Garland L. Nowlan
Cite this Page
"Garland L. Nowlan," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/936.
- Positions
- Movie Operator
- Engineer
- Years in President's House
- 1939 – 1966
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Garland Leonard Nowlan was born on May 2, 1909, in Oklahoma but spent much of his early life in Alliance, Nebraska. (1) He was a chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy prior to World War II, serving nine years on the USS New Mexico; one of his primary duties was showing films on the battleship for recreational purposes. (2)
In 1939, Nowlan was transferred to the White House to serve as a moving picture operator for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, screening films for the first family on the Second Floor of the Residence at their request. (3) He worked under Electrician Howard D. Johnson. (4) In 1942, President Roosevelt expanded the East Wing to include additional office spaces, a secure shelter, and converted a large cloak room into a small movie theater. Nowlan recalled that before the war, Roosevelt enjoyed “sharp detective films and good pictures covering a wide range of subject” while after the outbreak of war, he primarily screened “newsreels, something in the series of ‘Why-we-fight’ pictures, such as the Battle of Russia, or secret films made as records of war.” (5)
Nowlan continued to operate movies for presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, arranging to acquire new releases for them through contacts with movie exchanges in Washington, D.C. He recalled: “Studios would even fly in a movie if the President requested one, and the First Family often saw movies even before they were released for showing to the general public.” (6) In 1953, Nowlan left service with the U.S. Navy and became a civilian operating engineer for the White House under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. His responsibilities included heating and air conditioning, as well as walking first dogs on the White House Grounds as needed. Garland Nowlan retired in 1966 after twenty-seven years on staff. (7) He died on September 6, 1976, and was buried at Parklawn Memorial Park and Menorah Gardens in Rockville, Maryland. (8) - (1) “Garland Leonard Nowlan,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175754529/garland-leonard-nowlan.
(2) “Alliance Man on White House Job,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), April 18, 1939, pg. 2; “Garland Nowlan, Who Shows Movies to President, Visits in Alliance,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), July 25, 1944, pg. 1-2.
(3) “Alliance Man on White House Job,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), April 18, 1939, pg. 2.
(4) Lillian Rogers Parks, The Roosevelts: A Family in Turmoil (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1981), 27.
(5) “Garland Nowlan, Who Shows Movies to President, Visits in Alliance,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), July 25, 1944, pg. 1-2.
(6) Penny Wright, “1928 AHS Graduate Movie Projectionist at White House Under Three Presidents,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), June 19, 1971, pg. 3.
(7) Penny Wright, “1928 AHS Graduate Movie Projectionist at White House Under Three Presidents,” Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, Nebraska), June 19, 1971, pg. 3.
(8) “Garland Leonard Nowlan,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175754529/garland-leonard-nowlan. - Birthplace
- Oklahoma, USA
- Related Workers
- Howard D. JohnsonTrades, 1929 – circa 1951
- Lillian Rogers ParksHousekeeping and Laundry, 1929 – 1960