Steve Ford, actor and son of the late 38th president, spoke at the Humphrey Coliseum Monday.
Speaking as a part of the Dorothy Martin Lectureship in Values and Ethics series, Ford titled his lecture “From the White House and Hollywood: Getting to the Top with Character.” Delta Gamma sponsored this event.
DG President Kayla McCarver said she believed those in attendance enjoyed Ford’s message.
“I think everyone really liked how he [Ford] was able to show that his experiences in public life are just like those we have every day,” McCarver said. “Mr. Ford was extremely personable and although I only had dinner with him once, I felt as if I were talking to a friend.”
Throughout much of his lecture, Ford showed rarely-seen photos of his family during his time at the White House.
Ford also discussed his bouts with alcoholism in the 1980s and how he overcame the problem with the help of his mother, Betty Ford, who also battled the problem.
Ford’s father, Gerald Ford, became vice president in 1973 following the resignation of Spiro Agnew. After Gerald Ford was asked to step in, Steve Ford said his father told his mother one thing.
“The vice president really doesn’t do anything,” he said. “Boy was he wrong.”
10 months later, Gerald Ford was thrust into the presidency following the Watergate scandal. He became the first president in American history to never be elected, and Steve Ford’s life changed forever.
Although Steve Ford said this period of time was a dark moment in American history, he said believed his father was the right person to lead the nation.
“[Gerald Ford] was willing to share and open his life with anyone,” Steve Ford said. “My father was able to decrease inflation to 4 percent and also create 4 million jobs . sadly his presidency is mostly defined by his pardon of Nixon.”
Steve Ford said the pardon cost his father the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter.
“My father believed that the nation could not go on three, four or five years with Richard Nixon in the headlines,” he said. “We needed to move on . Nixon eventually took the pardon as a way of admitting his wrongdoing.”
Following his father’s ascension to the presidency, Steve Ford decided to not attend Duke University and head west to fulfill his dream of becoming a cowboy. He became a ranch hand and eventually graduated from California Polytechnic University with an agriculture degree.
Steve Ford soon found work acting, landing roles in “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Young and the Restless” and about 30 other movies and television shows.
Steve Ford said his three nieces encouraged him to leave acting and tour the nation as a motivational speaker.
“They said, ‘We challenge you to do more with your life,'” he said. “After all, I will be honest with you, it’s not like we’re curing cancer in Hollywood; only providing entertainment.”
After he gave personal accounts of Washington D.C. and Hollywood, he shifted to the topic of character, and his tone became serious. Steve Ford said genuine character is not publicly seen.
“Character is what you do when no one is watching,” he said.
Ford elaborated on his point by telling the story of how his father quit the University of Michigan football team in protest of racial equality. He did not know his father did this until decades later when the university retired his dad’s jersey number.
Although his father passed away about two years ago, Steve Ford said it was not his political success or athletic ability that he will remember.
“As I stood on the Capitol floor at my father’s presidential state funeral, there were a couple things I was thinking about,” he said.
” . What he did to lead our family and how he showed us to be a great father and husband.”
When asked why he never entered politics, Steve Ford said he never had the passion or the willingness to be scrutinized as with today’s public leaders.
“Besides, when you run now they like to drag out all your skeletons,” he said. “Believe me, my closet looks worse than Halloween.”
Junior accounting major Patty Commarato said she was impressed with Steve Ford’s discussion of character.
“I really liked how he seemed thankful for his experiences of living in the White House and in Hollywood,” she said. “I also admired his genuineness in wanting to live his life to help influence others.”
Steve Ford currently tours the country as a motivational speaker and sits on the board of trustees for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation.
The Delta Lambda chapter of Delta Gamma at Mississippi State University is only the sixth DG chapter to receive the Dorothy Martin Lectureship. Members of the sorority have raised over $100,000 to maintain the lectureship and to keep it free for the public.
Past keynote speakers have included wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin and millionaire Christopher Gardner.
For more information about the series, contact Luann Purnell at 295-3732.