[40], In 1985, Ford received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual award given by the Jefferson Awards. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall. Ford had believed it to be of great importance for the administration to show an expression of direct concern pertaining to the assassination, while Nixon's staff disagreed with her. Shortly after she decided to file for divorce, Warren fell into a coma. July 8, 2011 -- Betty Ford, wife of former President Gerald Ford and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction, has died at age 93. [75], During the Fords' 1976 trip to mainland China, when being shown an exhibition by a Chinese arts college dance group, Ford decided to join the dancers. She worked with children with disabilities at the Mary Free Bed Home for Crippled Children. She suffered from severe arthritic pain in her neck and muscle spasms. [3], As she became a more active second lady, Ford adopted an objective of promoting the arts. In 1965, Ford suffered a significant nervous breakdown, erupting in severe crying that had appeared inexplicable to others. She was also outspoken on women's rights issues. YouTube. I took that first hit and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. . In December 1999, he told interviewer Larry King that he, too, was pro-abortion rights and had been criticized for that stance by conservative forces within the Republican Party. [3][5][12] They married on October 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids. She was also the Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974, when Ford served as the 40th U.S. vice president. Betty's two older brothers were Robert (d. 1971) and . [3] President Ford died, aged 93, of heart failure on December 26, 2006, at their Rancho Mirage home. LOS ANGELES, California -- Actress Betty White passed away in her sleep on Friday, her agent has confirmed to ABC News. [19][61] In a 1975 interview with the news program 60 Minutes, Ford called Roe v. Wade a "great, great decision". [93] As the deadline approached, Ford led marches, parades and rallies for the ERA with other feminists, including First Daughter Maureen Reagan and various Hollywood actors. At one point, they lived in Toledo, Ohio, where Elizabeth was employed at the department store Lasalle & Koch as a demonstrator, a job that entailed being a model and saleswoman. She made countless contributions to our country, and we especially appreciate her courage in calling attention to breast cancer and substance abuse. Ford was born Elizabeth Anne Bloomer in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, the third child and only daughter of Hortense (ne Neahr; 1884 - 1948) and William Stephenson Bloomer Sr. (1874 - 1934), who was a traveling salesman for Royal Rubber Co. She was called Betty as a child.. Hortense and William married on November 9, 1904, in Chicago. Everyone recognizes the namethanks in large part to the Betty Ford Clinic she co-founded in 1982 . She successfully lobbied her husband to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to choreographer and dancer Martha Graham in 1976. (National Archives Identifier 187012) She became famous for her candor. ", President Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who succeeded the Fords in the White House, recalled "a close personal friend and our frequent partner in bipartisan efforts to improve mental health and substance abuse care in our nation. Murray Close/SHOWTIME. This video contains excerpts from the second ha. She instead attended the Bennington School of Dance in Bennington, Vermont, for two summers, where she studied under director Martha Hill with choreographers Martha Graham and Hanya Holm. The official cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning despite the garage door being open, but Betty acknowledged later in her life that her father very likely died by suicide. Phyllis Schlafly accused Ford of acting improperly by intervening in state affairs. [111][112][113] Ford is also one of three former first ladies whose lives are the focus of the Emmy-nominated 2022 Showtime television series The First Lady, in which she is portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer. No one confronted life's struggles with more fortitude or honesty, and as a result, we all learned from the challenges she faced. [3][19] Ford registered herself at the hospital on April 11, 1978. [3], During her and President Ford's later years together, they resided in Rancho Mirage and in Beaver Creek, Colorado. In his remarks at his inauguration, Gerald Ford remarked, "I am indebted to no man and only one woman, my dear wife, Betty, as I begin this very difficult job. [20] Such talk was due to Gerald Ford, following the Republican Party's failure to win a majority in the 1972 United States House of Representatives elections, seeing it as unlikely that he would ever fulfill his ambition of becoming speaker of the House. [95], Ford tackled the stigmatized issue of HIV/AIDS during the HIV/AIDS crisis. She paused her divorce, and supported him, living at Warren's family's home for the next two years as his health recovered. The campaigns of the previous three presidents that sought election to an additional term (Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon) had needed to manufacture campaign publicity involving their first ladies (Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon). https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Betty_Ford&oldid=1133654245, Dubriwny, Tasha N. "Constructing breast cancer in the news: Betty Ford and the evolution of the breast cancer patient. Among the revelations in the biography: 1. Ford would become the 38th president of the United States. After this, Betty Ford was transparent with the news media that she had received psychiatric care. [3], Ford campaigned actively both during primary elections and the general election. This prospect elated Ford. She was also involved in her husband's political career by fulfilling the commitments expected of congressional spouses to help elevate her husband's regard among his House colleagues. President Obama noted how Betty Ford "distinguished herself through her courage and compassion. Ford also became famous as a pioneer in the battle against substance abuse. After her pinched nerve, she began suffering several effects, including muscle