Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and prior to this, was the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. He was the first person appointed to the Vice Presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, after Spiro Agnew resigned. When he became president upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the first and to date only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States with neither time being elected by the Electoral College. Before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as the Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.
On Saturday Night Live, he has been impersonated by Chevy Chase in every appearance he made.
Then-president Gerald Ford's cameo appearance on the April 17, 1976 episode during "The Dead String Quartet" cold opening.
The actual Gerald Ford also made an appearance on the April 17, 1976 episode. The real President Ford enjoyed his parodying on Saturday Night Live so much he invited Chevy Chase often to golf with him after his retirement from the presidency, which Chase often did until Ford passed away in 2006.
After becoming President, Ford pardoned Nixon and led the first steps towards the recovery from the Watergate Scandal, the scandal that caused Nixon to resign. He lost re-election in 1976 to Jimmy Carter.
Ford died aged 93 on December 26, 2006, of heart disease. He was at the time the oldest former President, until his death. His record was broken by George H. W. Bush.