Look who has had and now has Alzheimer's

Famous people who have or have had Alzheimer's and related dementias. At the bottom of this list are the names of notable people who are currently confronting Alzheimer's disease in their families.

Charles Bronson - November 3, 1921 died August 30, 2003) was an American actor of "tough guy", or "macho" roles.

Charlton Heston - (born October 4, 1924) is an American film actor. In a long career he was mostly known for playing heroic roles such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, Colonel George Taylor in Planet of the Apes, and Judah Ben-Hur in Ben-Hur.Charlton Heston is lost in a world of Alzheimer's Disease, according to close family friends.

Rita Hayworth - (October 17, 1918 died May 14, 1987), Margarita Carmen Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Spanish flamenco dancer Eduardo Cansino (Sr.) and English/Irish-American Ziegfeld girl Volga Hayworth. After about 1960, Hayworth suffered from extremely early onset of Alzheimer's disease, which was not diagnosed until 1980. She continued to act in films until the early 1970s and made a well-publicized 1971 appearance on The Carol Burnett Show. Both of her brothers died within a week of each other in March 1974, saddening her greatly, and causing her to drink even more heavily than before. Rita Hayworth public diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in 1980 was a big step in destigmatizing the degenerative disease.

Ronald Reagan - Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 died June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981-1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967-1975). Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s. In July 1989, the Reagans took a trip to Mexico, where Reagan was thrown off a horse and taken to a hospital for tests. The Reagans returned to the U.S. and visited the Mayo Clinic where they were told President Reagan had a head concussion and a subdural hematoma, and was subsequently operated on. Doctors believe that is what hastened the onset of Alzheimer's disease, an incurable neurological disorder which ultimately causes brain cells to die, and something Reagan was diagnosed with in 1994.

Alfred Van Vogt - Born on a farm in Edenburg, a Russian Mennonite community east of Gretna, Manitoba, Canada, van Vogt was one of the most popular and highly esteemed science fiction writers of the 1940s. Van Vogt's first published SF story, "Black Destroyer" (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939), was inspired by The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

Sugar Ray Robinson - (born Walker Smith Jr., May 3, 1921 died April 12, 1989) was a professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time. Robinson was a fluid boxer who possessed a quick jab and knockout power. He possessed tremendous versatility, according to boxing analyst Bert Sugar, "Robinson could deliver a knockout blow going backward." In Robinson's last years, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died in Los Angeles at the age of 67.

Burgess Meredith - (November 16, 1907 - September 9, 1997) Burgess Meredith was a versatile two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor. He was known for portraying Rocky Balboa's trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky films and The Penguin in the television series Batman.

Iris Murdoch - (15 July 1919 died 8 February 1999) Iris Murdoch was a Dublin-born writer and philosopher. Her first published novel, Under the Net, was selected in 2001 by the editorial board of the American Modern Library as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Jack Lord - (December 30, 1920 died January 21, 1998) Jack O'Brien was an American television, film, and Broadway actor, famous for his role in Hawaii Five-O. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jack Lord was the son of Irish-American parents. His father, William Lawrence Ryan was a steamship company executive. His first work on Broadway was in Traveling Lady with Kim Stanley. He was then cast as a replacement for Ben Gazarra in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Jack Lord died of congestive heart failure at his home on January 21, 1998 in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the age of 77.

Abe Burrows - (December 18, 1910 died May 17, 1985) Abe Burrows was a noted American humorist, author, and director for both the radio and the stage, particularly Broadway. He began working as a runner on Wall Street while at NYC, and he also worked in an accounting firm. After he met Frank Galen in 1938, the two wrote and sold jokes to an impressionist who appeared on the Rudy Valle radio program. Abe burrows later suffered of dementia at an older age.

Kay Swift - (1897-1993) Kay Swift was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a complete musical. Swift was educated as a classical musician and composer at the Institute of Musical Art (now known as the Juilliard School). Her teacher of composition was Charles Loeffler, while harmony and composition was taught to her by Percy Goetschius. Her marriage to a cowboy and subsequent move to Oregon prompted an autobiographical novel, Who Could Ask For Anything More? Which was made into the film Never a Dull Moment in 1950, which had a Kay Swift musical score.

Barry Goldwater - (January 2, 1909 died May 29, 1998) was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona (1953-1965, 1969-87) and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. He was also referred to as "Mr. Conservative". Goldwater is the politician most often credited for sparking the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s. By the 1980s, the increasing influence of the Christian Right on the Republican Party so conflicted with Goldwater's libertarian views that he became a vocal opponent of the religious right on issues such as abortion and gay rights. Goldwater concentrated on his Senate duties, especially passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986.

Dana Andrews - (January 1, 1909 - December 17, 1992) was an American film actor. Andrews signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn and nine years after arriving in Los Angeles was offered his first movie role in William Wyler's The Westerner (1940), starring Gary Cooper. In the 1943 movie adaptation of The Ox-Bow Incident with Henry Fonda, often

Harry Ritz - The Ritz Brothers were a comedy team who appeared in 1930s films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s.

Mervyn Leroy - (October 15, 1900 - September 13, 1987) was an Academy Award-winning American film director, producer and sometime actor. 1560 Vine Street.

Rockwell - (February 3, 1894 died November 8, 1978) Norman Rockwell was a 20th century American painter and illustrator. In 1943, during the Second World War, Rockwell painted the Four Freedoms series, which was completed in seven months and resulted in his losing 15 pounds. The series was inspired by a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he described four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship, and Freedom from Fear.

