Ambassador of Love – Ford in Focus

_{President Gerald R. Ford watches Pearl Bailey sing during an impromptu performance after a State Dinner honoring the Shah of Iran on May 15, 1975.
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Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}

Asked to be the Ambassador of Love by President Richard Nixon, performer and Tony Award winner Pearl Bailey was adored by many a world leader. In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford appointed Bailey to be a Special Ambassador to the United Nations and in this role she performed for foreign leaders such as Anwar al-Sadat (Egypt) and King Hussein (Jordan). Bailey held this position under the presidencies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan, with the latter bestowing upon her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.

The Fords loved Pearl Bailey, inviting her to the White House to perform and taking in one of her last “Hello Dolly” performances at the Kennedy Center. In 1975, Bailey stepped in to perform at the Sadat State Dinner when Johnny Cash had to cancel.

_{^{President’s Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies, Box 18, “10/27/75 – Introduction of Pearl Bailey, Sadat State Dinner.”}}

_{Actor Omar Sharif on stage with singer Pearl Bailey as she performs during the entertainment portion of a State Dinner honoring President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt on October 27, 1975.
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Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}

Bailey also handmade a ski cap for the President before he left office! (It must have been loved and kept by President Ford, as the Museum does not have it in its collections.) Here are just a couple of items that are in the holdings of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum related to Pearl Bailey.