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Presidential Humanitarian Award
Date confirmed in Ronald Reagan’s daily “White House Diaries” (“May 14, 1984”) (archived)
Ronald Reagan, “White House Diaries” (May 14, 1984) (archived)
A ceremony on the South Lawn to honor young Michael Jackson who is the sensation of the pop music world - believed to have earned $120 mil. last year. He is giving proceeds from one of his biggest selling records to the campaign against drunk driving. He is totally opposed to drugs & alcohol & is using his popularity to influence young people against them. I was surprised at how shy he is.
Randy Taraborrelli, biographer
Around [May 1984], John Branca received a telephone call from Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole asking if Michael would donate ‘Beat It’ as background music for a thirty-second television commercial and sixty-second radio spot on drunk driving. When John presented the idea to Michael, his reaction was swift. ‘That's tacky,’ he said. ‘I can't do that.’
John told Michael he would call Elizabeth Dole and tell her that they were not interested. However, Michael then got an idea. ‘You know what?’ he mused. ‘If I can get some kind of an award from the White House, then I'll give them the song. How about that?’ he said, now excited. ‘See what you can negotiate with them, Branca.’
‘What do you want?’ asked John, bemused.
‘Well,’ Michael said, like a kid coming up with a Wish List. ‘I want to go to the White House. I want to be on a stage with the President [Ronald Reagan], and get an award from him. And I sure want to meet Nancy [First Lady, Nancy Reagan]. The whole works. Why not? You think you can do that, Branca. Can you get me an award from the President?’
John laughed. ‘Well, I can sure try.’ The next day, John Branca went to work on the idea. He telephoned Elizabeth Dole and told her that she could have the song for her drunk-driving campaign if she dreamed up some kind of humanitarian award that the President could present to Michael. She agreed. The President agreed, as did the First Lady.
The presentation was set for 14 May 1984. It had started out as an exciting day. In fact, it was said that there hadn't been that much excitement at the White House since the day the hostages came home from Iran. For the occasion, the President wore a navy blue suit, navy blue and grey striped tie and white shirt. Nancy was chic in a white Adolfo suit trimmed with gold buttons and gold braid. It hardly mattered what she wore, though, for anyone standing next to Michael Jackson that day would pale in comparison. Michael appeared resplendent in an electric-blue sequined jacket adorned with sequined braid, a sequined gold sash, and sequined gold epaulets. He also wore his trademark single white, rhinestoned glove.
Hundreds of White House officials and secretaries, many of them clutching cameras, gathered on the sun-speckled lawn to catch a glimpse of Michael. More than a hundred yards back from the stage, the White House fence was lined solidly with fans, many wearing a single white glove like the one Michael sported.
Two thousand people cheered as Ronald Reagan stepped on to a stage on the White House South Lawn with Nancy and Michael. ‘Well, isn't this a thriller,’ he said. ‘We haven't seen this many people since we left China. And just think you all came to see me.’
As Michael, the President and the First Lady walked to the Oval Office, one middle-aged White House office worker standing across from the Rose Garden shrieked, ‘I saw his foot. I saw his foot!’
A special metal detector was constructed in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden to screen Michael and his entourage of eight security men; Frank Dileo, John Branca and publicist Norman Winter. There was also a young man with Michael, a person no one seemed to know, except for Michael. He was dark, in his early twenties, and good looking. Dileo, Branca and Winter were perplexed as to who this person was, and when Michael was asked how the man should be identified to the press, he said, ‘He's a close friend of mine. I don't care what you tell people. It's no one's business.’ Norman Winter must have known that the presence of this mystery friend would raise some eyebrows. In order to protect Michael from controversy, he identified the man as a Secret Service agent.
Once at the podium, the President noted that Michael was ‘proof of what a person can accomplish through a lifestyle free of alcohol or drug abuse. People young and old respect that. And if Americans follow his example, then we can face up to the problem of drinking and driving, and we can, in Michael's words, beat it.’ After the President handed him a plaque, the only words Michael nervously spoke – or whispered, rather – were, ‘I'm very, very honoured. Thank you very much, Mr President.’ A pause. ‘Oh, and Mrs Reagan, too,’ he added as an afterthought. Then, he giggled as if it suddenly occurred to him that yes, he really was standing there with the President of the United States.
Six news photographers covering the event wore white gloves on one hand as they shot pictures of the Reagans and Jackson. The whole event took about nine minutes. Afterwards, nine police motorcycles and several vans and mounted police escorted Michael from the White House.
