Matt Berry Reads a Letter from Elvis Presley to US President Richard Nixon
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- Опубликовано: 5 май 2014
- www.letterslive.co.uk
Inspired by To the Letter by Simon Garfield and Letters of Note by Shaun Usher, LETTERS LIVE is a dynamic performance event that celebrates the enduring power of literary correspondence.
In this clip, Matt Berry reads a letter from Elvis Presley to President Richard Nixon. This was filmed at a special Letters Live World Book Night event, in association with The Reading Agency, at
Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall. 
Развлечения
"I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse..." Truer words never spoken. lol
I currently am doing an indepth study on hard drug and Marlboro Menthol Lights. I love this type of indepth research. Later on I'm gonna hit up the bars and do an indepth study of drinking beer and hitting on white women
Keith Richards has multiple PHD's in drug abuse
Yes I can hear you, Clem Fandango! 🎧 🎙
I could listen to this man read anything
Me too...
They should make his voice a gps voice setting.
Oh my god please
I'd pay an exorbitant amount of money for his voice to replace Alexa's (and the wake word be changed to Laszlo).
steven this is clem fandango,can you hear me?
YES, I can hear you Clem Fandango.
Yes.... You Donut!
Press the fucking button!
Steven?
YEEEEEHHHHHSSSzz
Elvis was obsessed with being a cop or government agent. He used to collect police badges, and got himself deputised by many, many police forces around the U.S. He would, on occasion, drive around at night, looking for "crime to fight".
He already has the costume to be a vigilante
@@darklighter66 You're not wrong
@@thelastmotel I could definitely see someone like Elvis becoming a vigilanty in a Watchmen type world
@@krad1314 Oh yeah. For sure. Elvis based his look on Captain Marvel, Jr. aka Freddy Freeman. (No, really. You can look it up.)
I love Elvis even more now!
Anything that starts with "Matt Berry reads" is pure gold.
On another note, I, too, have done a lot of research on drug abuse lmao
I'm sure everyone knows, but that little finger pistol thing he did was a representation of the gift that Elvis gave to Nixon. Dude gave him a goddamn plated and engraved handgun.
This was and still is (though now to a lesser extent) a common practice for important people to do when meeting with others of a similar standing. Diplomats and heads of state for instance
Yeah, but, my man, it was ELVIS...giving NIXON...a GUN.
@@BrooklynJackBlue that's my point, when you are the king what else would you give the president? A sweet engraved pistol seems pretty appropriate
That's actually the only part of this story I knew before hearing this letter.
Watch the language
Really
The gift, if I’m not mistaken, was a custom pistol (I believe a 1911), which Elvis walked right into the White House with, no questions asked, and handed to the president.
oh, i understand, so the people in the white house were as stupid as his letter suggests they were!! Otherwise noone in their right mind would write such a letter.....my god US gouvernment is at the intelligence level of my 5 year old niece
@@hetedeleambacht6608 That was in the '70s. They're WAY dumber now...
This letter makes Elvis sound like the Steven Segal of his time.
Is Segal also a peedo?
That's accurate. He was also poorly educated, naive, a drug addict and often incoherent.
Old Elvis would totally be MAGA cray-cray.
You can really hear elvis' skill with words.. what a groundbreaking lyricist..
Oh wait..
the gift was a pistol, which Elvis brought to Nixon personally; the Secret Service did not stop him, because he was ELVIS
12 dislikes by Ray Bloody Purchase.
Bloody Ray Purchase.
Laaww lawww lawwwg lawwwg lawwwg
Owwh!
Laaww lawww lawwwg lawwwing lawwwg
Ah!
Laaww lawww lawwwing lawwwg lawwwg!!
Ehhh!
Unterpantseeee!!!
So Elvis was the Kanye West of his time.
Damn...that's one hell of an accurate description...
I think he Kanye West was trying to recreate the Sammy Davis Jr hug more than Elvis. I could be wrong
lol
lol no. He was buttering up/trolling Nixon to get federal credentials so that he could possess copious amounts of drugs and not get in trouble for it.
I mean quality joke and I see why you would make that connection, but Elvis was playing 4D chess on this one.
This has seriously, profoundly, cheered me up.
Drunk History with Jack Black as Elvis does a hilarious rendition on this one. The fact that this is later years fat Elvis is even better.
OMG, I'm smiling! Why wasn't this letter played at the end of the latest ELVIS movie. Would have been amazing.
When eventually the bad news comes I will give all I have upon my person for it be Matt Berry that utters the devastation...
Be less vague with your crazy thoughts uggghhh
Ste: A beautiful thought beautifully written.
Both of them absolutely nailed it.
A Federal Agent at large with karate skills!
Kah-rah-tay!
FATHERRRRRRR!
BAT
Like many things, it started off so well . . .
You rock, Matt.
thank you very much
Best VO actor. Ever. (As well as high winds)
High winds. Ha. Good one.
This was very entertaining.
Yes.
Elvis was probably high when he wrote this😂😂
I think he was!
'Dear Sir...uh gimme a badge and a title right now! HUUUURGH!'
