Reagan Receives Churchill Award : With Regal Pageantry, Ex-President Hailed for Leadership

Retirement can’t be all bad when you still have the United States Marine Corps Color Guard serenading your entrance and a spotlight shining on you wherever you go.

Such is the limelight the Reagans still command, especially when it’s an occasion like Wednesday night, when former President Ronald Reagan received the Winston Churchill Foundation Award, presented by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. Reagan is the fourth recipient of the award; previous honorees were W. Averell Harriman, H. Ross Perot and Margaret Thatcher.

The black-tie dinner at the Beverly Hilton was preceded by a VIP cocktail reception where the food was barely touched and guests awaited the arrival of the Reagans and the prince.

A Polite Mobbing

The Reagans (she was dressed in a pink and white brocade-belted jacket with a long white slim skirt) were politely mobbed, the prince less so; an informal receiving line let the honored guests greet friends and fans.

“It all seems to come off rather well, hasn’t it?” said a beaming Lady Soames, the youngest and only living child of Sir Winston Churchill and a trustee of the Winston Churchill Foundation.

The foundation was begun 29 years ago by the late prime minister’s friends during his life to foster Anglo-American relations. With English and American branches, it grants scholarships and fellowships to American graduate students, allowing them to study science at Churchill College at Cambridge University.

Although Lady Soames remains one of the staunchest supporters of the foundation, she said she wasn’t due to make any campaign speeches that night.

“Oh no, no, no,” she said emphatically. “I’m purely a spectator here tonight.”

Impressive Guest List

There was a great deal to take in, notably the guests, who included Walter and Leonore Annenberg; John L. Loeb Jr., president of the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States; dinner chairman (and Arco president and CEO) Robert Wycoff and his wife Anne; Pamela Harriman; Barbara and Marvin Davis; Tom Selleck and wife Jillie Mack; British publishing czar Robert Maxwell; Bob and Dolores Hope; Betty and Bill Wilson; Phyllis Diller; Edie and Lew Wasserman; British Ambassador to the United States Antony Acland and wife Jennifer; and Timothy Wilkes, the 15-year-old El Toro High School junior who won an essay competition on the subject of Winston Churchill.

The dinner netted more than $1 million, according to Wycoff (tickets were priced at a hefty $1,000).

The evening went along at a quiet, regal gait, with all of the expected pageantry but little of the high-pitched fervor that other royals elicit when they come to town.

Bob Hope headlined the evening’s entertainment, getting away with quips like: “This is an informal evening. The prince decided not to wear a crown, and so did the Reagans.”

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra was all but drowned out by the drone of chatting guests, but better heard was Rosemary Clooney, who belted out standards to an appreciative audience.

Said Prince Philip, who also holds the title of Chancellor of Cambridge University: “It’s not for me to comment on the choice of Mr. Reagan receiving the Churchill award except to say that it strikes me as wholly appropriate. What Sir Winston experienced, the responsibilities of leading a government and a nation in war and in peace, Mr. Reagan had the same experience, but fortunately he was spared the war. . . .

Qualities of a Leader

“I’ve often speculated on the qualities that make a successful political leader--or any leader, for that matter,” he continued. “I think I would put personal charm on the top of the list. The next I would put a sense of humor, a quick wit and the gift of self-mockery. All public figures have to suffer mockery, so you might as well get it in first.”

To the list of qualities he added: “A fairly thick skin to absorb criticism, and the patience to listen to what others have to say. And from what I’ve noticed about Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan, I would say that all these qualities are present in both their characters in ample measure. And last but by no means least, Sir Winston had and Mr. Reagan has the extreme good fortune to be helped and supported by exceptional wives.”

After Prince Philip placed the medallion award around Reagan’s neck, the former President responded: “Imagine how humble I feel receiving an award for supposedly representing some of the qualities of Winston Churchill. This truly is an honor. Winston Churchill inspires. He was truly a great man. He seemed to instinctively understand man, government and the importance of freedom.”

Reagan continued: “The progress of science is as unstoppable as the forces of the universe. And I’ll tell you what I like about scientists: They are eternal optimists. They believe there are answers, and they believe we can find them.

“If I may be so bold as to speak for Sir Winston for a moment, I think there is something he and I would agree upon completely regarding the nature of science and politics. It’s something W. H. Auden said perfectly, that ‘the true men of action in our time, those who transform the world, are not the politicians and the statesmen, but the scientists.’ ”