But before they left, the entourage was given a special tour of the White House; Michael was particularly fascinated by a portrait of Andrew Jackson in a military jacket very much like the blue-sequinned one he wore that day. After the tour, the group was scheduled to spend time with the President and the First Lady.
Things took a turn for the worse, though, when Michael arrived at the Diplomatic Reception Room where he was to meet privately with the Reagans. He had been told that only a few children of staff members would be present. Instead, there were about seventy-five adults. Michael put one foot into the Reception Room, took a quick look around, and then ran out, down the hall and into the bathroom off the Presidential Library. Frank Dileo and the rest of the entourage followed him. However, before they could reach him, Michael closed the door and locked it.
‘Hey, Mike, come on out,’ Frank said.
‘No. They said there would be kids. But those aren't kids,’ Michael shouted back.
‘But there will be children. We'll go get the children,’ a White House aide promised. Then he turned to an assistant. ‘Listen, if the First Lady gets a load of this, she's going to be mad as hell. Now you go get some kids in here, damn it. Get James Baker's kid. She's cute. [Chief of Staff James Baker had brought his six-year-old daughter, Mary Bonner.] I don't care who you get, just get some kids in here.’
Frank then addressed the closed bathroom door, again. ‘It's okay, Michael. We're going to get the kids.’ His voice had a patient tone, as though he were soothing a disturbed child. John Branca stood near by, watching with a bemused expression on his face.
‘Well, you'll have to also clear all of those adults out of there before I come out,’ Michael warned.
‘Done.’
Someone ran into the Reception Room. ‘Okay, out!’ he said. ‘Everybody out. Out, out, out!’
Senior staff and cabinet members cleared that room so quickly, an observer might have thought there had been a bomb threat.
‘What's happening?’
‘Where's Michael Jackson?’
‘Has he left?’
Everyone spoke at once as they were ushered from the room.
The aide then ran back to the bathroom door, where a cluster of men with worried looks had congregated. He conferred with one of Michael's people. ‘Okay. You can come out now, Michael,’ Norman Winter said, finally. ‘Everything is okay.’
‘Are you sure?’ came back the soft voice.
Frank Dileo knocked on the door with his fist, one loud thud. ‘Okay, Mike, outta there. I mean it.’
The bathroom door opened slowly. Michael appeared. He looked around, slightly embarrassed. Frank put his arm around him. ‘I'm sorry,’ Michael told him, ‘but I was told there wouldn't be so many people.’
Michael was then ushered back into the Reception Room, where awaiting him were just a few officials and their children. Elizabeth Dole was the first to approach Michael. She handed him a copy of Thriller and asked him to sign the record jacket.
Then Ronald and Nancy Reagan arrived and led Michael into the Roosevelt Room to meet some other aides and their families.
Nancy Reagan whispered to one of Michael's staff. ‘I've heard that he wants to look like that singer Diana Ross, but really, looking at him up close, he's so much prettier than she is. Don't you agree? I mean, I just don't think she's that attractive, but he certainly is.’
The First Lady waited for a response. There was none.
‘I just wish he would take off his sunglasses,’ she said. ‘Tell me, has he had any surgery on his eyes?’
The aide shrugged. He knew better than to discuss Michael's private life, even with the President's wife.
She studied Michael closely as he spoke to her husband on the other side of the room. ‘Certainly his nose has been done,’ she observed, her tone hushed. ‘More than once, I'd say. I wonder about his cheekbones, though. Is that makeup, or has he had them done too?’
By this time, the First Lady didn't act as if she actually expected an answer, but the aide shrugged again anyway.
‘It's all so peculiar, really,’ Nancy observed as Ronald Reagan shook Michael's hand. ‘A boy who looks just like a girl, who whispers when he speaks, wears a glove on one hand and sunglasses all the time. I just don't know what to make of it.’ She shook her head in dismay, as if at a loss for words.
Finally, the Jackson employee broke his silence. ‘Listen, you don't know the half of it,’ he said, rolling his eyes. He looked at her with a conspiratorial smile, expecting her to laugh. She didn't. Instead, she stared at him for a cold moment. ‘Well, he is talented,’ she said as she walked away, ‘and I would think that's all that you should be concerned about.’