I do believe the request was accepted as well lol
YES
In spite of his ardent opposition to drugs, some may say despite, Elvis Presley was known to partake in a lot of prescription medication in his lifetime, under the pretense that if a doctor gives you tablets, then its all ok.
He suffered from chronic pain from a stomach ulcer, Hepatitis, and apparently an autoimmune disease. His options at the time were the pain meds his doctor prescribed or no pain meds. His doctor was investigated after Elvis’s death and cleared of wrongdoing so it’s likely Elvis was simply sticking to his doctor’s recommendations.
_In spite_ and _despite_ have identical meaning. Some may say indistinguishable definition.
Nobody better to read Elvis than an eternally dead vampire.
if this was released under any other pretense than comedy, it would be deaded.
Extensive Research in Drug culture LOL
He wanted the credentials so he could transport drugs without being searched.
Even Presley wouldn't have been dumb enough to carry the stuff himself. He had plenty of hangers-on for that sort of job.
Elvis didn’t need to hide anything. They were all scripts.
As we all know, that gift was a loaded gun.
I’ve been to the Nixon museum in California. I have a shirt with Nixon and Elvis shaking hands and it says ‘The president and the king’
Damnit I want that shirt so bad
I had a shirt with nixon and elvis shaking hands. On the front it said "we're dead" and on the back, "really really dead".
Cha ching. Elvis gets his badge and can carry drugs and guns on tour.
Elvis was tripping balls.
*Rich. Elvis was rich and they're all like this.
"The narc badge represented some kind of ultimate power to him," Priscilla Presley would write in her memoir, Elvis and Me. "With the federal narcotics badge, he [believed he] could legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished."
This is a quote from an article on what the letter in this video was about. Elvis Presley was trying to get a Federal Narcotics officer badge from Richard Nixon. He succeeded after meeting Richard Nixon in person.
i think it is a sad letter
Gerry Shilling and Sandy West.
Dear Mr President, first, I would like to introduce myself: I am a one track lover.
You can contact me anytime, tonight or tomorrow.
It was a nice touch to see him make a gun shape with his hand. The “gift” Elvis had for Nixon was literally a loaded gun that he snuck past the secret service.
All true would you believe.
"Dear President Nixon, I want to be a narc."
Or in other words;" I am just normal guy, who is staying with my armed henchman in rooms 504, 505 and 506, and you can call me at any time to suit you... as long as it is within the next 15 minutes!" BRAVO Mr Presley (and Mr Berry for bringing life to this)
505, 506, 507*
A letter from a man who loved freedom and his country. Gotta love Elvis.
The boots for the occasion, Matt?
If the fake name Elvis gave was Sebastian Haff, I would've lost it LOL
I’m won over. Anyone else?
The history of hypocrisy in entertainment knows no bounds. The man died on his toilet, says it all.
I can't see why this is so funny.
This is the funniest shit.
Elvis did become an FBI agent and he was issued a fake ID by the FBI which he used after he faked his death in 1977.
Ray Bloody Purchase was the next reader
elvis complaining about others using drugs...nice
There's a difference. Elvis didn't use street drugs.
you do realise it was the colonel feeding him drugs to keep him performing.. uppers and downers like candy, then hard pain meds. the harder the "dine" family of drugs, the more it blocks you up.. combined with his diet of bacon and peanut butter footlong sandwiches is what caused his death. Its kinda funny its reported he died of drug overdose, when in actual fact he was straining to get a shit out on the toilet, and he had an aneurysm. "Elvis is dead, he was so blocked up, pushing to get a shit out made his brain explode".... not very rock n roll
"Ecksetra" Was that Elvis or Matt?
Black Dynamite put him right.
I've heard a few rumors that Nixon had a penchant for certain similar drugs the king was into.
You have to imagine how surreal it must have been for Nixon, a guy who came up from nothing, to get a letter from Elvis himself.
Jeb Prendergast can’t tell if joking...
…most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamp 🤙🏾🕺🏻😎. P E
Elvis was a narc wearing rhinestones after dark
He did his best to keep Memphis drug-free
He knew every pill he'd eat would be one less on the
Street
Elvis did it all for you and me
And he was made an agent too
I'd guess thus sort of request is far from unusual.
Elvis: Mr President, we must do something about the drugs. They're so good. Just look at how high I am right now.
As much as I hate to say this with a passion but it sounded like Kanye West wrote it and not Elivs.
He was under immense pressure and pills
KingOfGorillas Kanye is the fat, Vegas-era, over the hill Elvis of our times.
Elivs did not write it Elvis did
The more things change, the more they stay the saaaaame!
Why do you hate to say it
The man you refer to is an overbearing Pratt
Elvis was so stoned when he wrote this.
Elvis is and was the mother F’ n King
In case anyone is wondering the gift he gave Richard Nixon was a handgun.
Ive been doing a lot of research on Drugs.... Just so much research
Whaaaaaaaaaatttt???
Ray fucking Purchase
is this true ?
Yes
This sounds like my cover letters. I guess I should tone it down a bit and apply to stuff I actually have a chance at.
Funny... but he actually did get to be a Federal Agent. Nixon gave him the appointment.
