Manolo Sanchez | |
|---|---|
 Sanchez (Holding the umbrella) in 1970 | |
| Born | Manuel Sanchez 1929 (1929) |
| Died | c. 2000s Spain |
| Citizenship |
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| Occupation | Valet |
| Known for | Working forRichard Nixon from 1962 toc. 1980 |
| Spouse | Josefina Fernández (died 1990s) |
Manuel "Manolo"Sanchez (1929 –c. 2000s) was a long-timevalet toRichard Nixon, known for his unfailing loyalty and fierce devotion to the former United States president. Sanchez was born in Cuba to a Spanish family, and was raised in Spain before returning to Cuba. There, he worked as a dishwasher and laborer before moving to the United States. He was employed by Richard Nixon from 1962 to about 1980. The famously reserved Nixon developed a close friendship with Sanchez and once described him as a member of his family.
Sanchez was born in 1929 inMarianao, inHavana, Cuba, to Spanish parents fromA Coruña.[1] The family returned to A Coruña shortly after his birth.[2] In 1946 he returned toCuba where he worked as a dishwasher and laborer. In 1950 he immigrated, again, to the United States and initially resided in the state of Florida.[3]
Sanchez began working for Richard and Pat Nixon in 1962 after being referred to the couple by Nixon family friendBebe Rebozo. Sanchez and his wife Fina moved into the Nixons' 12-room apartment at 810 Fifth Avenue in New York City.[4] Nixon would later describe the Sanchezes as "members of our family in a very special way".[5] Twelve years later, when asked by a reporter if he would continue working for Nixon after he left office, Sanchez responded "the boss will not need to ask me. Wherever he goes in three years from now, he knows I will go with him".[6]
On January 15, 1967, Nixon held a dinner at his home during which he decided to run for president of the United States in 1968. In attendance werePat Nixon, the Nixon's children, Nixon's longtime secretaryRose Mary Woods, and Manolo and Fina Sanchez. All attendees, except Pat Nixon, encouraged him to seek theRepublican nomination.[7]
Sanchez moved to Washington with the Nixons during thepresidency of Richard Nixon, and lived with Fina in a suite on the third floor of theExecutive Residence of the White House.[3]
Sanchez, along with the president's physicianMajor-General Walter Tkach and fourUnited States Secret Service agents, accompanied Nixon during hisunannounced 4:40 a.m. visit to theLincoln Memorial on May 8, 1970, during which he met students protesting theVietnam War. Nixon reportedly woke Sanchez at 4:22 in the morning and inquired if he'd "ever seen the Lincoln Memorial at night? Get your clothes on, we'll go!" At the memorial, Nixon showed Sanchez inside the sanctum and described the inscriptions; the pair were eventually approached by a group of about 30 protesters and spent the next two hours speaking with them. After White House personnel became aware Nixon had left the building unannounced,Ron Ziegler mounted a mission to retrieve him. After recovering the president, and during the return trip to the White House, Nixon insisted on stopping at theUnited States Capitol, where he took his former seat in the chamber of theU.S. House of Representatives and instructed Sanchez to make a speech. Sanchez spoke of his pride in being acitizen of the United States and Nixon and some female cleaners who were present applauded. One of the women present, Carrie Moore, asked Nixon to sign her Bible, which he did, and holding her hand told her that his mother "was a saint" and "you be a saint too".[8]White House Chief of StaffH. R. Haldeman would later describe the incident in his diary as "the weirdest day yet".[9][10]
During his last years in the White House, Nixon became increasingly dependent on Sanchez, and the two developed aconstructed language "sometimes using words that only the two of them understood".[11] When Sanchez was summoned forjury duty in 1972, White House Chief of StaffJohn Ehrlichman asked the court to excuse Sanchez from service "in order that he can be available to the president".[12] Despite his loyalty to Nixon, Sanchez was known to have disagreed with the president on several occasions. During one incident, in 1973, Nixon expressed frustration toEnvironmental Protection Agency AdministratorRussell E. Train about overly cumbersome environmental regulations, citing the instance of mangrove trees at his property inKey Biscayne, Florida, which he couldn't cut down, before turning to Sanchez and asking "isn't that right"? Sanchez reportedly replied:[13]
No, Mr. President. You know when I have my day off down there I go fishing. I know that the fish I catch need those mangroves to grow up in. If you cut them down there won't be any more fish.
He continued working for Richard and Pat Nixon at their post-presidency home inSan Clemente, California. Sanchez was alone with Nixon when the latter suffered a near-fatal relapse after emerging from surgery forphlebitis in 1974. Before slipping into unconsciousness, Nixon told Sanchez "Manolo, I don't think I'm going to get out of here alive".[14] After Nixon received a pardon fromGerald Ford, the Associated Press intercepted Sanchez while he was grocery shopping for Nixon inPalm Springs to get Nixon's reaction. Sanchez replied that,[15]
Someday I'm going to tell you everything, the way they framed him. I think it was maybe even harder on me than on him. The pardon was a big relief to us all. He is in good spirits, thank you, God.
By 1980, after nearly two decades serving the Nixons, Manolo Sanchez retired with his wife, Fina, and returned to Spain.[16][17]
Sanchez was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1968; Nixon sponsored his application, attended the ceremony, and took theoath of allegiance with him. Sanchez married his wife, Fina, in Spain.[3]
Little is known about Sanchez after his return to Spain. A 2019 article from the newspaperFaro de Vigo reports that his wife, Fina, died in the 1990s, and he died several years later, after the turn of the 21st century.[2]
Sanchez was played byTony Plana inOliver Stone'sNixon,[2] and Eloy Casados inRon Howard’sFrost/Nixon.
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