Seated (lr): Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter, Ford; Standing (lr): Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, President Bill Clinton speaks with the Fords at the White House ceremony awarding the at a 1999 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, Ford with other U.S. First Ladies at the 1994 National Garden Gala, which was themed "A Tribune to America's First Ladies". The series is all set to release on the OTT platform on the 9th of May. All the way there I was telling myself how it would not change anything. She would be given prescription medication, including Valium. [3], Ford's busy life took a toll. . Hortense and William married on November 9, 1904, in Chicago. "[23], The media "broke" the story that Ford had a previous marriage and had been divorced, initially reporting it as a secret revelation. As was the case during Gerald Ford's vice presidential swearing-in, Betty Ford held the bible upon which he placed his hand while taking his oath of office. [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. Among the revelations in the biography: 1. [71] As previously mentioned, the Fords had hosted a state dinner for King Hussein months earlier, during Gerald Ford's vice presidency, on March 12, 1974, after president Nixon asked then-Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting a planned dinner for the King. However, she abused these prescriptions, regularly taking many more pills than prescribed. But, before . Dance developed into a passion for her, and she decided she wanted to seek a career in it. She also co-authored with Chris Chase a book about her treatment, Betty: A Glad Awakening (1987). She became famous for her candor. She joined Graham's auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall. I'm sure I've saved at least one personmaybe more. She recalled that the first time she heard someone call her father an alcoholic was at his funeral. [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". She paused her divorce, and supported him, living at Warren's family's home for the next two years as his health recovered. "Competing conceptions of the first ladyship: Public responses to Betty Ford's 60 Minutes interview. [105] In terms of cumulative assessment, Ford has been ranked: The 2008 Siena Research Institute survey ranked Ford the 5th-highest of the twenty 20th and 21st century First Ladies. [109], In 2021, Zogby Analytics conducted a poll in which a sample of the American public was asked to assess the greatness of twelve First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy onwards. That same year, People named Ford one of the three most intriguing people in America. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. AP. Her mother's actions in the wake of her father's passing are said to have been formative for her views in support of equal pay and gender equality. She died in her sleep, in her. Ford was credited with rejuvenating the ERA movement and inspiring more women to continue working for the ERA. Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings and was considered to be an influential first lady. Elizabeth Anne "Betty" Bloomer Ford was the widow of former United States President Gerald R. Ford and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Nor did she address her relationship with alcohol, which she, at the time, believed was typical consumption. This response proved effective in killing the speculation that she was covering-up her past, and earned her some admiration in the media. [27], In June 1974, Ford represented the Nixon administration by attending the funeral of Alberta Williams King, the assassinated mother of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Other Nixon administration official figures did not attend, continuing with other obligations. [16], The Fords lived in Washington, D.C. after his election, until the spring of 1955, when the Fords moved into a house they constructed in the D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Virginia. In contrast, there was tremendous organic excitement for Betty Ford among supporters of the campaign. Weeks after Ford became first lady, she underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer on September 28, 1974, after having been diagnosed with the disease. Ford took these stances despite recognizing that they created a political risk of conservative backlash against her husband. She was the wife of President Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. [110], Ford's life is the focus of the 1987 ABC biographical television film The Betty Ford Story, which has a story adapted from her memoir The Times of My Life. She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a co-recipient with President Ford in 1998. [19] Ford said, during her husband's failed 1976 presidential campaign, "I would give my life to have Jerry have my poll numbers. [3], In November 1975, it was reported by the Associated Press that Ford's husband's advisors, who had previously worried her outspoken comments would hurt him in the 1976 presidential election, were now recognizing her popularity and desiring for her to have a greater role in the campaign. [101], In July 2018, a statue of Ford was unveiled outside of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That same year, she joined First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson and Rosalynn Carter to open and participate in the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, where she endorsed measures in the convention's National Plan of Action, a report sent to the state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and the President on how to improve the status of American women. She received an award from Parsons The New School for Design in recognition of her style. July 12, 2011 Betty Ford was 93 years old when she died; therefore, she can be said to have died from old age. Reactions to Ford's death came in quickly from subsequent occupants of the White House. During and after her years in the White House, 1974 to 1977, Mrs.. As first lady, Betty Ford was active in social policy and shattered precedents as a politically active presidential wife (Time considered her "the most since Eleanor [Roosevelt . Bloomer disliked the surname. Ford with other U.S. First Ladies at the November 1991 opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. "[19], Ford avidly supported the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. 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. Betty underwent a radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital and inadvertently destigmatized breast cancer by addressing her illness publicly during a White House press conference. 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.[3] She was called Betty as a child. "We were honored to host President and Mrs. Ford at the White House in 1998 when they received the Congressional Gold Medal for their dedication and service to our nation," the Clintons wrote. The LA County death . In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ford to the second National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year (the first had been appointed by President Ford). [3][19] Ford took doses of this medication in excess of her prescription. [84], Ford published her first memoir in 1978, The Times of My Life, in which she discussed her battle with addiction. Her candor in talking about and dealing with substance abuse and treatment helped led to an improvement in how Americans talk about such matters. [19][61] In a 1975 interview with the news program 60 Minutes, Ford called Roe v. Wade a "great, great decision". Betty Ford, or Elizabeth Anne Ford, was the wife of the 38th U.S. president, Gerald Ford, and thus the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. Read the rest of "Betty Ford, champion of women's rights . [9][10] He died the day before his 60th birthday. 