Michael Reagan — the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, a conservative commentator and a stalwart supporter of his father’s foundation, library and museum — has died. He was 80.
Reagan lived for years in Southern California, having attended Los Angeles Valley College and getting his start in talk radio in the L.A. area. His popular politics-steeped talk radio show broadcast from various studios over the years, including KIEV in Glendale and stations in the San Diego area.
Michael Reagan’s second and decades-long marriage was to his wife Colleen, with whom he had two children. They resided for many years in Sherman Oaks. His married his first wife, Pamela Gail Putnam, in 1971, but the marriage lasted only a year.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, located in Simi Valley where the former president’s library and museum are based, announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”
For decades, Michael maintained a close relationship with the Reagan Library, and faithfully attended the Feb. 6 birthday party honoring his father as well as other foundation events.
“Whether escorting guests through the Library, engaging in heartfelt conversations in the Museum Store, or lingering long after events had concluded, Michael never measured his time—only the meaning of each interaction,” a statement from the foundation said. “He took genuine joy in speaking with visitors who shared their admiration for his father, ensuring that every person felt seen, heard, and connected to President Reagan’s enduring story.”
In a letter on the foundation’s site, Reagan said he was most proud of his father’s “dedication to individual liberty and global democracy and the positive impact these values had upon our nation and our world.”
“We lost an American hero, a faithful son and a devoted father and grandfather this week,” Andrew Coffin, vice president and director of the Reagan Ranch, wrote in a statement posted on the website for Young America’s Foundation. Reagan often worked with the organization, which is geared toward young conservatives, Coffin said.
Reagan died following a battle with cancer, according to Coffin.
Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his popular talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”
Reagan’s wife, Colleen, and children, Cameron Reagan and Ashley Reagan Dunster, issued a statement calling him “a beloved husband, father, and grandpa.”
“Michael was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, January 4th, surrounded by his entire family in Los Angeles, California,” the statement said. “Our hearts are deeply broken as we grieve the loss of a man who meant so much to all who knew and loved him.
Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.
The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.
After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, playing in television shows including “Falcon Crest,” and he spent nearly two decades as a conservative radio talk show host, weighing in on politics, trends and culture.
In two autobiographical books titled “On the Outside Looking in” and “Twice Adopted,” he told of, at times, a difficult childhood, which included coming to terms with his adoption and his journey of faith.
Reagan penned several others, including “Lessons My Father Taught Me” published in 2016, where he detailed lessons learned growing up the son of Ronald Reagan.
Throughout his life, Reagan raised money and worked for charities, using powerboat racing as a means of fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund. Reagan sat on the advisory board for Mixed Roots Foundation, which focuses on the foster care and adoption in the U.S. and globally.
Reagan served as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years, working on the same disease his father succumbed to in 2004.
As president and chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation, he championed the heritage of his father’s impact. The conservative former president was known for working to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the Cold War.
Douglas Elmets, a communications consultant in Sacramento who worked in the Reagan White House, described Michael Reagan as an “affable and engaging” figure who both celebrated his father and pushed to assert his own identity.
“He had his own family and mission, and unlike many relatives of presidents, he didn’t try to latch on or take advantage,” Elmets said. “But he would take phone calls and respond to emails from people I don’t think he knew well just because he was the president’s son, to carry on that legacy.”
In 2015, Elmets said, Michael Reagan was instrumental in helping raise money to install a now-iconic statue of President Reagan in 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 show to talk about it,” Mr. Elmets said. The statue, funded entirely by private donations, remains a popular attraction for visitors to the Capitol building. “At his core, he was both a member of that family, but also someone whose own name carried weight.”
The Associated Press and New York Times contributed to this report.
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