100% bullshit. Presidents don't appoint regular citizens to operational law enforcement roles, those positions require immense and intensive training. Presidents appoint the directors of federal agencies, subject to Senate confirmation.
Elvis famously met Nixon the day this letter was delivered. Elvis asked for, and was given, a badge from the Dept of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement, a precursor to the DEA.
No status, honorary or otherwise, was conferred on Elvis. He wanted a badge because he thought it would get him out of trouble in case he got busted with drugs.
The worst part about your comment is that people believe it. Yet it would have taken any one of you a few seconds to verify that it is a hoary old myth that gullible cunts believe.
@@NxDoyle sad that now 13 people think this because his comment
"The drug culture"
Elvis dies of an overdose.
FAAAATHERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
This is hilarious but i want to hear Austin Butler read this
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Well, he admitted he did in-depth studies of drug culture, so at least he’s honest!
Elvis really was the king.
Elvis was mad about drug culture but like wasn’t he always on drugs. 😂
"I have done in-depth study of drug abuse..." - Dude obviously wasn't lying there!
There's a pretty long-standing sense that "drugs for me but not for thee". Look at all of the lawyers and wall Street types who ardently supported the drug war (especially on crack) but did mountains of cocaine themselves.
Granted, there's a pretty strong but if racism under this.
You have a better way to score easy drugs than to seize them in the name of the government?
@@krassos you have a good point 😂.
@@bobbyfeet2240 true, the war on drugs has a long and sad history. Power, privilege and race are big parts of it. And I mean Elvis is the epitome of power and privilege. He was white, male, rich and everyone called him the King. Of course he probably thought he was above it all.
Trump is Elvis. Compare faces
He was ahead of his time on this, and he could write unlike today's luffies.
Proof of you need it that politically most of the general public have blotting paper minds, turning to celebs, actors to validate their opinions.
‘Luffies’😆Honey, you are hilarious criticising the writing ability of others whilst spooling out semi-illiterate, ill constructed phrases yourself. Well, you made me laugh anyway. Keep up the entertainment, it amuses us. 👍
@@AB-nr8cu phonetically spelt as a joke, as in ..... "Who dat dare " or .... " is you are or " is you ain't my babee ' for humorous take. Glad it amused you, even for the wrong reasons.
This isnt really proof of that at all. He wants the badge because he thought having it meant he could go anywhere toting whatever guns and drugs he wanted. "Elvis could write a coherent letter" is pretty anecdotal in the criticism of modern culture.
That actual letter in some ways describes the political situation in America....who disagrees?
I disagree.
a man..
Noel Thomas Iran...
Umm....
The crowd laughs because they neither had respect for Elvis or for Nixon. Yet both were passionate men who cared about our country. And both were arguably successful. God bless Elvis and my cousin Nixon.
How is this about respect or a lack thereof? Regardless of the author, the letter and it's contents are simply ridiculous to the point of absurdity, the crowd recognise that and laugh in response, giving no indication as to their personal feelings beyond a surface level humour.
I just don't see how the stature of either man has anything to do with it and I certainly cannot work out how or why the laughter of the crowd is perceived to be in any way directed at Nixon.
I reckon your country, your cousin and Elvis have said quite enough...if they need any further defending then maybe they're actually weak.
Hearing that, it is painfully clear that Elvis would so be a Trump supporter if he was still alive.
oh noe
Yeah. He'd have shared the stage with John Voigt- and his career would have followed a similar trajectory.
Black Panthers then, BLM now
Elvis was a square all along.
Tragicomedy if you really think about it. Elvis was seriously delusional and child like at times. Sad
I feel that Mr Presley may have been right in the middle of some of his "drug abuse research" when he penned this letter......
Elvis Presley is the MOST over rated human EVER!
@Cupid Stunt he was a good singer, I enjoy a lot of his music but as a person no thanks
I wouldn't even cross the street to talk with Elvis...or Nixon.
Elvis the Nark
Berry can't pronounce "etcetera"
So, THAT was your takeaway? An issue with his pronunciation? Wow. I hope things get better for you soon. Cheers.
Hahaha elvis had a drug problem, how hilarious.
Won't somebody think of the poor multi-millionaire (well, adjusted for inflation) musician? Oh, what a rough life it was....
@@yellowblanka6058 There are some things no amount of money can paper over. You know nothing of Elvis' life. if you were a fully functioning human being you'd realise this. Oh, and Elvis never sought sympathy from anyone.
@@andy6576 I didn't mean to say I had no sympathy for Elvis, I'm sure he had issues, everybody does, I just have more sympathy for say, some random homeless person who faced difficulties their whole life, lives under a bridge and self-medicates with hard drugs than somebody who had more than enough money to live comfortably, adoring fans, friends etc.
@@yellowblanka6058 Fair enough.
@@yellowblanka6058 to be fair Elvis gave a load of his money away to poor people - and he came from a poor background himself
Reagan elected President - 1980. Elvis' death - 1977. Confused
Because the story is about Nixon...
it was mean to laugh at this
Presley was concerned with drug culture? Huh. Funny sort of.
Elis would have been the only cool cop