so she said i think he lives in the virginia, maryland, d.c. area. and so you ought to start your search there. so i got out phone books for like four straight days. it s a fairly common name. eugene allen. and i just started cold calling every eugene allen in, say, you know, all of the neighboring cities i mean towns outside of d.c., virginia, maryland. because if he was catching a taxicab, then i just said, well, he must live in the region. and on the 57th call, a gentleman answers the phone. i say my name is wil haygood. i m a reporter for the washington post and i m looking for mr. eugene allen, who i think worked at the white house with three administrations. he said i am that eugene allen. however, i worked for eight administrations. from harry truman to ronald reagan.
segregation, before the civil rights bills had been passed in this country, and who worked in the white house. and so i started this massive nationwide search, made a lot of phone calls, utilized all my sources. on the 57th call to his father s house, i said i m looking for mr. eugene allen who used to work at the white house. someone had told me that he had worked for three presidents and when i said i m looking for mr. allen who used to work for three presidents. he said well, you re speaking to him. but let me correct you, i worked for eight presidents. nobody had ever told his story? when we were looking at his archives in his basement, he had, i think, really realized the importance of what he had went through in life, 34 years at the white house, never missing a day of work, through eight presidents, from truman to reagan.
the white house. and so i started this massive nationwide search, made a lot of phone calls, utilized all my sources. on the 57th call to his father s house, i said i m looking for mr. eugene allen who used to work at the white house. someone had told me that he had worked for three presidents and when i said i m looking for mr. allen who used to work for three presidents. he said well, you re speaking to him. but let me correct you, i worked for eight presidents. nobody had ever told his story? when we were looking at his archives in his basement, he had, i think, really realized the importance of what he had went through in life, 34 years at the white house, never missing a day of work, through eight presidents, from truman to reagan. i said, nobody has ever written a lengthy story about you, mr.
the white house. and so i started this massive nationwide search, made a lot of phone calls, utilized all my sources, and on the 57th call to his father s house, i say this is will haygood with the washington post and i m looking for mr. eugene alan. someone told me he worked for three presidents and when i said i m looking for mr. alan who used to work for three presidents, he said well, you re speaking to him but let me correct you, i ve worked for eight presidents. nobody had ever told his story. when we were looking at his archives in his basement, he had, i think, really realized the importance of what he had went through in life, 34 years at the white house, never missing a day of work through eight presidents from harry trueman to ronald reagan. i said nobody has ever written a lengthy story about you, mr. allen? he stock a step closer to me and
haygood author of the butler, a witness to history. his original story the washington post inspired the film. what was it that initially drew you to this story? i knew i wanted to find somebody from the era of segregation before the civil rights bills had been passed in this country and what worked in the white house. and so i started this massive nationwide search, made a lot of phone calls, utilized all my sources, and on the 57th call to his father s house, i say this is will haygood with the washington pose and it and i m for mr. eugene alan. someone told me he worked for three presidents and when i said i m looking for mr. alan who used to work for three presidents, he said well, you re speaking to him but let me correct you, i ve worked for eight presidents. nobody had ever told his story. when we were looking at his archives in his basement, he