This person died in 2011, age 93. She spoke openly in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, endorsed legalized abortion, and discussed premarital sex. Her dependency on pills began in 1964 after a neck injury, and her drinking worsened as her husband’s political career advanced. When Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, it was she who read the official concession speech with smiling grace. Today’s dead celebrity is Betty Ford.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Episode 48 What About Bob (Bob Dole) and Episode 47 Proud Mary (Mary Tyler Moore).

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Evan Sherer and features guest co-host Wiley Hodges.

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Transcript of this episode

CBS Remembrance of Betty Ford

Short segment of 1974 60 Minutes Interview

Betty Ford’s Lecture on Addiction and Recovery at Hazelton

Betty Ford cameo on the Mary Tyler Moore Show

The Simpsons I’m Checking In

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died 2005, age 67. At his peak, he reached out in his writing to a generation made cynical by the Vietnam War and Watergate, and that was prepared to respond to his visceral honesty. His early work presaged some of the fundamental changes that rocked journalism today. His approach mirrors the style of modern-day bloggers and social commentators who blend news, opinion and personal experience on Internet postings. In 1970 he ran for sheriff in Pitkin County, Colo. It seemed a joke and another outlandish act, until the votes were counted and he came close to winning. His 1972 book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, cemented him as a singular presence in American journalism. Today’s dead celebrity is Hunter S. Thompson.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 102 Magical Thinker (Joan Didion) and Episode 58 Best in Show (Fred Willard).

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Evan Sherer and features guest co-host Devin Fromm.

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

1975 Lucid interview with Hunter S Thompson

Conan O’Brien visits Hunter S Thompson’s Owl Farm

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, opening scene

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, high water mark monologue

HST on the Kentucky Derby

Tom Wolfe and Hunter S Thompson letter exchange

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads

Famous & Gravy official website

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This person died 2022, age 96. She worked to be a rare bastion of permanence in a world of shifting values. During the Covid pandemic, she said, “Many of us will need to find new ways of staying in touch with each other and making sure that loved ones are safe,” and, “I am certain that we are up to that challenge. You can be assured that my family and I stand ready to play our part.” Her institution was forced to justify its existence in the face of often skeptical public attention and scrutiny. In 2017 she celebrated her 70th anniversary to her husband, whom she first met when she was just a teenager. She was Britain’s longest serving monarch. Today’s dead celebrity is Queen Elizabeth II.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 31 The Greatest (Muhammad Ali) and Episode 93 American Royalty (Elizabeth Taylor).

Transcript of this episode

NYT Article on the Queen and Corgi lineage

New Yorker Review of The Crown ending

Dead or Alive quiz game

Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads

Famous & Gravy official website

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola and Evan Sherer, and features guest co-host Sara Murphy.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.