PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 01/07/1975 - HFSID 289642

RICHARD NIXON
Five months after resigning the Presidency, he thanks TV producer Paul Keyes for being such a loyal friend.
Typed Letter signed: "RN", 1 page, 7¼x10¼. La Casa Pacifica, San Clemente, California, 1975 January 7. On personal letterhead to Paul Keyes, Hollywood, California. In full: "We talk so often on the phone and personally that I seldom write you. But I wanted you to know that your Christmas remembrance reminded both Pat and me of that fact that we have never had more loyal or better friends than the Keyes. Sincerely". Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994), was elected 37th President (1969-1974) of the U.S. in 1968 after representing California in the U.S. House of Representatives (1947-1951) and U.S. Senate (1951-1953) and serving two terms as Dwight D. Eisenhower's Vice President. Nixon lost (1960), then won (1968), extremely close Presidential elections (facing John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, respectively), then won re-election by a landslide against George McGovern in 1972. His re-election triumph rapidly turned sour, however, as the burgeoning Watergate scandal claimed more and more of his key aides and finally compelled his own resignation. A pragmatic conservative who gained an early reputation as an anti-Communist, Nixon would achieve diplomatic triumphs in relations with China and the Soviet Union. On January 23, 1973, he made the historic announcement that a cease-fire on January 27 would end American involvement in the long and devastating Vietnam War. At home, Nixon initiated plans to improve the environment and added four conservative justices, including Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The first President to employ the 25th Amendment, he chose Gerald R. Ford to replace the resigning Spiro T. Agnew as his Vice President. On August 9, 1974, eight months after Ford was sworn in (December 6, 1973), Nixon resigned his office due to the Watergate scandal. He was pardoned by his successor on September 8. Nixon's prolific writings in his retirement years helped repair his reputation and hastened his re-emergence as an elder statesman. Paul Keyes (1925-2004) was an Emmy-winning comedy writer and TV producer, whose work ranged from Laugh-In (two of his three Emmys) to the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award series (another Emmy). He watched election returns with Nixon in 1968, and claimed to be the first person to address him as Mr. President. Multiple mailing folds. Top left corner creased. Otherwise, fine condition.