What a life!

Margaret Truman, the only child of former President Harry S. Truman who became a concert singer, actress, radio and TV personality and mystery writer, died Tuesday. She was 83.

Truman, known as Margaret Truman Daniel in private life, died at a Chicago assisted living facility following a brief illness, according to a statement from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence. She had been at the facility for the past several weeks and was on a respirator, the library said.

Living 83 years has to be called a good long life – and this lady made the most of it. She crossed every facet of the entertainment industry during her lifetime, becoming a noted author of a series of entertaining mystery novels at an age when most folks are starting to slow down and contemplate retirement.

But my favorite story is this one – one which reminds us that every president is human, and that it is human nature for a parent to defend a child.

She made her professional singing debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1947 and gave her first Carnegie Hall concert two years later. Critics generally praised her poise but were less impressed with her vocal talent.

When Washington Post critic Paul Hume wrote after a 1950 concert that she ''is extremely attractive on the stage ... (but) cannot sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time,'' her father fired off a note on White House stationery scolding Hume for a ''lousy review.''

''I have never met you, but if I do you'll need a new nose and plenty of beefsteak and perhaps a supporter below,'' the president wrote.

The note made Page One news -- but was not the sort of publicity an aspiring artist seeks. Years later she was able to laugh about it: ''I thought it was funny. Sold tickets.''

Yes, she was truly “Daddy’s little girl”.

To her surviving family, I offer my condolences on this great loss of a true lady.

Posted by: Greg at 01:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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