spasms, periphrasic neuropathy, numbing the left side of her neck, and arthritis on her shoulder and arm. ", McClellan, Michelle L. "Fame through Shame: Women Alcoholics, Celebrity, and Disclosure. It was just that they were accustomed to the more formal atmosphere prevailing under the Nixons. It was something the couple neither expected or wanted, Betty Ford recalled in her memoirs. A month after Betty Ford died, the Sun admonished the center in a strongly worded editorial headlined "Betty Ford Center, family must heal to heal others." The paper questioned the. Elizabeth "Betty" Bloomer was born on April 8, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, and spent most of her childhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a young girl, Betty took up dancing, which quickly became her passion. White House photographer David Hume Kennerly took a photo of her on the table. And I loved pills. She visited states, including Illinois, where ratification was believed to have the most realistic chance of passing. Ford, who during her husband's 1974-77 administration had set a new standard for White House candor by speaking openly about her breast cancer and mastectomy, brought addiction out of the closet. White whose full . [3] At one point, Ford disclosed to the public that her husband had previously promised her that he would retire from the House of Representatives in 1976 in order to return to private legal practice and dedicate more time to his family. Betty Ford: Abortion is NOT a Partisan Issue - WCLA - Choice Matters Coming of age when Betty Ford and her husband found themselves accidental occupants of the White House, all I knew of Betty Ford was that she had big hair, and, subsequently, breast cancer and addiction issues. [96], On November 18, 1991, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Kalb shares a few things you may not know about the 38th . The must-watch series is accompanied by the likes of Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey. CNN . Her mother remarried, to family friend and neighbor Arthur Meigs Godwin, and Bloomer lived with them. She also fundraised for No Greater Love, in appreciation of its work benefiting Children of Vietnam War MIA and POWs. The 2008 survey also ranked Ford the 5th-highest in their assessment of first ladies who were their own women as well as 5th-highest in courage. [3], Ford filmed an interview with the television news program 60 Minutes which was broadcast on August 10, 1975. [63], Ford's involvement in political issues received some conservative criticism. [81][82], Ford had suffered from a dependency on prescription medication and from alcoholism prior even to her husband's presidency. He later worked for the Continental Can Company, and after that for the Widdicomb Furniture Company. Betty White's cause of death has been revealed.. [33], Ford was also unapologetically pro-abortion rights. [116] She also received that year's "Commitment to Life Award" from the Los Angeles AIDS Project. Dance developed into a passion for her, and she decided she wanted to seek a career in it. In 1964, a pinched nerve on the left side of Ford's neck sent her to the hospital for two weeks. [31] Active in social policy, Ford broke new ground as a politically active presidential spouse. Betty Ford wanted to be a professional dancer "[21][24] The Fords had planned to make a diplomatic trip to European nations after the midterm elections. As we told you back in 2020, Betty rarely left her home once the COVID-19 pandemic began.. She disclosed her alcoholism through a statement that a family spokesman read on her behalf at a press conference (at which Ford was not herself present) held outside of the hospital. However, Ford simply responded by giving the explanation that it was not something she had tried to hide, but, rather, something she had only not shared with the news media because none of them had broached the topic in their previous questions to her. [3][14][17] Gerald Ford had ambitions to rise to the rank of speaker of the house, and therefore maintained a busy travel schedule, regularly crisscrossing the United States to fundraise and campaign on behalf of other Republicans in hopes that they would, in turn, provide him with the support he'd eventually need to become speaker. [25] The first of these came only a week into Ford's presidency, hosting King Hussein of Jordan on August 16, 1974. [99] In 2003, Ford was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs. Ford won . [5] With her father's passing, her family lost its primary breadwinner, and her mother began working as a real estate agent to support the family. [7][36] While President Ford never attempted to silence his wife, some of his senior staff resented her independent candor. She regularly drove her children around to their activities, such as her sons' Little League Baseball games and her daughter's dance classes. Betty Ford is awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President George H. W. Bush, 1991. Mrs. [19] The use of Ford in such a manner to promote her husband's candidacy was not the work of the campaign itself, but rather, produced by supporters outside of the campaign organization. [69], The Fords opted to have eclectic array of guests at their state dinners, including notable celebrities from the entertainment industry. [21] Ford would, ultimately, for most of the nine months she was second lady, be a high-profile public figure. [9][10] He died the day before his 60th birthday. ", President George W. Bush said he and his wife Laura "admired her as a first lady and valued her as a friend. Former first lady Betty Ford has died at the age of 93. [7], When Ford herself began the process of recovering from her own alcoholism, she disclosed to the public that both her father and her brother Bob had suffered from alcoholism as well. "Ford. [3], Campaign button in support of President Ford's 1976 presidential campaign with the phrase "Keep Betty in the White House", Betty and Gerald Ford onstage at the 1976 Republican National Convention. [54] She placed first in 1975. From a young age, she had a passion for dancing. [92] In November 1981, Ford stated that Governor of Illinois James R. Thompson had not done enough in support of the ERA as well as her disappointment with First Lady Nancy Reagan not being in favor of the measure, though also relayed her hopes to