Transcript:
Ronald Reagan: Well, isn't this a thriller? [Laughter] I'm delighted to see all of you here today. We haven't seen this many people since we left China. And just think, you all came to see me. [Laughter]
No, I know why you're here, and with good reason—to see one of the most talented, most popular, and most exciting superstars in the music world today—Michael Jackson.
And, Michael, welcome to the White House. I hope you'll forgive me, but we have quite a few young folks in the White House who all wanted me to give you the same message. They said to tell Michael, "Please give some TLC to the PYTs." [Laughter] Now, I know that sounds a little off-the-wall, but you know what I mean. [Laughter]
And, Michael, I have another message from our fans in the Washington, DC, area. They said, we want you back. So, when you begin your greatly awaited cross-country tour, will you please be sure to drop off here in the Nation's Capital?
Well, down to business. We're gathered here to mark the progress of a shared endeavor and to commit ourselves to an even greater national effort, as Elizabeth told you. On April 14th of 1982, I created a Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving. And since that date, real progress has been made. States have passed tougher laws, arrests and enforcement have been stepped up, and citizens across our country are taking a stronger stand against the tragedies caused by drinking and driving.
Another milestone resulted in the Commission's work—the creation of a National Public Service Campaign to make more Americans aware of solutions to this national problem. Our campaign will marshal the power of the media, with the help, as you've been told, of the Advertising Council, our Private Sector Initiatives Office, and the Department of Transportation, under the strong leadership of Secretary Elizabeth Dole. This private sector-government partnership brings a message to young people that will touch many lives and change them for the better.
Today we recognize all these fine efforts of voluntarism by the Commission members as well as those of the Ad Council. Helping one another for the good of this country and its citizens and without concern for reward or payment, this is the heart of America—strong, good, and true.
I want to recognize another volunteer effort made for the good of our country, especially our nation's youth, and it is, as you've been told, none other than Michael Jackson's effort.
At this stage of his career, when it would seem he's achieved everything a musical performer could hope for, Michael Jackson is taking time to help lead the fight against alcohol and drug abuse.
Michael, you've made it possible for us to warn millions of young Americans about the dangers of drinking and driving. You've done this with your music you've provided to the public service messages as well as through your own personal example. And thanks to your help, Michael, young people from virtually every family in America will hear these messages on television and radio. And they will hear them at one of the most critical times of the year, when graduations and vacations are fast approaching. Thanks to your help, lives will be saved. And no one can put a dollar value on the precious life of one boy or girl.
Michael Jackson is proof of what a person can accomplish through a lifestyle free of alcohol or drug abuse. People young and old respect that. And if Americans follow his example, then we can face up to the problem of drinking and driving, and we can, in Michael's words, beat it.
Nancy spends a great deal of her time with young people talking about the problems of drug and alcohol abuse, so I speak for both of us when I say, thank you, Michael, for the example that you're giving to millions of young Americans who look up to you.
And let me just say as one who spent a certain part of his life in the entertainment business, what Michael Jackson has achieved is a tribute to 20 years of hard work, energy, tireless dedication, and a wealth of talent that keeps on growing. Your success is an American dream come true.
And now, if you'd permit me, I would like to present you with this award. And I would like to read what it says: "To Michael Jackson, with appreciation for the outstanding example you have set for the youth of America and the world. Your historic record-breaking achievements and your preeminence in popular music are a tribute to your creativity, dedication, and great ability. The generous contribution of your time and talent to the National Campaign Against Teenage Drunk Driving will help millions of young Americans learn that drinking and driving can kill a friendship."
Michael Jackson: “I'm very, very honored. Thank you very much, Mr. President and Mrs Reagan.”
Washington Post (May 13, 1984)
"Well, isn't this a thriller," said President Reagan. "We haven't seen this many people since we left China."
Michael Jackson, the most popular entertainer in the world, and one of the shyest, went to the White House yesterday to hear words of thanks from Reagan and Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole for taking part in a new advertising campaign against teenage drunken driving.
"Just think, you all came to see me," Reagan added, looking out over the crowd on the South Lawn of the White House.
Jackson, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, approached the Rose Garden podium in an electric-blue, sequined Sgt. Pepper jacket with gold braid, gold epaulets, and a gold sash that reflected a sun that occasionally peeked through the clouds. His socks were white-sequined. Reagan shook Jackson's gloved hand vigorously.
Reagan presented Jackson, 25, with the presidential public safety communication award for letting his song "Beat It" be used in the campaign's radio and television commercials. Jackson does not appear in the spots.
