The first instance of a first lady conducting one had been Eleanor Roosevelt in 1942. "This is not a lack of willpower, this is a disease," she said at the time. Betty and Gerald Ford embrace in the White House in 1974. [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. As we told you back in 2020, Betty rarely left her home once the COVID-19 pandemic began.. Betty Ford may be the most famous and least known First Lady in history. JAKE TAPPER, KATIE HINMAN and MARTHA RADDATZ, founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. Your cross will be his work. She also organized her own dance group and taught dance at various sites in Grand Rapids, including the Calla Travis Dance Studio. Some women protested Ford's lobbying for the ERA by carrying placards outside of the White House reading "Betty Ford, Get Off the Phone". On August 9, 1974, Betty Bloomer Ford was thrust onto the world stage when her . [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. Married and divorced in her 20s, in 1947 her life changed forever when she met Gerald R. Ford. [3], The Fords meet with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in the White House Oval Office in March 1981. Gerald and Betty Ford with Richard and Pat Nixon as the latter depart the White House in disgrace on August 9, 1974. Ford's failure to conduct a solo trip is not all that extraordinary, however. Showtime's "The First Lady" flips the camera's focus to the women who brought about transformational change from the East Wing of the White House. She agreed, that day, to detox from her medicine. Reagan had contrasting views on issues such as drug experimentation by teenagers and the Equal Rights Amendment (which she opposed passing). Afterwards, Ford stated she was impressed with the conduct of the refugees. She served as the honorary president of the National Lupus Foundation, regarding lupus as a disease which impacted women, yet received minimal public attention. She worked a production line for a frozen food company in Fulton, New York. [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. This led her to seek psychiatric assistance. Betty: A Glad Awakening. [96], On November 18, 1991, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. [5] Warren was an alcoholic and diabetic, and was in poor health. [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. Soon after leaving office, she raised awareness of addiction when she sought help for and publicly disclosed her long-running struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. [103], Only a part of Betty Ford's legacy will be that of her role as first lady. AP. Ford, a Republican who served in the White House from 1974 to 1977, was 93 when he passed away at . [65] Ford decided to be open about her illness because "There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford administration. [114], In 1975, when Time named "American women" as its "Time Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women". Jacqueline Kennedy, Pat Nixon and Betty Ford all smoked cigarettes but were never photographed doing so. [3], Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president on October 10, 1973. Mrs. Since the 1960s, even before she was the first lady, Betty took prescription opioid painkillers for a pinched nerve and severe arthritic pain. She further taught ballroom dancing lessons for children with visual impairment and hearing loss and gave weekly dance lessons to African American children. [15], Barbara Bush, a later first lady, opined that Ford, after discovering she was dependent on drugs, "transformed her pain into something great for the common good. [84], Ford supported gay and lesbian causes, speaking in favor of same-sex marriage and against discrimination in the United States military. [3], Ford did not take any solo trips aboad as first lady. 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). [7], In May 1975, during a four-day trip,[62] Ford met with former Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyn Cao K to discuss Southeast Asia refugees. [38] In January 1976, Ford made a cameo appearance on the popular television program The Mary Tyler Moore Show. [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. "Early on, she went to the head usher and asked why the staff didn't return her good morning greetings," Smith told ABC News. . Ford had declared that she would be accompanying her husband at campaign functions, "when he wants me to. "In the end, simply by being herself, she made it easier for millions of American women to be themselves," Smith told ABC News. After being accepted by Graham as a student in 1940, Bloomer moved to New York to live in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood; she worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers firm in order to finance her dance studies. [3], Ford's busy life took a toll. When did Betty Ford die? She also co-authored with Chris Chase a book about her treatment, Betty: A Glad Awakening (1987). Ford was observed audibly telling her husband "I love you" following a kiss they shared right after he was sworn in as president. By not being the "political wife" of self-sacrificing legend, she both reflected and advanced public views about women in politics. [98] That same year, she and President Ford were given a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Bette Ford came to New York City from a small town outside of Pittsburgh, PA, with big dreams . 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. ", This page was last edited on 14 January 2023, at 22:04. Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. [45][48], Ford was popular with the American public. The official cause of death listed on the Los Angeles County document obtained by CNN . President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also cited Ford's dedication to woman's rights and substance abuse issues, and recalled honoring her during her lifetime. It was something the couple neither expected or wanted, Betty Ford recalled in her memoirs. Ford assisted in fundraising for the little-known Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, D.C., whose patients were predominantly African American. 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. The LA County death . [15] An anecdote that was later reported was that, when Gerald Ford left Grand Rapids for Washington, D.C., Betty Ford's new sister-in-law Janet Ford remarked to her, "with Jerry, you'll never have to worry about other women. Phyllis Schlafly accused Ford of acting improperly by intervening in state affairs. As it turns out, Betty Ford did send a letter to Michelle Obama. "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. [14] The Fords would ultimately be married for the next 58 years, until Gerald Ford's death. [84] When she attended the 1992 Republican National Convention, Ford wore an AIDS ribbon pin. [3][97] In 1999, she and President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals. She studied dance at the Calla Travis Dance Studio, graduating in 1935. During her time in the White House, she also admitted to taking Valium. The Los Angeles lair, as well as her home in Carmel, were known to have stuffed-animal rooms. In the 1950s Bette Ford turned heads and raised eyebrows when she became a model-actress-bullfighter. She visited states, including Illinois, where ratification was believed to have the most realistic chance of passing. Neither was shy about their mutual love and equal respect, and they were known to have a strong personal and political partnership. [19][61] In a 1975 interview with the news program 60 Minutes, Ford called Roe v. Wade a "great, great decision". Take a look at images from Betty Ford's years in the White House. [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. [85], In 1982, after recovering from her own addictions, Ford established the Betty Ford Center (initially called the Betty Ford Clinic) in Rancho Mirage, California, for the treatment of chemical dependency,[86] including treating the children of alcoholics. 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. 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. 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. During her stay at the White House, her dependency on these drugs seemingly dissipated. 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. [5], Growing up, she was subject to teasing about her surname, with other kids in school calling her "Betty Pants" (a play on "bloomers" being a name for a type of lower-body garment). Tennessee Ernie Ford, as he came to be known, was an ordinary man but his overwhelming success later led to his downfall. [19] In her 1987 memoir she reflected on these addictions, writing, "I liked alcohol, it made me feel warm. After her initial anger over the intrusion in her life, Betty remained. She decided to establish the Betty Ford Center with gender specific treatment for men and women (Northouse, 2013) Northouse, P. G. (2013). The state dinners that Ford planned as first lady made a deliberate effort to showcase American ingredients. "Jerry did not want this," she wrote. July 8, 2011 Mrs. Betty Ford passes away at 93 years of age. [67] The spike in women self-examining after Ford went public with the diagnosis led to an increase in reported cases of breast cancer, a phenomenon known as the "Betty Ford blip". Because she suffered, there will be more healing. [101], In July 2018, a statue of Ford was unveiled outside of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Betty White's cause of death has been revealed.. In 1985, Ford received the Los Angeles AIDS Projects "Commitment to Life Award". 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 supported the equal rights amendment and the legalization of abortion. [3][19] Ford took doses of this medication in excess of her prescription. But, before . The Fords' children often also attended the dinners they hosted. As our nation's first lady, she was a powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights. She was also the Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974, when Ford served as the 40th U.S. vice president. The Fords' unlikely rise to first family started in 1973, just as they were planning on retiring from Congress. For state dinners held using this tent, the receptions, entertainment, and dancing portions of the evenings were still held inside of the White House. Through the work she did at the Betty Ford Center, Ford recognized the link between drug abuse and AIDS. In 2005, Ford relinquished her chair of the center's board of directors to her daughter Susan. Ford was credited with rejuvenating the ERA movement and inspiring more women to continue working for the ERA. YouTube Betty White showing off her aquarium. [12] Ford felt an obligation to attend her husband's testimony at his confirmation hearings. Thus, Michelle Obama did, in fact, receive a letter from Betty Ford soon after she moved into the White House. . Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation History. A mutual friend, Peg Neuman, suggested to Gerald that he should ask her out, so he called her. First Lady Barbara Bush holds the medal. In a tribute, Mark Updegrove, Director of the LBJ Library, who wrote much about the Ford family, said: Betty Ford was a thoroughly modern first ladyand among the most progressive we've ever had in the White House. Much of this progress began in the 1970s through the voice and advocacy of Betty Ford. No one confronted life's struggles with more fortitude or honesty, and as a result, we all learned from the challenges she faced. 