change the incumbent First Lady's mind in further encounters with her. [8][70] She found out of this upcoming dinner and her responsibility for planning it through a phone call she received within 24-hours after her husband's swearing-in as president. Thus, Michelle Obama did, in fact, receive a letter from Betty Ford soon after she moved into the White House. [3], After her husband's narrow defeat, there was some anecdotal speculation that Ford may have both have helped to alienate conservative Republicans from voting for her husband and at the same time helped attract him support from liberal and moderate Republicans, Democrats, and independents. Bush called her, "a wonderful wife and mother; a great friend; and a courageous first lady. Later that day, President Ford was caught momentarily patting Betty's buttocks before the press gathered outside of their Virginia residence. Ford had declared that she would be accompanying her husband at campaign functions, "when he wants me to. The Golden Girls star, who passed away on Dec. 31 at age 99, died due to a cerebrovascular accident, according to her death certificate obtained by PEOPLE on Monday. [3], The heavy campaigning placed a strain on Ford's health. JAKE TAPPER, KATIE HINMAN and MARTHA RADDATZ, founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. Ford succeeded in getting sober. [69] At the state dinners of the Ford presidency, the president and first lady always led off the dancing, and dancing often lasted beyond midnight. John Robert Greene. Since 1982 Siena College Research Institute has conducted occasional surveys asking historians to assess American first ladies according to a cumulative score on the independent criteria of their background, value to the country, intelligence, courage, accomplishments, integrity, leadership, being their own women, public image, and value to the president. [7][38][37], In 1975, when Time named the "American women" as its "Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women". The cause given for her death was "natural. Asked about her illness, she said, "I'm very glad that I brought cancer to the forefront.". [5] At the age of 14, she began modeling clothes and teaching children popular dances, such as the foxtrot, waltz, and big apple, to earn money in the wake of the Great Depression. 9 min read. [25] By late 1974, Ford had shifted to exclusively serving wine that was American-cultivated at state dinners. [61] Her active political role prompted Time to call her the country's "Fighting First Lady" and was the reason they profiled her, among several others, to represent the "American Women" as the magazine's 1975 Person of the Year. [115] That same year, Ford received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, presented by her husband, President Gerald Ford, an Academy Awards Council member. However, not everything Ford did as first lady broke tradition. [42][43][44] Gerald Ford did not know about or see the photo until 1994. Her acceptance speech spoke hopefully of the prospect that attitudes towards HIV/AIDS would shift, being de-stigmatized as cancer and alcoholism had (in part due to her contribution). The President outlined his criteria for the post: quality, confirmability, ageso that the nominee could be there for a whilebreadth on the Court so the Court did not have eight people of any. Reagan had contrasting views on issues such as drug experimentation by teenagers and the Equal Rights Amendment (which she opposed passing). "Betty was a remarkable woman whose legacy will live on in people around the country whose lives are longer and better because of her work. [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. Ford did indirectly indicate her willingness to step into the role of first lady by affirming that she would make any sacrifices required for her husband to carry out his constitutional obligations, but also opined that it would be traumatic if the nation had to endure a president being forced from office. Ford assisted in fundraising for the little-known Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, D.C., whose patients were predominantly African American. He was a Bristol, Tennessee, native who had a 40-year career as a music . [19] Ford also, unsuccessfully, lobbied her husband to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court of the United States[7][33] or as a running mate in the 1976 election. [72][73], Of the state dinners she planned, Ford said, "From the beginning, Jerry and I tried to make the White House a place where people could have fun and enjoy themselves. Ford would ultimately develop an addiction to prescription medication (and would ultimately confront and recover from this addiction in 1978). Gerald Ford was in the middle of his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. I think its time to bring abortion out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals, where it belongs. Disregarding criticism to her stance, Ford would remark, Maybe I shouldnt have said it, but I couldnt lie. [79] In September of that year, Ford traveled to Moscow for a television program taping and to serve as hostess for The Nutcracker. Through the work she did at the Betty Ford Center, Ford recognized the link between drug abuse and AIDS. "I'm not out to rescue anybody who doesn't want to be rescued," she once said. "Competing conceptions of the first ladyship: Public responses to Betty Ford's 60 Minutes interview. However, even after this, Ford continued with her planned campaign schedule. She recalled that the first time she heard someone call her father an alcoholic was at his funeral. By not being the "political wife" of self-sacrificing legend, she both reflected and advanced public views about women in politics. Her own battle with breast cancer led to her advocacy for early breast cancer detection. Betty and Gerald Ford embrace in the White House in 1974. "[23], The media "broke" the story that Ford had a previous marriage and had been divorced, initially reporting it as a secret revelation. [61], Ford successfully lobbied her husband to, in 1975, sign an executive order to establish the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. She worked a production line for a frozen food company in Fulton, New York. Ford reads her husband's 1976 presidential concession speech to the press. 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