Me (1989), details her experiences with higher education. On January 19, 1985, she appeared on a nationally televised broadcast gala the night before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. In 1988, Bailey received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan. Personal life Bailey went through a number of failed marriages in her earlier adult years. She married John Randolph Pinkett, either her third or fourth husband, when she was 30 years old, and divorced him four years later, accusing him of physical abuse. On November 19, 1952, Bailey married jazz drummer Louie Bellson in London. They remained married until her death nearly 38 years later in 1990. Bellson was six years Bailey's junior and white. Interracial couples were rare at that time, and Bellson's father was reportedly opposed to the marriage because of Bailey's race. They later adopted a son, Tony, in the mid-1950s. A daughter, Dee Dee J. Bellson, was born April 20, 1960. Tony Bellson died in 2004. Dee Dee Bellson died on July 4, 2009, at the age of 49, five months after her father, who died on February 14. Bailey, a Republican, was appointed by President Richard Nixon as the nation's "Ambassador of Love" in 1970. She attended several meetings of the United Nations and later appeared in a campaign ad for President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election. She was awarded the Bronze Medallion in 1968, the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City. Bailey was a close friend of actress Joan Crawford. In 1969, Crawford and Bailey joined fellow friend Gypsy Rose Lee in accepting a USO award. That same year, Bailey was recognized as USO's woman of the year. Upon Crawford's death in May 1977, Bailey spoke of Crawford as her sister and sang a hymn at her funeral. American socialite Perle Mesta was another of Bailey's close friends. In the waning days of Mesta's life, Bailey visited Mesta frequently and sang hymns for her. Death Bailey died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia on August 17, 1990. An autopsy confirmed the death was caused by the narrowing of the coronary artery. Bailey had suffered from heart problems for over thirty years. Bailey is buried at Rolling Green Memorial Park in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Remembrances The television show American Dad! features Pearl Bailey High School. The 1969 song "We Got More Soul" by Dyke and the Blazers includes Bailey