When Elvis Met Nixon: Film Explores Famous Moment Caught on Camera

A new film tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the King of Rock and Roll met Richard Nixon in the Oval Office.

The 1970 photo of a bejeweled Elvis Presley shaking hands with the jowled president is the most requested photo from the National Archive.

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Elvis & Nixon details the surreal saga of how Presley, concerned about drugs and anti-war demonstrations, flies to Washington on a whim and delivers a handwritten letter to the White House, requesting a meeting with Nixon.

IE caught up with Colin Hanks, who plays a presidential adviser, during the film's premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

"You just want to know how on Earth that happened, because it just shouldn't have happened," the actor told us.

Presley wanted to be deputized as an undercover narc, he wrote to Nixon. He also wanted a badge.

Read: 'He Pulled a Gun On Me!' Elvis Girlfriend Reveals Shocking Details

Though Nixon was dubious, the meeting was arranged, on part to help the president's image during a time of widespread rebellion against the Vietnam War.

The King's friend, Jerry Schilling, who helped with the movie, remembers the meeting.

"I was a little intimidated. The president hit me on the arm, like a guy's guy," he told IE.

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