Michael Reagan — the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, a conservative commentator and a stalwart supporter of his father’s basis, library and museum — has died. He was 80.
Reagan lived for years in Southern California, having attended Los Angeles Valley School and getting his begin in speak radio within the L.A. space. His standard politics-steeped speak radio present broadcast from numerous studios through the years, together with KIEV in Glendale and stations within the San Diego space.
FILE: Michael Reagan walks onto the stage to talk about his father, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, on night time three of the Republican Nationwide Conference Sept. 1, 2004 at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Pictures)
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FILE: Michael Reagan walks onto the stage to talk about his father, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, on night time three of the Republican Nationwide Conference Sept. 1, 2004 at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Pictures)
Michael Reagan’s second and decades-long marriage was to his spouse Colleen, with whom he had two kids. They resided for a few years in Sherman Oaks. His married his first spouse, Pamela Gail Putnam, in 1971, however the marriage lasted solely a yr.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Basis and Institute, situated in Simi Valley the place the previous president’s library and museum are primarily based, introduced his loss of life in a submit on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”
For many years, Michael maintained a detailed relationship with the Reagan Library, and faithfully attended the Feb. 6 birthday celebration honoring his father in addition to different basis occasions.
“Whether or not escorting friends via the Library, partaking in heartfelt conversations within the Museum Retailer, or lingering lengthy after occasions had concluded, Michael by no means measured his time—solely the which means of every interplay,” a press release from the muse mentioned. “He took real pleasure in talking with guests who shared their admiration for his father, making certain that each individual felt seen, heard, and linked to President Reagan’s enduring story.”
In a letter on the muse’s website, Reagan mentioned he was most happy with his father’s “dedication to particular person liberty and international democracy and the constructive influence these values had upon our nation and our world.”
“We misplaced an American hero, a trustworthy son and a loyal father and grandfather this week,” Andrew Coffin, vice chairman and director of the Reagan Ranch, wrote in a press release posted on the web site for Younger America’s Basis. Reagan typically labored with the group, which is geared towards younger conservatives, Coffin mentioned.
Reagan died following a battle with most cancers, in accordance with Coffin.
Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax tv community and was identified for his standard speak radio program, “The Michael Reagan Present.”
Reagan’s spouse, Colleen, and kids, Cameron Reagan and Ashley Reagan Dunster, issued a press release calling him “a beloved husband, father, and grandpa.”
“Michael was known as residence to be with the Lord on Sunday, January 4th, surrounded by his complete household in Los Angeles, California,” the assertion mentioned. “Our hearts are deeply damaged as we grieve the lack of a person who meant a lot to all who knew and cherished him.
“I met Michael when my son was attending college at St Mel’s Catholic College in Woodland Hills in 2014,” mentioned Victor Franco, a companion at California Methods, a public affairs and authorities relations consulting agency. “He was very beneficiant in fundraising on the college, providing excursions of the Reagan Ranch and taking part at school occasions. He would even communicate to children on the college’s profession day.”
Franco added: “Whereas Michael had the pedigree of the Reagan household and his father being president, you’d by no means know that when chatting with him. Michael was an everyday man to myself and the opposite dads on the college. He was all the time chatting with the dads at our BBQ or chili cookout occasions. Michael was our “style tester”– ensuring the BBQ was good. He was an excellent man.”
Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted simply hours after his beginning by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.
The younger Reagan adopted in his dad and mom’ footsteps.
After attending Arizona State College and Los Angeles Valley School, Reagan took up performing, taking part in in tv reveals together with “Falcon Crest,” and he spent almost twenty years as a conservative radio speak present host, weighing in on politics, traits and tradition.
In two autobiographical books titled “On the Outdoors Trying in” and “Twice Adopted,” he advised of, at occasions, a troublesome childhood, which included coming to phrases together with his adoption and his journey of religion.
Reagan penned a number of others, together with “Classes My Father Taught Me” revealed in 2016, the place he detailed classes realized rising up the son of Ronald Reagan.
All through his life, Reagan raised cash and labored for charities, utilizing powerboat racing as a way of fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Analysis Basis, Cystic Fibrosis Basis and Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund. Reagan sat on the advisory board for Combined Roots Basis, which focuses on the foster care and adoption within the U.S. and globally.
Reagan served as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Basis board for 3 years, engaged on the identical illness his father succumbed to in 2004.
As president and chair of the Reagan Legacy Basis, he championed the heritage of his father’s influence. The conservative former president was identified for working to cut back authorities and devoting his presidency to successful the Chilly Conflict.
Douglas Elmets, a communications guide in Sacramento who labored within the Reagan White Home, described Michael Reagan as an “affable and fascinating” determine who each celebrated his father and pushed to say his personal id.
“He had his family and mission, and in contrast to many kinfolk of presidents, he didn’t attempt to latch on or take benefit,” Elmets mentioned. “However he would take telephone calls and reply to emails from individuals I don’t assume he knew properly simply because he was the president’s son, to hold on that legacy.”
In 2015, Elmets mentioned, Michael Reagan was instrumental in serving to increase cash to put in a now-iconic statue of President Reagan within the State Capitol in Sacramento — a tribute to the president’s tenure as a former governor.
“Michael Reagan was very supportive and used his platform and his radio present to speak about it,” Mr. Elmets mentioned. The statue, funded fully by non-public donations, stays a well-liked attraction for guests to the Capitol constructing. “At his core, he was each a member of that household, but in addition somebody whose personal identify carried weight.”
Employees author Jill Stewart, The Related Press and The New York Occasions contributed to this report.