Perry Como - (May 18, 1912 died May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for RCA and also pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time.

Estelle Getty July 23, 1923 died July 22, 2008. Estelle Scher-Gettleman, better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, theatre and television. She is best known for her role as Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls from 1985 to 1992, which won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe, on The Golden Palace from 1992 to 1993 and on Empty Nest from 1993 to 1995. In her later years, after retiring from acting, she battled Lewy body dementia.

Peter Falk (born September 16, 1927) is an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles, and has been nominated for an Academy Award twice, and won the Emmy Award on five occasions and the Golden Globe award once. At a two day conservatorship trial in Los Angeles in June 2009, one of Falk's personal physicians, Dr. Stephen Read, reported Falk rapidly slipped into dementia after a series of dental operations in 2007. Dr. Read said it was unclear whether Falk's condition worsened as a result of anesthesia or some other reaction to the operations.

Aaron Copland - composer

Arlene Francis - actor

Arthur O'Connell - actor

Betty Schwartz - Olympic gold medal winner in track events

Bill Quackenbush - professional hockey player

Carroll Campbell - Former Rebublican Senator

Irving Shulman - screenwriter

James Brooks - artist

James Doohan - actor famous for his role as Scoty in Star Trek.

Joe Adcock - baseball player

John Douglas French - physician

Joyce Chen - chef

Louis Feraud - fashion designer

Mabel Albertson - actor

Marv Owen - baseball player

Mike Frankovich - film producer

Molly Picon - actor

Norman Otto Preminger - director

Paul Silva Henriquez - Roman Catholic cardinal, human rights advocate

Ross MacDonald - author

Rudolph Bing - opera impresario

Simon Scott - actor

Thomas Dorsey - singer

Tom Fears - professional football player and coach

Willem DeKooning - artist

First Lady Laura Bush
Care situation: Moved mother into a retirement home five years ago; dad died of Alzheimer's."There are things you can do as a long-distance caregiver. One thing: You can build a support group in your parents' neighborhood, get to know all the neighbors, exchange phone numbers."
Interesting aside: While living in Washington DC, Bush traveled regularly to Texas to help arrange her parents' care. Being in one of the world's most high profile lives didn't spare her the need to establish eyes, hears, and hands on the ground miles away –- a great way to help prolong a parent's independent living.

Maria Shriver
Care situation: Father Sargent Shriver has advanced Alzheimer's; mother Eunice Kennedy had a stroke the same year he was diagnosed, 2003. "My kids dealt with the person that was sitting in front of them. Like, 'What are you doing, Grandpa?' And, 'What are you doing today?' And they didn't get into who my father was. They just got into who he was [at the moment]. And I think that was a very valuable lesson to me: Accept the person that's sitting in front of you. Stop trying to make them who they were. Let it go."
Interesting aside: The California first lady, who wrote the children's book "What's Wrong With Grandpa?" and helped produced the HBO documentary series "The Alzheimer's Project," says she still cries that her father no longer recognizes her. At 93, he attends Mass daily and still can recite the Hail Mary, though he doesn't know his own daughter Maria.

First Lady Nancy Reagan
Care situation: Cared for her husband, President Ronald Reagan, at home for a decade until his death with Alzheimer's in 2004. “When it comes right down to it, you’re in it alone. Each day is different, and you get up, put one foot in front of the other, and go—and love; just love.”
Interesting aside: When asked if she ever felt like giving up while caregiving, she told Vanity Fair (in an interview coming in the July 2009 issue), "No, Ronnie wouldn't like that."

John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in "The Lord of the Rings")
Care situation: Wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1995 "Before she got very ill, she asked me, ‘What will happen?’ and I said she would probably forget who we all were. Obviously, she thought that was terrible so I told her no matter what happened we would always know who she was, we would always love her and always care for her.”
Interesting aside: Rhys-Davies, 62, has a new life, and a 3-year-old, with another woman but says he will never divorce his wife, 76, because of his promise to look after her.

Leeza Gibbons
Care situation: Mother recently died of Alzheimer's, as had her grandmother; Gibbons founded Leeza's Place to support Alzheimer's caregivers and has written a new book, Take Your Oxygen First. "Family caregivers are like first responders. When there's a burning building or a car crash, everyone is running from the scene, but the first responders are running towards the emergency. "Take your oxygen first" is really a battle cry, it's a mantra, it's a reminder that if you don't nourish yourself mind, body, soul, and spirit, we will be so depleted we will have nothing to give our loved ones…it's an incredible sign of personal strength to take your oxygen first."
Interesting aside: Noting how caregivers often cope with stress through crutches (such as overeating or drinking), Gibbons says she coped by traveling the world to find a cure for Alzheimer's – though she wishes she had come to terms with the challenges at home sooner instead.

Michael Caine
Care situation: Plays a man with Alzheimer's in his new movie "Is Anybody There?"; his best friend died of the disease. "I just hope it teaches people that there's so much to be learned from older people."
Interesting aside: Caine, 76, has grown vigilant about his own health as he ages. He cut salt and sugar from his diet years ago ("that's what living in California for 8 years does") and has said he now tries to avoid dairy and wheat, too. (What's left?!) For exercise, he walks five miles a day.
There are many others who are champions for tehe Alzheimer's cause, such as David Hyde Pierce, Victor Garber, Dick Van Dyke, Kristen Bell....they have all seen the effects of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.