12/26/2018 05:25 AM EST. [40] By late-1975, Harris found Ford to have established herself as one of America's most popular first ladies. This response proved effective in killing the speculation that she was covering-up her past, and earned her some admiration in the media. This experience has been credited with further cementing Ford's understanding of gender-based income inequalities between individuals doing the same work. 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. Her own battle with breast cancer led to her advocacy for early breast cancer detection. I got the stuff and got back to my place and did it. Among the nations that Ford accompanied her husband to were China, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. By the time Betty Ford became first lady in August 1974the month her husband, Gerald Ford, succeeded Richard Nixon the former dancer had already been taking prescription pills for years to. [3][19] Ford also posed for newspaper publicity photographs and was a clothing model for charity fashion shows, after a Republican had urged her to do so since they felt that Democratic Party spouses had far outnumbered Republican spouses in such publicity-generating activity. 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. What was the location of death? When they returned to Grand Rapids, she worked again at Herpolsheimer's, this time as the fashion coordinator. "[88], Ford continued to be an active leader and activist of the feminist movement after the Ford administration. She wrote about it in her book, "A Glad Awakening." [78] In June 1977, Ford was a speaker at the Arthritis Association Convention. [25][26] At the first state dinner that she arranged as first lady, Ford revived dancing as an activity of White House state dinners. [22] Two days later, on October 12, 1973, President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to serve as vice president. She was working in a fashion job in Grand Rapids where Gerald lived. 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. Ford made the decision that year to erect a tent in the White House Rose Garden to host dinners outside. "I certainly did not want it, and neither did our children. 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. We were proud to know her. In 1978, the Ford family staged an intervention, and forced Betty to confront her addition to alcohol and pain pills. [68], As First Lady, Ford was an advocate of the arts. [99] In 2003, Ford was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution. [106] In both the 1993 and 2003 Siena Research Institute surveys, Ford was similarly ranked the 5th-highest in historians' assessment of first ladies' courage. She was raised by her parents William and Hortense Bloomer. She was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a co-recipient with President Ford in 1998. Ford would become the 38th president of the United States. Betty Ford, who died yesterday at the age of ninety-three, got married the year she turned twenty-four, to a furniture salesman who did not become the President of the United States. Hazelden . "[34] Ford was open about the benefits of psychiatric treatment, and spoke understandingly about marijuana use and premarital sex. Betty Ford Birthday and Date of Death. This is the autobiographical story of the addiction and recovery of former First Lady Betty Bloomer Ford, wife of US President Gerald R. Ford. It was not until 2016 that a Michigan wine would again be served at a White House state dinner. [3], Despite the brevity of her husband's presidency (roughly two and a half years), he hosted 33 state dinners, the fifth most state dinners of any United States president. After leaving. In this statement, Ford disclosed, "I have found I am not only addicted to the medication I have been taking for my arthritis but also to alcohol". Leadership: Theory and Practice. [33] On June 30, 1976, Ford attended the opening of "Remember the Ladies", a Revolutionary War-era women's exhibit. Betty Ford was portrayed as an ideal patient within a success narrative that presented the key sequences of her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in a progressive, linear fashion that inspired optimism. Ford, who died Friday at age 93, was not intimidated by the public spotlight, and used her position to passionately promote causes important to her. [117], Second Lady of the United States (19731974), First Lady of the United States (19741977), Ranking in Gallup's annual poll of "Most Admired Women", Recovery from alcoholism and prescription drug addiction, Steinhauer, Jennifer (December 31, 2006). "She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center," Reagan said. At this point in her life, she was married to her first husband, businessman William Warren. The cause of Betty Ford's death was never disclosed. [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 recalled that the first time she heard someone call her father an alcoholic was at his funeral. A contrast was publicly drawn between Ford and Nancy Reagan, the wife of Ford's primary election challenger Ronald Reagan. Poor health and increasing frailty due to operations in August 2006 and April 2007 for blood clots in her legs caused her to largely curtail her public life. [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. White whose full . She was a remarkable political spouse, whose