Michael Reagan, elder son of Ronald Reagan and conservative commentator, dies at 80

People reports that Michael Reagan, the elder son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, died on Sunday, Jan. 4, in Los Angeles, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said in an X post on Tuesday, Jan. 6. He was 80; the foundation’s post called him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy,” and the group did not share a cause of death.

His family, in a statement obtained by Fox News, said, “Michael was and will always remain a beloved husband, father, and grandpa. Our hearts are deeply broken as we grieve the loss of a man who meant so much to all who knew and loved him.” Michael was one of President Reagan’s five children and was born in March 1945 to Irene Flaugher and John Bourgholtzer, and was adopted days later by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman, per The Courier-Journal.

Michael attended Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, pursued acting (including work alongside his mother in Falcon Crest), created the syndicated Michael Reagan Show, and authored books including On the Outside Looking In, Twice Adopted and Lessons My Father Taught Me.

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Politics, Michael Reagan, Ronald Reagan, Reagan Legacy Foundation, Newsmax, Michael Reagan Show