by Jeff Anderson for A Place For Mom
While Alzheimer’s disease was first described in 1901, it was a relatively unknown illness until the last quarter of the 20th century. Celebrities like Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston have been instrumental in increasing public awareness about the illness and efforts to find a cure. Allentown and Lehigh Valley residents can know that you are not alone—anyone is susceptible to the need for memory care.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. Ironically, Reagan himself would later succumb to the disease, but Alzheimer’s Awareness Month continues. World Alzheimer’s Month takes place every September and World Alzheimer’s Day is on 21 September each year. It’s a global opportunity to raise dementia awareness and support people affected by the disease.
Famous Americans such as Glen Campbell, Ronald Reagan, and Rita Hayworth have heightened understanding of the illness and reduced the stigma of Alzheimer’s patients by publicly announcing their own illnesses. Following is a list of notable Americans who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
1. Glen Campbell (1936–2017) Country singer and guitarist, Glen Campbell, announced in 2011 that he had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Following his late-2010 Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Campbell embarked on a final “Goodbye Tour”, with three of his children joining him in his backup band. He was too ill to travel to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2012. His final show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California.
2. Pat Summitt (1952–2016) Pat Summitt coached the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team to an amazing 8 NCAA championships and retired with a record of 1,098-208. In 2011, Summitt announced that she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She retained the title of Head Coach Emeritus, and was involved as an advocate for people with Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Perry Como (1912–2001) Perry Como was a popular singer during the 1950s and 1960s and continued to perform periodically during his later years, especially around Christmas. Como suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for two years before passing away in 2001.
4. Charles Bronson (1921–2003) Charles Bronson, star of Death Wish and numerous other action films, spent the last years of his life debilitated from Alzheimer’s.
5. Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) Six years after the end of his presidency, Ronald Reagan announced to the American public that he was “one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.” He said his public disclosure was intended to raise public awareness about the disease.
6. Charlton Heston (1923–2008) Charlton Heston’s most famous role was Moses in The Ten Commandments. Like his friend, Ronald Reagan, Heston announced publicly that he had Alzheimer’s disease.
7. Norman Rockwell (1894–1978) Rockwell, one of the most famous American painters, became well known for his illustrations on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell succumbed to Alzheimer’s after a long and illustrious career. Interestingly, Rockwell’s paintings are now sometimes used in dementia therapy because of the memories and nostalgia they elicit.
8. Rita Hayworth (1918–1987) Hayworth was an American film star who rose to prominence in the 1940s. Despite fairly obvious signs of the illness, Rita Hayworth was not correctly diagnosed for several years. After eventually learning the cause of her memory loss, Hayworth became the “face of Alzheimer’s disease” during the 1980s. This year, the Alzheimer’s Association held its 25th Annual Rita Hayworth Gala.
9. Sugar Ray Robinson (1921–1989) Sugar Ray Robinson, recognized as one of the best boxers ever, died from Alzheimer’s disease at just 67 years of age. Robinson held the welterweight and middleweight title belts and finished with a final record of 173 wins, 19 losses, and 2 draws. It’s not currently known whether head injuries can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
10. Aaron Copeland (1900–1990) During the 1970s, one of America’s most renowned classical composers, Aaron Copeland, found that his powers were failing him because of memory loss. By the 1980s, he was unable to compose, and he passed away in 1990 shortly after his 90th birthday.
11. Burgess Meredith (1907–1997) Burgess Meredith may have been most famous for his role as the Penguin in the Batman TV series, although he appeared in numerous films and shows. His career would have been even greater had it not been for McCarthyism and the Red Scare—he spent 7 years on a Hollywood blacklist because of his left-leaning political views.
12. Estelle Getty (1923–1998) Estelle Getty is best known for her role as Sophia in The Golden Girls. She passed away from complications of Lewy body dementia, which is different from Alzheimer’s but also causes memory loss and other Alzheimer’s-like symptoms.
13. Peter Falk (1927–2011) Falk began his career on stage but reached national prominence as a star of the TV series Columbo. He also played the narrator and grandfather in the popular film Princess Bride. Toward the end of his life, his physician reported that he could no longer even remember the character of Columbo.
Every case of Alzheimer’s is a tragedy, and we honor the more than 5 million regular Americans who have the illness, as well as their family and caretakers.
Whatever the cause of your or your loved one’s memory issues, South Mountain Memory Care, with our unique culture, “small house” model, and abundance of certified caregivers, offers you the peace of mind of knowing your loved one will be cared for as if they were our family—which they are!
South Mountain Memory Care is committed to providing individualized, compassionate care to support our residents in achieving a well-balanced lifestyle. We strive to allow our residents to remain independent while emphasizing safety. Our focus is to enrich their life—mind, body, and spirit—by bringing new initiatives into their day-to-day regimen while maintaining the activities they find comfort in. South Mountain Memory Care offers the peace of mind you deserve. When it comes to those you care so deeply about, we understand because we care, too.
Source: A Place For Mom (no longer available online)
https://womensbrainhealth.org/think-tank/think-outside-the-box/celebrities-with-alzheimers-disease (Accessed and updated January 27, 2025)