Ep. 32 - Eugene Allen, Butler of Presidents

In 2008, a newspaper man, named Wil Haygood, was on a mission to interview a very specific person. After spending a multitude of hours making calls and searching, he finally was able to make contact with the man who had seen more history happen than Wil had even hoped for. This man had not been a politician, a musician, or a rich statistician. Nope! This man had been a butler. A butler to presidents of the United States, to be exact. What was it like to be a butler in the most distinguished household in the country? Join us as we discuss this and take a breath of dead air with Eugene Allen.

Sources

Daniels, Lee, director. The Butler. 2013.

Haygood, Wil. “A Butler Well Served by This Election.” Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/a-butler-well-served-by-this-election/2019/01/02/b2a805a6-07b1-11e9-88e3-989a3e456820_story.html. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

Haygood, Wil. The Butler: A Witness to History. 2018.

Nagle, Bethany. “The Life of Eugene Allen.” White House Historical Association, www.whitehousehistory.org/the-life-of-eugene-allen. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/ben-mcelroy/pocket-watch

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