Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards Dies
At Age 73, After A Six-Month Battle With Esophageal Cancer
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Play CBS Video Video Gov. Anne Richards Remembered The former Texas governor and Democratic firebrand died of esophageal cancer at the age of 73. Morley Safer remembers.
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Video Ann Richards Dies From Cancer Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards died Wednesday night after a battle with esophageal cancer. She was 73. Nancy Holland of KHOU reports on her career.
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Coming to the aid of her party: Ann Richards, a tireless campaigner for dozens of fellow Democrats, speaks at a 2003 rally for Calif. Gov. Gray Davis, left, during his unsuccessful battle to avoid recall. (AP (file))
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Ann Richards talks to election workers in Mexico City in July 2000 as part of her work as a member of an international team of observers of Mexico's general election. (AP)
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The first woman elected as governor of Texas in her own right, Ann Richards, seen here in 1992, led the Lone Star state from 1991 to 1995. She was defeated by future president George W. Bush. (AP (file))
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Interactive Star Politicians There's a long list of entertainers who've tried to make the move from the world of make-believe to the world of politics.
A family spokesman says Richards died at home surrounded by her family. Richards was found to have esophageal cancer in March and underwent chemotherapy treatments.
The silver-haired, silver-tongued Richards said she entered politics to help others — especially women and minorities who were often ignored by Texas' male-dominated establishment.
"I did not want my tombstone to read, 'She kept a really clean house.' I think I'd like them to remember me by saying, 'She opened government to everyone,"' Richards said shortly before leaving office in January 1995.
She was governor for one term, losing her re-election bid to Republican George W. Bush, a loss she later said she mourned for "maybe five seconds" before going on to campaign in dozens of states for other Democratic candidates.
She grabbed the national spotlight with her keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention when she was the Texas state treasurer, winning cheers as she told delegates that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, "only backwards and in high heels."
Richards won even more applause and sealed her partisan reputation with a blast at George H. Bush, a fellow Texan who was vice president at the time: "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."
Four years later, she was chairwoman of the Democratic convention that nominated Bill Clinton for president.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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