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Maureen Reagan

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Maureen Reagan
Reagan in 1995
Born(1941-01-04)January 4, 1941
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 2001(2001-08-08)(aged 60)
Granite Bay, California,U.S.
Resting placeCalvary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum,Sacramento, California,U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • John Filippone
    ​
    ​
    (m.1961;div.1962)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m.1964;div.1967)​
  • Dennis C. Revell
    ​
    (m.1981)​
Children1
Parents
Relatives

Maureen Elizabeth Reagan(January 4, 1941 – August 8, 2001) was an American political activist and the first child of U.S. presidentRonald Reaganand his first wife, actressJane Wyman.[2]Her brother isMichael Reaganand her half-siblings arePatti DavisandRon Reagan,from her father's second marriage (toNancy Reagan).

Reagan with her mother,Jane Wyman(1944)

Early life

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Reagan was born January 4, 1941,[3]in Los Angeles, where she was raised. She graduated from Marymount Secondary School,Tarrytown, New York,in 1958 and briefly attendedMarymount UniversityinVirginia.[4]She worked forWalker & Dunlopand entered theMiss Washingtoncompetition in 1959.[5]

Her parents also had another daughter, Christine, who died shortly after birth.

Acting career

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Reagan pursued a career in acting in her youth, appearing in films such asKissin' Cousins(1964) in which she featured alongsideElvis Presley.She played Mrs. Moss on "The Love Boat" S2 E6 "Ship of Ghouls" opposite Vincent Price as The Amazing Alonzo. The episode aired on 10/27/1978.

Political activities

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Reagan was the first son or daughter of a U.S. president to be elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee.[6]However, both of her attempts at election to political office ended in defeat.[7]She ran unsuccessfully for theUnited States Senatefrom California in 1982 (which was eventually won byPete Wilson) and in 1992 forCalifornia's 36th congressional district.[8][9]: 77–78 

Although they maintained a united front, Maureen Reagan differed from her father on several key issues. Although rearedRoman Catholicfollowing her mother's conversion, she waspro-choiceonabortion.[9]: 77 She also held the belief thatOliver Northshould have beencourt-martialed.[10]

After her father announced his diagnosis ofAlzheimer's diseasein 1994, Maureen Reagan became a member of theAlzheimer's Associationboard of directors and served as the group's spokeswoman. While hospitalized formelanomacancer towards the end of her life, Maureen was only floors away from her father who had suffered a severe fall.[11]

Personal life

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In 1960, Maureen's by-then divorced parents became concerned about her. Ronald Reagan used his connections at the FBI − established during his work as ananti-communist informant− to request the agency to investigate her romantic life. The agency did so on condition that the FBI not be cited as a source, and reported that she was living with an older, married man who was a police officer.[12]

Maureen Reagan was married three times:

  • John Filippone, a policeman; they were married in 1961 and divorced the following year.[13]
  • David G. Sills,a lawyer and Marine Corps officer; they married on February 28, 1964; the couple divorced in 1967.[13]
  • Dennis C. Revell, CEO of Revell Communications (a national public relations/public affairs firm), whom she married on April 25, 1981.[13]She and Revell adopted one daughter, Margaret "Rita" Mirembe Revell, who was born in Uganda.[1][14][15][16]The Revells became Rita's guardians in 1994. They adopted her in 2001.[1]Rita was the beneficiary of a private bill to facilitate her adoption as Maureen and Dennis Revell were unable to complete the necessary paperwork and other requirements by the Ugandan government, including a personal visitation to that country, due, in large part, to Maureen Reagan Revell's terminal cancer.[1][16][17][18]

Death

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Reagan died inGranite Bay, California,on August 8, 2001, aged 60, frommelanoma.[4]She is interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Sacramento, California.[19]

Reagan volunteered with actorDavid Hyde Pierce,of TV'sFrasier,at the Alzheimer's Association. At her funeral on August 19, 2001, Pierce spoke to the mourners at theCathedral of the Blessed Sacramentin Sacramento, and recalled his friend's attitude to her illness. "When she was given lemons, she did not make lemonade. She took the lemons, threw them back and said, 'Oh, no you don't.'"[20]

References

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  1. ^abcd"Mourning Maureen Reagan".Jet.100(12). Johnson Publishing Company: 18. September 3, 2001.ISSN0021-5996.
  2. ^"Biography".Oliver Del Signore.RetrievedJanuary 16,2011.
  3. ^"UPI Almanac for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019".United Press International.January 4, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on January 5, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 4,2019.author Maureen Reagan (daughter of former President Ronald Reagan), in 1941
  4. ^abAllen, Jane (August 9, 2001)."Maureen Reagan, 60, Dies of Cancer".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMarch 30,2013.
  5. ^"Jane Wyman's Daughter in 'Miss America' Bid But Wants It on Own".Variety.July 8, 1959. p. 2.RetrievedMay 20,2019– viaArchive.org.
  6. ^Wead, Doug (2003).All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families.Simon and Schuster. p. 155.ISBN9780743451390– via Google Books.
  7. ^Hendrix, Steve (April 26, 2017)."Before Ivanka Trump, other presidential daughters also wielded influence at the White House".Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 27,2017.
  8. ^Clines, Francis X. (June 29, 1984)."WORKING PROFILE: MAUREEN REAGAN; HELPING FATHER ON ISSUES DAUGHTER KNOWS BEST".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedNovember 29,2022.
  9. ^abFoerstel, Karen; Foerstel, Herbert N. (1996). "The Decade of the Woman: An Uncertain Promise".Climbing the Hill: Gender Conflict in Congress.Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN9780275949143.
  10. ^Reagan, Maureen (2001). "Iran-Contra".First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir.Little, Brown and Company.p. 374.ISBN9780316736367.
  11. ^"Family Misfortune".People.Vol. 55, no. 4. January 29, 2001.RetrievedJanuary 23,2009.A Fall Lands Ronald Reagan in the Same Hospital as His Cancer-Stricken Daughter
  12. ^Seth Rosenfield (2013).Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power.Picador.ISBN978-1250033383.
  13. ^abc"Daughter of President Is Married in California".New York Times.April 25, 1981.RetrievedJanuary 17,2011.
  14. ^United States Congress.For the relief of Rita Mirembe Revell (a.k.a. Margaret Rita Mirembe).Open Library.OL17718121M.
  15. ^Congressional Record - Google Books.U.S. Government Printing Office. 1949.ISBN9780160857072.RetrievedSeptember 5,2011.
  16. ^ab"Statement by the Press Secretary".Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. July 19, 2001.RetrievedSeptember 5,2011.
  17. ^107th Congress (2001) (March 19, 2001)."S. 560 (107th)".Legislation.GovTrack.us.RetrievedApril 8,2013.A bill for the relief of Rita Mirembe Revell (a.k.a. Margaret Rita Mirembe).{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^Congressional Record.U.S. Government Printing Office. 1949.ISBN9780160857072.RetrievedSeptember 5,2011.
  19. ^"Maureen Reagan".Notable Names Database.RetrievedSeptember 13,2005.
  20. ^"Reagan's Daughter Mourned".NY Daily News.August 19, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon May 27, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 14,2010.
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