Michael Reagan, the eldest son of former US President Ronald Reagan, has died aged 80.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on X on Tuesday, calling the conservative commentator “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy”.
“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said. His cause of death was not immediately announced.
Born to Irene Flaugher in 1945, Michael was adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.
He attended the Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, following which he took up acting and went on to play parts in television shows including, Falcon Crest.
Michael was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and most famous for his talk radio programme, The Michael Reagan Show, where he spent nearly two decades speaking about politics and culture.
He penned two autobiographies, titled, On the Outside Looking in, and Twice Adopted, which included mention of a difficult childhood, coming to terms with his adoption and his journey of faith.
He also penned some other books, including Lessons My Father Taught Me, which was published in 2016 and contained detailed lessons he learned growing up as the son of Ronald Reagan.
Michael was a devout philanthropist, raising money for charities, for which he sometimes used powerboat racing as a means of fundraising, especially for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund.
He also sat on the advisory board for Mixed Roots Foundation, which focuses on the foster care and adoption in the US and globally, and 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, Michael championed his father’s legacy. Ronald Reagan tried to scale back government and devoted his presidency to winning the Cold War.
Michael Reagan’s second and decades-long marriage was to his wife Colleen, with whom he had two children.
