Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 36 › Conversation 036-051

Haldeman & Tkach on Lyndon B. Johnson and Death

Monday, January 22, 1973 · 5:55 PM–6:19 PM ET · White House Telephone · 47 sec

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); Tkach, Walter R.Conversation036-051 on Tape 36StartMonday, January 22, 1973 at 5:55 PMEndMonday, January 22, 1973 at 6:19 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 036-051 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman and White House physician Walter R. Tkach discuss the recent death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Tkach confirms that resuscitation efforts at Brooke Army Hospital were unsuccessful and notes that the family is waiting to make an official announcement. Haldeman coordinates the timing for President Nixon to place a condolence call to Lady Bird Johnson once authorization is granted.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.1 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yes.
Bob?
Okay, here's the story.
He's dead, all right.
They tried to revive him on a plane and it didn't work.
They did take him to the hospital.
He's at the suite at the Brook Army Hospital.
And the doctor that came, there was a doctor that came down with him.
And he is dead, but apparently they're not going to say anything until Mr. Johnson gives the okay.
So I don't know what to tell you about the boss.
As soon as Lobo calls back again and says it's okay, then I suspect it's hard to say something to Mr. Johnson.
I don't know how the boss wants to handle this.
Okay, well, he wants to call her as soon as he can, obviously.
All right, sir.
Let me make sure that she'll be okay.
All right.
All right, sir.
All right.

NARA Description

On January 22, 1973, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Walter R. Tkach talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-051 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 36-51

Date: January 22, 1973
Time: Unknown between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Dr. Walter R. Tkach talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[See also Conversation No. 400-14C]

       Lyndon B. Johnson’s death
            -Brooke Army Hospital
            -General Vogel [First name unknown]
                  -Call to Tkach
            -Announcement by Claudia A. (“Lady Bird”) Johnson
            -The President’s call to Mrs. Johnson

Also recorded on January 22, 1973

  • 036-047 4:51 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:51 pm.
  • 400-014 5:00 PM · 1 hr 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Raymond K. Price, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Walter R. Tkach, White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
  • 036-048 5:55 PM · 10 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Walter R. Tkach talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm.
  • 036-049 5:55 PM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Walter R. Tkach talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm.
  • 036-050 5:55 PM · 51 sec — Walter R. Tkach and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm.
  • 036-052 5:55 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:19 pm.
  • 036-053 6:19 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:19 pm to 6:22 pm.
  • 036-054 6:22 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:22 pm and 7:14 pm.

All 49 conversations from January 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 036-051, January 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/036-051 (accessed October 11, 2026).