LONDON,

Ford, who died Friday, July 8 at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, was most famous for her candor and discussion of her personal battles with breast cancer, addiction to prescription pills and alcoholism. Since the recovery center bearing her name was opened in 1982, it has welcomed over 75,000 patients.
What was less known about the former First Lady was her life prior to meeting and marrying the future President Gerald Ford in 1948. While studying dance with Martha Gra


The film reels, stored on several reels of 8-millimeter stock found in a Grand Rapids, Michigan storage unit in 2003 but kept in hiding until after her death, were sold to News of the World, which was the highest bidder under the terms of a secret auction.
According to editor Sebastian Colson- now under fire for his role in a wire-tapping scandal that brought down the storied paper - the Ford films were extremely vulgar by the standards of the time, and even today would be considered rather distasteful.
"These celebrity sex tapes you see today might ha

Since the Web site for the paper has also shut down, parent company News Corp. has set up a separate Internet address at www.bettyfordhotstuff.com and also converted the films for viewing on the site YouTube.com.
According to family spokesperson and daughter Susan Ford Bayless, the Ford family is not amused by the timing of the release of these films and has asked the online versions to be removed. Complains Bayless, "Sure, I know my mother was photogenic, but can't you people just show photos of her in the White House?"