Over the course of his life, Reagan worked as a clothing salesman, actor, radio personality, author, and political commentator.

Michael Reagan, son of Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, dies at 80

Over the course of his life, Reagan worked as a clothing salesman, actor, radio personality, author, and political commentator.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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January 6, 2026 8:15 p.m. ET

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Michael Reagan in New York City in 2004. Credit:

Ron Sachs/Shutterstock

Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, the actress Jane Wyman, has died at the age of 80.

Fred Ryan, the chairman of the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, announced Michael's death on Jan. 4 with an official statement shared with * *on Tuesday.

"The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute mourns the passing of Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, and a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy," the statement read. "Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan's ideals."**

Michael Reagan with Ronald Reagan.

CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

"President Reagan reflected on his son in *An American Life*, writing of Michael, 'When I read his book, I had even more of a fatherly pride in Mike than I had had before... he was happy and at peace with himself," the statement continues. "Those words speak not only to a father’s pride, but to the quiet strength and authenticity with which Michael lived his life."

Michael died after a battle with cancer, according to Andrew Coffin, the director of the Reagan Ranch.**

Michael's wife Colleen and their daughters, Cameron Reagan and Ashley Reagan Dunster, separately shared a statement with Newsmax anchor Katie Pavlich on Tuesday that read, "Michael was and will always remain a beloved husband, father, and grandpa. Michael was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, January 4th, surrounded by his entire family in Los Angeles, California. Our hearts are deeply broken as we grieve the loss of a man who meant so much to all who knew and loved him."**

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Michael was born John Charles Flaugher in Los Angeles on March 18, 1945, to Essie Irene Flaugher. Flaugher and Michael's birth father, U.S. Army corporal John Bourgholtzer, eventually gave their son up for adoption, and he was shortly thereafter adopted by Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman.

Reagan and Wyman were among the most powerful couples in Hollywood at the time of adoption, having met on the set of the 1938 military comedy *Brother Rat*, and with Wyman winning an Oscar for her performance in the gritty drama *Johnny Belinda *in 1948. The couple had two more daughters, Maureen and Christine, who died a day after her birth in 1947.

Wyman filed for divorce the year after, and the year after that, Reagan met Nancy Davis, who would become his wife until his death in 2004. Ronald and Nancy would have two more children, Patti and Ron Jr., with whom Michael would publicly clash after he insinuated in the memoir *My Father at 100 *that Ronald Reagan may have been "in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's while in office."

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Michael briefly followed in his adoptive parents' footsteps, embarking on a career in entertainment in the 1980s that ranged from a stint on the CBS political soap opera *Capitol*, to a part as a concierge in the primetime soap *Falcon Crest*, which starred Wyman.

Eventually, he turned to radio commentary, hosting *The Michael Reagan Show *from 2000-2003. That parlayed into the role he held until his death, as a columnist for Newsmax. He also wrote several memoirs, including 2004's *Twice Adopted*, and 2016's *Lessons My Father Taught Me*.

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