Description:

Ford Gerald 1913 - 2006 Pearl Bailey, who had served President Ford as a member of the United Nations delegation, received this handwritten letter from Gerald Ford who writes that he "was so proud to see your achievements recognized. Your article The Learning Train was magnificent ..."

Rare Autograph Letter Signed "Jerry Ford," 1 page, 6.25" x 8.5". No place, May 2, 1990. To [entertainer] Pearl [Bailey]. Fine condition.

In full, "Dear Pearl: Thanks so much for your generous and thoughtful letter with the Scopus West and Y.N. Carmicle publications. I was so proud to see your achievements recognized. Your article - The Learning Train' was magnificent. My knee surgery was very successful. Painful for a couple of days but all's well now. I'm just impatient with the recovery time. We hope and pray your surgery will be 100%. You are in the best of hands. With all our love and admiration. Jerry Ford"

In 1975, Pearl Bailey was named a Special Assistant to President Ford and a member of the United States Delegation to the United Nations. She frequently attended dinners at the Ford White House as a guest and entertainer. Bailey and her husband, jazz drummer Louis Bellson, had even spent a night at the Ford White House! She campaigned for President Ford in 1976.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan presented Pearl Bailey with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He announced: "And the citation for Pearl Bailey Bellson: Pearl? As a girl, Pearl Bailey began singing in her father's church in Virginia and kept singing all the way to Broadway and into America's heart. Among the preeminent American entertainers of this century, she has dazzled audiences all over the world. She has also served the Nation as a Special Adviser to the United States Mission to the United Nations. And America loves Pearl Bailey, for her songs and for her soul."

Two months after Ford wrote this letter to Pearl Bailey, in July, she underwent the knee surgery - referred to by Ford in this letter - to replace her arthritic left knee with a metal and plastic joint. She left the hospital July 30th, walking with a cane but returned on August 17, 1990, complaining she was not feeling well. She died of coronary heart disease later that day.

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