yeah I'm glad you folks are in a good mood we have a lot of excitement going on here tonight
every year in New York City millions of visitors take the tour of Rockefeller Center they see a lot
of interesting things but I doubt that there's anything that can compare with their visit to
the world famous family attraction the Hall of Presidents in this National Museum and Shrine
the proud Citizen and the respectful Foreigner alike May view artifacts and Exhibits from the
long and colorful history of the presidency of this country nowhere else is captured the
East office
why don't you join me now as
a tour of the Hall of Presidents Walk This Way if you will Hiram nice to see you will Steve
well here we are in the Hall of Presidents it's breathtaking isn't it ladies and gentlemen
it's like being in a shrine well here's the first exhibit right here today Franklin Pierce is one
of the Lesser known presidents and so it was in his own day it's too bad our 14th President
might have had a more distinguished term in Washington if only he had been able to get
into office without being stopped at the door by White House guards they simply did not recognize
him to this day Pierce Remains the only president who needed both a name tag and an ID card right
now this is an actual desk used by Ulysses S Grant while he was president and these
are the old General's original office accessories let's take a look shall we
here is the The Inkwell and as you can see he had a whiskey flask and hidden
right there this is uh the globe where Grant spent many hours pouring over the
place there here is a compilation of his State of the Union addresses right here
now this is sort of interesting this is what he did for recreation here we
have a stereo optican and one of the old uh viewing devices of course here was the Flaca
kind of take the edge off a busy day like that and uh finally here we have General
Grant's gin bottle where he kept all his rubber bands and paper clips it's a
okay this is one of the gifts I was talking about earlier
all right now of all the little known facts about George Washington none is as well known
as the fact that he had a set of wooden teeth the father of our country had several other
wooden Parts displayed here we see the wooden nose the wooden left ear the wooden clavicle
this is the wooden hip and thigh here we have his wooden socks and right over
here we have Martha Washington who is also made of wood yes a wooden first lady Martha
you know Lincoln was our tallest President James Madison was our
shortest president but Martin Van Buren our eighth president has the distinction of being
the incredible tattooed president
yes though rarely seen in public Van Buren's colorfully decorated flesh was occasionally buried
for visiting dignitaries and fun-loving cabinet members Martin Van Buren I think a little more yes
though he was a respected intellectual and an idealistic Statesman Woodrow Wilson nevertheless
like to have fun here on loan now from the Smithsonian are some examples of Wilson's
extensive collection of custom-made novelty underwear here is the one he was wearing when
he uh made his uh uh what do you call it the uh the deck I'll get it here in a couple of days
inauguration speech thank you very much and over here is when he went to Congress to ask them to
declare war against Germany he was wearing oh those down there I believe swearing just
now uh James Buchanan was the only bachelor president I guess I didn't have to tell you
that uh here we have a restoration of Buchanan's White House bedroom featuring the round bed which
revolved on a custom-made Chippendale frame This was later removed by Mrs Lincoln now note the
satin sheets right here and the fur bed spread and this of course was his pewter martini shaker and
his monogrammed a night shirt right here and of course his erotic collection of Engravings there
the piano the only bachelor president a lot of those things have a lot of those things around
he was only bachelor president later a series starring John Forsyth I believe um everyone knows
that Teddy Roosevelt inspired the popular and lovable teddy bear but few people realize that
William Taft our tubbiest President also inspired a stuffed toy yes the now forgotten Willie Bear
down here
quite a quite a popular item and by the way United States presidents have always been
announced by the playing of the strains of Hail to the Chief we all recognize
the only president who was introduced by another song was President Taft and I'm guessing you'll
all remember this theme yes that's how President Taft was introduced at State French as well
here at late night feel that our job is not just to entertain but to educate as well that's why
tonight it's a privilege for me to introduce our show's greatest scientific achievement the late
night animatron if you if you've ever been to Disneyland you've probably seen Abraham
Lincoln brought to life through the miracle of animatronics well we've had our staff of
technicians working for months and I think you're going to be astounded by what they've
come up with ladies and gentlemen from the late night Hall of Presidents please welcome
not Martin Van Buren but an incredible facsimile the Martin Van Buren animatron
good evening ladies and gentlemen don't be frightened I am Martin Van Buren the eighth
president of the United States may I remind you that there is to be no smoking or taking of
pictures during this performance I was inaugurated in 1837 after serving as Andrew Jackson's vice
president Old Hickory we call it yes he was a fine president oh look here's my dinner
now to enjoy this most delicious meal but wait where are my manners I'll eat this
after the show it would be impolite for me to indulge now in front of all you good people
I took office during a period of great economic depression known as the Panic of 1837. yet despite
this in a lingering back problem that plagued me throughout my career I was able to inaugurate
The Independent Treasury System and to serve my country America the Beautiful now if you'll excuse
me I think I'll enjoy this most vested meal before it gets too cold good night and God bless you
welcome back and for those of you just tuning in I'm talking with the Martin Van
Buren animatron and uh it was unbelievable during the commercial uh too bad you didn't
get to see it the the animatron ate an entire meal this is very amazing piece of work here
thank you David uh now Martin you were the first president who was born in the United States after
the war of independence correct that's right David I was born in 1782 in Kinderhook New York
I see there are some folks here from Kinderhook
you know Dave I ran for president in 1848 on the Free Soil ticket yeah well it was
certainly a pleasure talking with you uh uh president I want to thank you for being here sir
thank you David but now I must be going I must rejoin my friends in the Hall of Presidents
all right here excuse me Mr President are you all right leave me alone I'm fine it's just my bad
back acting up again this is very unusual I'll be all right if I could just ask two of my assistants
what do I do with this now is there just release this just hold on to it Dave okay
it's nice to have something to hold on to now where are you taking that
are you licensed to operate that sir no this isn't Uncle Floyd
check it out what
thank you very much honey
yeah all night this is just the first hour of this kind of fun we'll be we'll
be here till dawn ladies and gentlemen if we haven't already been here till dawn well
let me gather my thoughts my next guest is the voice of the New York Knicks
and New York Rangers and also covers football basketball and boxing for NBC