Follow LA Observed on Twitter here
Former president Gerald Ford died today, Betty Ford announced. No location was given, but the Fords were residing in Rancho Mirage on the desert near Palm Springs. Ford lived to an older age than any former president, outdoing Ronald Reagan by a month. The 38th president, he stepped in at the darkest time of the constitutional crisis posed by Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. I liked this David Hume Kennerly photo from 1975 showing Ford flanked by his chief of staff and the chief's assistant — Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Round-up of links:
Washington Post obituary, photo slideshow, Aug. 9 1974 story
New York Times obituary
Los Angeles Times obituary
BBC obituary
CNN report
Fox News report
President Bush statement
No sentiment there: An LAO reader emails that KTLA ended tonight's Prime News not with a fadeout on Gerald Ford but with video of the funeral for news director Jeff Wald's wife. The station covered her passing earlier.
Photo: Gerald R. Ford Library/David Hume Kennerly via Reuters and Yahoo