Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Photojournalist Roger Sandler Remembers Maureen Reagan

Aired August 18, 2001 - 09:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As we told you, Maureen Reagan, who died earlier this month from cancer, will be buried today in California.

And joining us now from Sacramento in front of the church is photojournalist Roger Sandler with a look at the Reagan family in pictures. Hi, Roger.

ROGER SANDLER, PHOTOJOURNALIST: Good morning.

PHILLIPS: I know you were -- you had the chance to be the family photographer and get some really fantastic photos of this family. Why don't we begin by just talking about Maureen Reagan and what you remember and what you loved so much about her.

SANDLER: OK, but let's first begin, if we may, or if I may, by giving my condolences to the Reagan family, particularly Dennis Rubell (ph), her husband, her daughter, Rita, and Michael Reagan, the brother to whom she was the closest.

And after that, I'd say that what I remember most about Maureen Reagan, after having covered politics for 30 years, is that she loved the game. She loved being involved. She loved being a participant. Many people who get involved in causes or in politics don't really enjoy themselves, and they're always under the gun and always seem to be at angst.

Maureen loved life, and she loved politics, and she loved being involved, and she loved people. One example, I never remember Maureen talking to someone not eye to eye or scanning the room over their shoulder for someone else coming around who may be more important.

PHILLIPS: Well, we also know she loved her father very much too. Tell us about their relationship, Roger.

SANDLER: Well, that's a conflict bred in that of a celebrity and a most famous politician and the child, and many children have faced that, both in Hollywood and in Washington and state capitals around the country.

The parent will always be the more recognized, the more important figure, and the parent's schedule will never by 9 to 5, will be based in part, or in large part, or in total part, perhaps, on the campaign schedule, on the affairs of state, or on the particular demands of a movie set.

And therefore, Maureen, like her siblings, didn't get as much of her father's attention, his participation, as she would have loved to have had.

PHILLIPS: Do you think that was probably her biggest heartache, Roger?

SANDLER: Yes, it was indeed. But she decided to take an interesting track. Rather than -- other stories we've heard about children of celebrities or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) politicians abusing alcohol or drugs or getting into trouble and having, you know, brushes with the law or writing tell-all books or embarrassing their family in some public way, Maureen tried another track. She decided that she in fact wouldn't get all that she would hope to have gotten, but she would in fact have a public life herself, and she would do the most at it.

It didn't solve the pain she had or the regret she had, I would say, but, you know, it was pretty quietly brave of her.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about her relationship with her husband. We're looking at a lot of family photos here, her husband and her daughter. How was she as a mom and as a wife?

SANDLER: Very much like a young lady. We know Maureen, or most people in public know Maureen, as a very feisty, vibrant, very strong- willed woman who knows her mind. When she was with Dennis and her daughter, when she was at family occasions, suddenly she became the little girl she always was. You can see it in the pictures. There was a defenselessness to her.

And that was Maureen's good heart. Not only did she go into politics or participance enjoying it, but she did it for the right reasons, and that's also an anomaly in many quarters, that she did it with a good heart. And that heart was on her face. That smile of Maureen Reagan's went from ear to ear.

PHILLIPS: Photojournalist Roger Sandler, thanks so much for giving us a little personal insight and sharing your photos.

SANDLER: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com