The Press Correspondents Dinner
Washington, D.C.
May 24, 1963
The annual Press Correspondents Dinner is a gathering of the White House Correspondents Association members—the press corps that works daily reporting news about the U.S. president.
It was emcee Merv Griffin who arranged for Streisand to participate in the Press Correspondents dinner in 1963. Griffin told Larry King, “I took Streisand with me and a couple of people, and we did a show.”
(Above-left photo: Custom satin shell dress, having wool jersey over skirt and bodice, short cuffed sleeves, scoop neck and empire waist. It is decorated with buttons in ascending size down the front of the gown, with corresponding faux button holes. There is a zipper in back. The dress sold in auction in 2004 for $7,200.)
Barbra sang (she closed with “Happy Days”) for the reporters who attended. Part of the Press Correspondent’s Dinner tradition, of course, is that the President of the United States attends.
Barbra Streisand, manager Marty Erlichman, and pianist Peter Daniels met President John F. Kennedy that evening after the show. Barbra, ignoring protocol, asked JFK for his autograph. She recalled, “After the dinner I met him. He said, ‘You have a beautiful voice. How long have you been singing?’ I said, ‘As long as you’ve been President’. I never get autographs for myself, but my mother had asked me to get his. He signed a card for me and I said, ‘You’re a doll.’”
Click the button below to hear a 1964 interview with Streisand in which she describes meeting Kennedy:
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