hadn’t been tried in court yet. Well, I said, ‘Elvis, I can’t consider a pardon until after a trial and sentencing and everything.’ I don’t think he understood that.
Carter and Presley didn’t talk on the phone again. But Presley continued to call the White House regarding this matter up until the singer’s death in August 1977.
Elvis Presley’s health drew concern in the time leading up to his death
According to Mirror, paranoia and misery filled Presley’s last few days alive. The singer had long lost his young, healthy physique and was packing on the weight due to an extremely unhealthy diet combined with a wide range of prescription drugs. Presley had also been known to refuse to bathe for almost a year, leading to sores that needed the care of a live-in nurse.
The last day that Presley was alive, he visited a dentist to get more prescriptions, played racquetball, and played the piano and sang with friends and family. A few hours later, he was found face down in his bathroom, dead. His death would fuel many rumors, and since the autopsy report was sealed for fifty years, many believed he died of a drug overdose. However, Presley had many serious health issues at the time of his death and it was that, in combination with his addiction, that led to his early death.
Elvis Presley was also friendly with President Richard Nixon
A more well-known relationship between Presley and a U.S. President was that of the rock star and former President Nixon. The two men met in 1970 in the Oval Office, all based on a letter that Presley had written to the President, according to BBC. In the letter, Presley had offered Nixon “any service I can to help the country out.” The singer also requested the President to make him a federal agent at large to help with any matters.
After the letter was received, Nixon arranged for Presley to meet him at the White House. At the meeting, Presley gifted Nixon a Colt .45 pistol from the singer’s private collection. In return, Nixon presented Presley with a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, a badge that Presley himself had requested, already being a collector of various police badges.
During this meeting, Presley also offered his opinion on The Beatles and how they were “a real force for anti-American spirit.” Nixon agreed, stating “those who use drugs are also at the vanguard of anti-American protest.” This meeting led to one of the more famous photos of Presley standing together with Nixon, seemingly opposite in image, but together in ambition to fight against illegal drug use in America at the time.
