Washington Times:
Patti Davis, daughter of late President Ronald Reagan to Will Ferrell,
criticizing the actor for agreeing to play the 40th president in an
upcoming satirical film about his battle with dementia. Ferrell later decided against the film project.
“I saw the news bulletin — as did everyone — that you intend to
portray my father in the throes of Alzheimer’s for a comedy that you are
also producing,” Ms. Davis, a former actress, wrote in her blog.
“Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and
other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not
find the subject humorous.
“Alzheimer’s doesn’t care if you are President of the United States
or a dockworker. It steals what is most precious to a human being —
memories, connections, the familiar landmarks of a lifetime that we all
come to rely on to hold our place secure in this world and keep us
linked to those we have come to know and love,” she continued. “I
watched as fear invaded my father’s eyes — this man who was never afraid
of anything. I heard his voice tremble as he stood in the living room
and said, ‘I don’t know where I am.’ I watched helplessly as he reached
for memories, for words, that were suddenly out of reach and moving
farther away. For ten long years he drifted — past the memories that
marked his life, past all that was familiar…and mercifully, finally past
the fear. There was laughter in those years, but there was never
humor.”
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