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. [3][16] The speech was delivered on the day after the election. [55] After her tenure as first lady ended, she would top the poll for a second time in 1978, the year she had established herself as an advocate for people with drug and alcohol dependence. After this, Betty Ford was transparent with the news media that she had received psychiatric care. Ford also served as the second lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974 when her husband was vice president. In attendance were former president Bill Clinton, former vice president Dick Cheney and former first lady Barbara Bush. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy. One day in 1934, when she was 16, Betty came home and her father, a traveling salesman who had recently lost his job, had. But the main point was, it was best for the country.". Betty Ford passed away in June 2011 at the age of 93. In April 1974, she made her first official solo trip as second lady when she spent two-days visiting the states of Georgia and Tennessee to help in publicizing the "ARTRAIN", which was a traveling exhibit of art, visual displays, and performance pieces housed in six railway cars, and which was to travel through small towns across the southern United States. During the general election, her busy campaign activity saw the reigniting of her pinched nerve. Neither was shy about their mutual love and equal respect, and they were known to have a strong personal and political partnership. The organization sought to bring together political spouses and female government federal employees to discuss current party activates and ideas about legislation. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity. [3], The Fords meet with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in the White House Oval Office in March 1981. She also traveled to Iowa before its caucus, and delivered a speech on behalf of the president (who had been unable to make his planned appearance) in which she labeled herself as being his political partner. [36], During her time as first lady, Ford was an outspoken advocate of women's rights and was a prominent force in the Women's Movement of the 1970s. This video contains excerpts from the second ha. On August 9, 1974, Betty Bloomer Ford was thrust onto the world stage when her . In 1978, the Ford family staged an intervention, and forced Betty to confront her addition to alcohol and pain pills. Born in Lake View Hospital, Betty Ford spent the first weeks of her life with her parents and brother in an apartment in the East Rogers Park suburb of Chicago, but the family shortly after relocated to Denver, Colorado. A contrast was publicly drawn between Ford and Nancy Reagan, the wife of Ford's primary election challenger Ronald Reagan. The IMDb credits for the May 1 episode, "Please Allow Me," show that Thomas E. Sullivan an actor who has had recurring parts on . [19], During a January 1984 address in Michigan to a crowd of individuals who were in the early stages of alcohol and drug dependency treatment, Ford declared that the six years since she began her treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, "have been the best years in my life from the standpoint of feeling healthier and feeling more comfortable with myself". [68], As First Lady, Ford was an advocate of the arts. [25][69] Once she became first lady, it fell to Ford to arrange this already-scheduled dinner. [21] In addition to the arts, Ford also gave focus to projects helping the disabled during her time as second lady. By not being the "political wife" of self-sacrificing legend, she both reflected and advanced public views about women in politics. [3][5][6] While she was still in high school, she started her own dance school, instructing both youth and adults. [3], After Gerald Ford's defeat by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election she delivered her husband's concession speech because he had lost his voice while campaigning. Betty had a history of taking opioid painkillers for a pinched nerve since the 1960s (which is also alluded to in episode 1 of 'The First Lady'). [14] The Fords would ultimately be married for the next 58 years, until Gerald Ford's death. [7][36] While President Ford never attempted to silence his wife, some of his senior staff resented her independent candor. Ford had weekly meetings with a psychiatrist approximately between August 1965 and April 1967. Shortly after they married, he began to sell insurance for another company. [37][33] In January 1976, the editors of the New York News Service wrote that Ford was, "one of the most charming and popular First Ladies ever to occupy the White House". [50] In 1974, Ford placed second in the poll. [69], Among the most notable state dinners the Fords hosted was a July 7, 1976 state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Betty Ford. We were proud to know her. After leaving the White House, Betty Ford publicly acknowledged her addiction to alcohol and painkillers. [21] Ford would, ultimately, for most of the nine months she was second lady, be a high-profile public figure. [3], As she had previously been with her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, Ford was transparent with the public about her addictions and admittance to rehab. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. She explained that, while her husband had attended two sessions with a psychiatric doctor, those sessions were for her care, and not care of his own. She became an advocate for breast cancer research and early detection. [5] At the time they married, Warren worked for his own father in insurance sales. Married and divorced in her 20s, in 1947 her life changed forever when she met Gerald R. Ford. Betty Ford, the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, died at the age of 93. [40], In 1985, Ford received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual award given by the Jefferson Awards. When they returned to Grand Rapids, she worked again at Herpolsheimer's, this time as the fashion coordinator. Ford also enjoyed the traditional role as hostess of the White House and on a daily basis spent most of her energy on the family, health, and filling in for her husband on the hustings. 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. [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. In private, she triumphed over serious personal adversity. 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. Betty Ford (1918-2011) was the wife of Gerald Ford, who was the 38th president of the United States between 1974 and 1977. She made countless contributions to our country, and we especially appreciate her courage in calling attention to breast cancer and substance abuse. July 8, 2011 Mrs. Betty Ford passes away at 93 years of age. [19] Ford had, particularly, become addicted to prescription medication (opioid analgesics) that she had been originally prescribed in the early 1960s to treat a pinched nerve. As the First Lady . LOS ANGELES (AP) Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" or the loopy housemate on "The Golden Girls," has died. Equal Rights Amendment: public responses to Betty Ford among supporters of the United States 1974! [ 3 ], Ford also served as the fashion coordinator to release on the platform... Backwoods and put it in the hospitals, where it belongs co-recipient with President were. To breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy [ 19 ], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice President Cheney. She both reflected and advanced public views about women in politics Dick Cheney and former first lady Ford. 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