The singer, who had helped Mrs. Reagan onto the podium, stood by somewhat stiffly, occasionally bringing up his right hand, encased in its trademark white-sequined glove, to cover an embarrassed smile.
The ceremony took less than 10 minutes. Finally, it was time for Jackson to speak. He said 13 high, soft words: "I'm very, very honored. Thank you very much, Mr. President and Mrs Reagan."
With that, Jackson was off for a presidential tour of the Oval Office. He neither sang nor danced, and those of the several hundred guests who had hoped for a little backward moonwalking were disappointed.
Jackson's White House appearance, which had been kept secret until late last week for fear of attracting over-zealous fans to Pennsylvania Avenue, did attract several hundred people, who lined both Pennsylvania Avenue and E Street, chanting, "We want Michael", and hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive pop star.
Whenever Jackson's name wafted out of the loudspeakers, it induced a cheer from the crowd behind the White House, who could not see Jackson because of a wall of television cameras. A number of photographers and cameramen elicited cheers from the E Street crowd when they raised a single white-gloved hand, but the fans soon got suspicious when four gloved hands went up at once.
Washington Post, "Glovesick Fans Line Up for a Look" (May 13, 1984)
They clung to the White House fence, shaking the bars screaming at every limousine that passed through the gates. They cried for Michael Jackson, but it was just Elizabeth Dole. Wearing Michael Jackson pins, earrings and gloves, they swooned for him, but it was only a chauffeur wearing a white glove, pretending that he was the one.
"Michael Jackson's giving autographs on the other side!", yelled a man waving a sheet of paper on which the initials "MJ" were scrawled. It was a prank. But it worked, creating a teenybopper stampede the likes of which the White House had not seen since the South Lawn Easter Egg Roll. About 300 teenagers and a few fanatic parents played hooky from school and work yesterday to catch a glimpse of Jackson, who was making a special appearance at the White House to kick off a new drunken-driving awareness campaign.
"He's a babe", sighed Valerie Schembs, 14, as she staked out one of the gates. And why wasn't she in school? "Because her mom took her out", said her mom, Marge Schembs, who was also staking out a gate. "You can go to school every day", said Valerie. "You can't see Michael Jackson every day", said Marge Schembs, who was also staking out a gate. "You can go to school every day", said Valerie. "You can't see Michael Jackson every day", said Marge Schembs.
As it turned out, most of those outside the gates did not see Michael Jackson. IN a carefully controlled ceremony, Jackson was whisked out onto a podium on the South Lawn and was then taken back inside the White House. Remarks on drunken driving broadcase over loudspeaker weree greeted with screams until the crowd outside the gates realized that it was Dole, not Jackson, speaking.
But they were undaunted. Even when WKYS-FM reporter Bob Hainey made a mock call on his walkie-talkie for truant officers to pick up children playing hooky at the White House, the crowd simply slipped away to stake out other gates.
The youngsters tried to describe Jackson's appeal, which has earned him more than $50 million and numerous music awards.
"He's a hunk [pant, pant]", sighed Barbara Simmons, 17, a waitress at Roy Rogers.
"He's clean, not nasty", said Wendy Carter, 14. "The only thing that would turn me against him is [if] he turns out to be a fake."
"I don't care what people say about him", said Tenica Simuel, 15, to the agreement of her classmate Tawana Cain, 15. "His sex life is nobody's business but his own."
"He's totally great", said Calvin Sowell, 27, a coffee company employee. "I love him, too. And I'm a man."
The only group that appeared truly distressed at not seeing Jackson were the 40 or so children from the Pilgrim Day Care Center whose pathetic refrain, "Where's Michael?", could be heard along the sidewalk as their chaperons. "They talk about him all the time. They come to school singing his records. They even dress like him. I think it's because of the beat of his music, and the words are easy, plus they like things that rhyme."
Parker turned to the children for their comments, but Gwen North, 5, had only a question: "Are we gonna see Michael Jackson?"
At the northwest gate of the White House, some fans did--and threw themselves back onto the back of his limousine, to be rewarded by a shy smile and a eave of the gloved hand.
Jackson was seated in the back seat of an unmarked government car, leaving the White House.
Momentarily without an escort of motorcycle police, the car was forced to stop in traffic at a red light, giving the crowd a chance to close in.
"Michael!", about two dozen teenagers shouted as they ran through moving traffic to storm the car and jump on the trunk before the car moved away.
