Entertaining Brezhnev.
Part 5 of 5: Entertaining Mr. Brezhnev
Introducing Leonid Brezhnev to 'True Grit'
chicagotribune.com.
By James Warren
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 21, 2005
Everybody knows the flurry of preparations surrounding a special houseguest. During the Cold War, the White House had no more important visitor than the leader of the Soviet Union. As newly disclosed transcripts of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's phone conversations underscore, America's top diplomat stepped in to ensure the entertainment for Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev was just right. Kissinger even tapped his powerful contacts in the film industry for movies dubbed in Russian for the Soviet leader -- who loved westerns -- to enjoy at Camp David.
On June 15, 1973, Kissinger spoke with Paul Keyes, a Hollywood producer-writer whose TV credits included "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" and who was overseeing the entertainment for a White House dinner to be held three days later for Brezhnev. What follows are excerpts of transcripts made by secretaries for Kissinger, the former secretary of state and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, at times reflecting spelling errors and lack of correct punctuation.
Kissinger: Paul I've just been told that we've got a patriotic group [the Johnny Mann Singers] performing for Brezhnev.
Keyes: Yes.
Kissinger: Can somebody explain to me the reasoning by which we arrived at this conclusion.
Keyes: Well, when you say patriotic group, it's a group that has it's own television show every Monday night.
Kissinger: That's great, but I mean He's the General Secretary of the Communist Party, does he have to hear an American patriotic songs. How would we feel if the President had to listen to Communist songs in the Kremlin.
Keyes: Uh huh.
Kissinger: What if they played the Internationals [Internationale, revolutionary socialist hymn and former Soviet anthem] for the President.
Keyes: Well, Henry, it's a very true comparison of like the Internationale or our national anthem. They are doing a show business medley, they are doing a dixie land medley, and the patriotic thing is they close with a medley -- it's Battle Hymn of the Republic, but it's not all America the Beautiful in any way.
Kissinger: But when you introduce them could we at least say this is a sort of a cross section of American folk songs.
Keyes: Yes, that is exactly the point.
Kissinger: And can you program the thing American Folk Songs or something like this, so that the guy doesn't look like an idiot back in Moscow.
Keyes: Uh hum. You want in the program "American Folk Songs".
Kissinger: That's right. Something like that.
A couple of hours later, Keyes is back in touch with Kissinger.
Keyes: I wanted to reassure you about this -- now let me tell you what the biography of the program says. It simply states Johnny Mann's professional career and then it announces the program of the songs representing the many geographic sections of the United States as well as different eras in history. The songs listed are these: A Dixieland Medley; a Neal [Neil] Diamond Medley; America, there's So Much to Say; A Broadway Medley; and a Southern Medley. Now let me tell you what songs are involved --
Kissinger: That's fine.
Keyes: In the Dixieland, there is Alexander's Ragtime Bank [Band], Bill Bailey Come Home, BackHome in Indiana; the Broadway medley has Hello Dolly, Cabaret, Never Fall in Love Again, Oklahoma, Sunrise Sunset and the Finale is Dixie and the Battle Hymn; now there is one song in the middle after we are into the program about 10 minutes and it is called America, there is so much to say -- now let me tell you how I'll handle that. It is -- the bottom line of the song is "Whoever you are, whatever you do, America is you -- " It's about we got a great thing going here. So here's is what I'm going to do to completely relieve you. When Johnny introduces that song, I will have him say how happy we are that Mr. Brezhnev is in our country and in the WH [White House] and as You love your country we love our country and here is a song we like to sing and you can sing America ------------- and you would sing it to yourself and I think
Kissinger: That will help.
Worrying about one evening's musical program took a back seat to a more challenging task: lining up some movies for the Soviet premier, who spoke no English, to watch at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. Kissinger went straight to the top. On June 11, 1973, he called producer Robert Evans, a powerful Paramount Pictures executive who had introduced Kissinger to one of his celebrity dates, actress Jill St. John.
Kissinger: Robert, I have to call you back in a few minutes but I have one problem. Brezhnev likes cowboy movies -- you follow me.
Evans: Right. You need a good cowboy movie?
Kissinger: We need some cowboy movies, but are there any with Russian subtitles?
Evans: With Russian subtitles?
Kissinger: Or can they be subtitled in a week -- one or two movies?
Evans: I don't know who would be able to -- You mean a subtitle on --
Kissinger: On the dialogue.
Evans: In other words, subtitles would be good enough.
Kissinger: Yeah.
Evans: When would you want to show it to them?
Kissinger: In Camp David -- we've got him there for two days next weekend. And the guy's crazy about cowboy movies.
Evans: Cowboy movies -- I wonder who's Russian will get subtitled--in Russian.
Kissinger: Hugh Wasserman (sp?) [Kissinger's secretary was uncertain about the name of Lew Wasserman, chairman of MCA and one of Hollywood's legendary moguls] is dying to get -- Remember all that stuff he has about getting into the Russian market?
Evans: Yeah.
Kissinger: I mean, quite seriously, this would be a good way to build up some credit with him.
Evans: May I have Frank Yablans, the President of my company [Paramount Pictures]; he's in New York -- could have a subtitle man call you.
Kissinger: Could you?
Evans: I'll have him call you immediately.
Kissinger: Good. Of course, I have some much more important matters to discuss with you, Bob . . . .
The call then comes from Yablans.
Kissinger: How nice of you to call me. I have a problem which is probably insolvable. We have Brezhnev in Camp David over the weekend and he's a nut on cowboy movies and I've got some cowboy movies but now I've found out he doesn't speak a word of English.
Yablans: How about Hebrew?
Kissinger: Hebrew, I think he would love, particularly given the Russian fondness with Jews.
Yablans: It has to be Western. I have some -- first of all, we don't subtitle Russian, we dub them.
Kissinger: That's even better. What do you have.
Yablans: I have Romeo and Juliet, it's a magnificant picture. I have Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn, it's an old film.
Kissinger: Yeah, that's a nice one.
Yablans: But that's a film that in the international market is a perrenial. You might love it.
Kissinger: Why don't you let me have those.
Yablans: I'll tell you what, I think I have four films in Russian.
Kissinger: What are they?
Yablans: These two for sure, I don't know what the other two are. They are pictures that the Russians bought for distribution, so apparently it appeals to their taste.
Kissinger: That'd be terrific.
Yablans: And I'll have those sent up to you.
Kissinger: You have them in 16 mm?
Yablans: Either in 16, you don't have 35 up there.
Kissinger: I don't know frankly what the hell they
Yablans: Let me see what I have, and I'll have my girl let your girl know.
Kissinger: That would be nice.
Yablans: Also I'm going to try to subtitle "True Grit" which is the John Wayne western.
Kissinger: Oh, aren't you nice.
Yablans: But I don't know if we'll have it ready in time, Henry. It's an awful problem.
Kissinger: Well, if you can get it done even during the week it would be good.
Yablans: Do you need it for what, Saturday.
Kissinger: Well, he's arriving Saturday, if I can have it Saturday and Sunday, and then he's going to stay for the rest of the week, so we could keep him amused. |