courageous candor helped forge a new era of openness after the divisiveness of the Vietnam War and Watergate. Betty was 93 years old at the time of death. [102] After the service, Betty Ford was buried next to her husband on the museum grounds. Betty" (2013). [9][10] He died the day before his 60th birthday. [3], Between Labor Day and election day, for the general election campaign, Ford conducted multi-stop speaking tours, during which she visited western states (including California, Colorado, Texas, and Utah) as well was northern midwest states including Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. [4], In 1926, when she was eight years old, her mother, who valued social graces, enrolled her in the Calla Travis Dance Studio in Grand Rapids, where Ford was taught ballet, tap dancing, and modern movement. [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. [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. Betty Ford became the first lady of the United States when her husband, Gerald Ford, assumed the office following President Richard Nixon's resignation. She was also outspoken on women's rights issues. [84], Funeral services were held in Palm Desert, California, on July 12, 2011, with more than 800 people in attendance, including former president George W. Bush, then-First Lady Michelle Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, herself a former First Lady, former First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, who gave a eulogy,[76] and Nancy Reagan. Elizabeth Bloomer, who was known from childhood as Betty, was born in 1918 in Chicago and grew up in Michigan. [83] The fact that Ford had, for years, been given tranquilizers to treat a pinched nerve in her neck, was public knowledge as far back as her time as second lady. "[7], Betty and Gerald Ford had four children together: Michael Gerald Ford (born 1950), John Gardner Ford (nicknamed Jack; born 1952), Steven Meigs Ford (born 1956), and Susan Elizabeth Ford (born 1957). The Washington Post reported that Ford's disclosure of alcoholism came as a surprise to a number of Ford's close friends, who had regarded her as merely a social drinker and were oblivious to her drinking problem. I took that first hit and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. "[23], The media "broke" the story that Ford had a previous marriage and had been divorced, initially reporting it as a secret revelation. This dinner was part of the American bicentennial celebrations, and was held in tents on the South Lawn of the White House. [3], On March 12, 1974, the Fords hosted a state dinner for King Hussein of Jordan after president Nixon, with a week's notice, asked Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting the already-scheduled state dinner. She became famous for her candor. Betty Ford (1918-2011) was the wife of Gerald Ford, who was the 38th president of the United States between 1974 and 1977. 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). Because of her grief, there will be more joy. You see, Betty (played on The First Lady by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kristine Froseth) was married to William before she wed former President Gerald Ford (Aaron Eckhart). Photos of this moment were published widely in the American press, resulting in Betty Ford somewhat upstaging President Ford in the press. [94] The amendment did not receive enough states' ratification. [24] The Carters would, ultimately be the Fords successors as president and first lady after Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 United States presidential election. The November 12, 1974 state dinner for Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky saw the first instance in which a wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan was served at a White House state dinner, with wine from the Tabor Hill Winery being served. 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. "Ford. [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. [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". CNN . Gena Rowlands won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Ford. Thats the way I feel. Betty Bloomer Warren dances in "Fantasy," 1945. [79] In September of that year, Ford traveled to Moscow for a television program taping and to serve as hostess for The Nutcracker. Ford succeeded in getting sober. "In terms of the White House atmosphere, there's no doubt that Mrs. Ford wanted to, in her own words, let open the windows," said Richard Norton Smith, a presidential historian and one of the eulogists at the funeral for President Ford. Betty White in her kitchen in Carmel, California. The series is all set to release on the OTT platform on the 9th of May. Among the revelations in the biography: 1. She died peacefully, surrounded by her family, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. Throughout her post-Washington life, she established herself as one of the nation's first public advocates for women's self-examination, a prodigious fund-raiser for arthritis research, and, most important, a tireless campaigner for the rights and dignity of those afflicted with the disease of substance abuse. Become the 38th President of the feminist movement did it 45 ] [ 10 he! With President Ford in 1998, founder of the Center 's board of directors to her Susan! Divorced in her life changed forever when she met Gerald R. Ford speculation that she would accompanying! Reflected and advanced public views about women in politics Ford, as first lady, Ford 's primary election Ronald. 19 ] Ford felt an obligation to attend her husband to were China,,. 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