"I'm so happy", said a sobbing Denise Johnson, 13, of Temple, Md., after sliding off the trunk.
Perhaps the most disappointed fan was 21-year-old Cecil Butler from Washington, who chased the car for three blocks, holding above his head a framed portrait of Jackson painted in fluorescent colors on black velvet.
"I was hoping he'd stop and take it. I intended it as a present for him", Butler said, panting.
Another young man asked if Butler wanted to sell the painting.
"No way", he said. "Michael saw this with his own eyes. If he didn't take it, I'm keeping it."
“USA Today” (May 15, 1984)
Award ceremonies at the White House are usually routine. Monday's wasn't.
The guest of honor was Michael chael Jackson, wearing the familiar spangles, sunglasses and that one white glove — the look that'S pure magic
right now. And that changed everything.
The event was, in fact, a party--"a classic," said Jimmy Carter's former press secretary Jody Powell. "My guess is that no news organization will be able to resist."
For President Reagan, it was a publicity coup — worth time on the three TV networks' evening news programs.
Though only nine minutes long, the ceremony was so big that it had to be held on the spacious South Lawn. News photographers showed up wearing their own white gloves and hundreds of teenagers crowded the White House fences to catch a glimpse. Before Jackson could leave, Park Police on horseback, White House security guards and Secret Service agents had to push the crowds off his car.
At the ceremony, Reagan was jubilant.
"Well, isn't this a thriller?" Reagan asked, winking toward Jackson's "Thriller", the No. 1 selling album of all time (more than 30 million copies).
Jackson was at the White House to receive an award for donating his hit song, "Beat It", to a national advertising campaign against teenage drunken driving.
Such ceremonies at the White House are commonplace. They are most Often held for signing a bill or an award. If reporters are present. they may be ignored or may be included depending on the president's mood.
As with Jackson's appearance, the subjects are usually uplifting, noncontroversial and not heavily covered.
Jackson left in an unmarked government car that was to have been escorted east on Pennsylvania by several motorcycle policemen. But the driver suddenly turned west instead and was surrounded by screaming fans at a spotlight.
When a few fans jumped on the trunk, Jackson turned and smiled, holding up his gloved hand. When the light changed, the car moved slowly away, and then sped left on 17th Street.
As several hundred shrieking fans jammed the White House gates, the 25-year-old singer accepted an award from President Reagan for allowing one of his hit songs to be used in a new advertising campaign against drunk driving.
...Although an internal memo told White House staffers that no guests were to be invited to see Jackson, chief of staff James Baker brought along his daughter, grnaddaughter, and daughter-in-law, and several other high-ranking officails also had their children present.
Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole, whose agency developed the ad campaign, introduced Jackson, the President, and Mrs. Reagan, joking that she was "sharing the stage with three show-business stars."
...Young fans started lining up at the gates hours before Jackson was due at the White House. They wore Jackson T-shirts, buttons, jackiets, hats, and single sequinned gloves, and carried signs, cameras, and pictures. Several young men propped booming tape recorders on their shoulders that played Jackson's hits over and over again at deafening levels.
Park police set up special barricades along Pennsylvania Avenue to allow traffic to keep moving, and officers kept a close watch on the crowd which grew rapidly as 11 a.m.--the scheduled time for the ceremony--approached.
When it became clear that Jackson had already entered, apparently through a side gate, some gave up and left. "It's a fakeout, man", one youth complained.
But hundreds stayed, surging toward the barricade every time a long, dark limousine passed. A stampede followed the screams when Jackson was spotted in the back seat of dark blue Chrysler New Yorker that was exiting on to Pennsylvania Avenue. The car sped forward, but the crowd chased it and caught up at a traffic light on the corner.
The driver took a quick left down 17th Street, ran a red light and disappeared, leaving breathless fans and worried policemen behind,
"I knocked on the window and he turned around and waved at me", hollered Willie Taylor, a 16-year-old resident of Washington, at anyone who would listen. "He smiled at me, man. He's wonderful."
"Detroit Free Press (May 16, 1984)
A record turnout of staff and press was on hand. Even Edwin Meese, the attorney general designate, who has been keeping a low profile, made the scene.
Although the sun shone brightly, a few rolls of thunder provided sound effects worthy of the tense idol who was being celebrated for making a commercial for a Department of Transportation campaign to cut down on teenage drinking.
Jackson and actress Brooke Shields were taken on a tour of the White House. Then he appeared on the South Lawn with the Reagans.