Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 37 › Conversation 037-048

Nixon phone call with Cox on White House social events and Sammy Davis Jr.

Sunday, March 4, 1973 · 11:42 AM–11:44 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Cox, Tricia NixonConversation037-048 on Tape 37StartSunday, March 4, 1973 at 11:42 AMEndSunday, March 4, 1973 at 11:44 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 037-048 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Tricia Nixon Cox, coordinate family schedules for the upcoming Gridiron Club dinner and Camp David visits. The conversation shifts to a recap of a successful White House performance by Sammy Davis, Jr. during which Nixon critiques the lack of loyalty shown by the John F. Kennedy administration toward entertainers like Davis and Frank Sinatra.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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hello thank you when is uh eddie going back um i think he's going back this evening at about seven o'clock oh yeah yeah well fine then you won't want to go to camp david then oh you're going up to camp david yeah but i'm going to spend the night so right well that's good i'm glad he got up for last night and he's going to be he's going to be here for the gridiron you know i know how'd you know that
The gridiron officers told me.
Oh, I see.
Yeah, he's looking forward to that.
That's next weekend.
It'll be interesting, his first gridiron.
His first gridiron, yeah.
You should plan, incidentally, Ann, he as well, to go to the afternoon.
Oh, do you think so?
Oh, by all means, absolutely.
That's on a Sunday, right?
Mm-hmm.
The women are there, and they'll like to see you, see, because Mommy's not going, so you should go.
Okay, good.
Well, we'll keep that in mind and do that.
All right.
Daddy, last night was such a great evening.
I thought it was, too.
And you spoke with Sammy Davis this morning.
You all had breakfast together.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Just the two of us, he and I.
Did he feel good about the evening?
He must have.
Oh, of course.
He knows when he's good.
Yeah, but he was really appreciated last night.
He must have been elated.
He's a great, great performer.
He had never appeared at the White House before.
I would have thought that he would have during the Kennedy parade because he was very close to Kennedy, but Kennedy never invited him.
He dropped him like hot potatoes.
Kennedy was one of those guys who just thought that Sammy Davis and Frank Sinatra were no longer useful to him, and he dropped him.
Was he really that way?
He just used people as long as he thought they were useful?
Oh, sure.
There wasn't any loyalty base?
None at all.
That's fascinating.
I know that.
And I think that's one reason why Frank Sinatra came over, and Sammy Davis.
Yeah, I think so, too.
They just didn't like him.
Because I think they're sensitive people in that they wouldn't do that to someone.
You know, there's sort of a code that you just don't do that.
Yeah, yeah.
And when it happens to you, it's pretty shocking.
So I think that you remember it long.
Yeah.
I told Sammy that what you or Eddie had said does the mark of a great performer.
He always leaves them wanting one more.
That's right.
Yeah, it's really true.
Everybody said that.
That he could have gone on and on.
But it was just a great evening.
Well, you have a great time then today, okay?
Okay.
Bye, Daddy.
And we'll be back.
I'll be back tomorrow night.
Julie apparently will be there for dinner tomorrow night.
We'll have dinner about 6 o'clock, okay?
Great.
Okay.
Bye-bye.

NARA Description

On March 4, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 11:42 am to 11:44 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 037-048 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 37-48

Date: March 4, 1973
Time: 11:42 am-11:44 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Tricia Nixon Cox.

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift during
chronological review 2007-2013]

       Edward R. F. Cox’s Schedule
             -President’s Schedule
                                             - 33 -

                            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

                     -Camp David
                     -Gridiron Club
                     -Tricia Nixon Cox’s Schedule
                             -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

       Sammy Davis, Jr.
            -Performance at the White House
                   -First appearance at White House
                   -John F. Kennedy
                           -Relationship
                                   -“Hot potatoes”
                                   -Francis A. (“Frank”) Sinatra
                                   -Loyalty
                   -Support for President
                   -Performance at the White House
                           -Quality

       President’s schedule
              -Julie Nixon Eisenhower

******************************************************************************

Also recorded on March 4, 1973

  • 037-043 10:01 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:01 am.
  • 037-044 10:03 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:03 am and 11:22 am.
  • 037-045 11:22 AM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 11:22 am to 11:35 am.
  • 037-046 11:36 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:36 am.
  • 037-047 11:36 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:36 am and 11:42 am.
  • 037-049 11:50 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 11:50 am to 11:59 am.
  • 244-001 1:00 PM · 11 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:00 pm and 11:59 pm.

Cite this conversation

Conversation 037-048, March 4, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/037-048 (accessed October 12, 2026).