Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Ronald Reagan the Actor




Ronald Reagan, born in Illinois, moved to California where he signed a contract with Warner Brothers studios in 1937. He acted in numerous films, including Love Is on the Air, Cowboy from Brooklyn, and Boy Meets Girl for the first year, and in 1938 he starred alongside Jane Wyman in Brother Rat. They married in 1940, having a child, Maureen, and adopting a son, Michael. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. During the marriage, Reagan continued to star in flims such as Dark Victory, An Angel from Texas, Knute Rockne All American, and King's Row. After the outbreak of war in the early 1940s, Reagan joined the Army Air Force in 1942. Although his nearsightedness limited him from active duty, he was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit, producing movies including Beyond the Line of Duty, The Rear Gunner, and This is the Army.

Following military service in the United States Cavalry, Reagan resumed his film work. He met fellow star Nancy Davis in 1950 and they married two years later; the marriage would be one of the closest in U.S. political history, and the couple had two children: Patti and Ron. Although Reagan continued his acting career, making films such as Cattle Queen of Montana, Tennessee's Partner, and Hellcats of the Navy (where he costarred alongside his wife) he did not secure as many roles any longer. Thus, Reagan turned to television, becoming the host of GE's General Electric Theater and later Death Valley Days.

The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last acting role before entering politics, and the only villain in his career. According to Kirk Douglas' autobiography The Ragman's Son, Reagan hated the movie because of a scene in which he slaps Dickinson.

From film Knute Rockne All American, the phrase "Win one for the Gipper" was later used as a political slogan by Ronald Reagan, who was often referred to as "The Gipper". A famous use of it was at the 1988 Republican National Convention when Reagan told his Vice President George H. W. Bush, "George, go out there and win one for the Gipper." It was also used in the 2004 Republican National Convention by President George W. Bush in his acceptance speech when he stated "we can now truly win one for the Gipper," shortly after Reagan's death.

As a result of film Hellcats of the Navy and Mr. Reagan's service as Commander in Chief, the Reagans are particularly revered by the Navy, which was especially evident during Mr. Reagan's funeral services.

Chronicles Reagan's Hollywood years, from the Reagan Library »

Ronald Reagan Filmography »

Worth Retweeting

Ronald Reagan TCM Star of the Month

lacantekin Posted 58 minutes ago from Web
lacantekin

wow. I did not know that Nancy Reagan made movies WITH Ronald?! Thanks Turners Classic Movie channel!

angusp Posted at 1:20am from twhirl
angusp

Watching a movie with Ronald Reagan in it.... and that makes it so much better

markatmd Posted at 1:13am from twitterrific
markatmd

@tcmaniacs Dear Maniac, Is it wrong of me to find the Ronald Reagan movies creepy because I can't respect his political career?

MartaR73 Posted at 12:46am from Web
MartaR73

watching Ronald Reagan movies on TCM and wishing he were in the White House...

christingom Posted at 12:13am from mobile web
christingom

Trivia: Ronald Reagan was in a movie with Nancy Davis (his future wife).

charleyknox Posted at 11:46pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web
charleyknox

Watching Ronzo and Nancy in "Hellcats of the Navy". I last saw this election eve 1980.

joek72 Posted at 11:38pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web, in reply to TCManiacs
joek72

@TCManiacs The only Movie that Nancy and ron were in together!

RickWahler Posted at 11:30pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web
RickWahler

watching Hellcats of the Navy. Its R Reagan nite on TCM

_brainfreeze_ Posted at 11:28pm, Mar 25, 2009 from TwitterFox
_brainfreeze_

Going to watch "Hellcats of the Navy." Mainly so I can I did.

tcdavisjr Posted at 11:23pm, Mar 25, 2009 from Web
tcdavisjr

I am watching Ronald Reagan and his future wife, at the time, Nancy Davis in Hellcats of the Navy. I met Nancy as an active duty Marine.

TCManiacs Posted at 11:15pm, Mar 25, 2009 from HootSuite
TCManiacs

@TCManiacs Blogs: Hellcats of the Navy | Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Davis revered by the Navy | State Funeral http://ow.ly/1rou

kourtney12 Posted at 8:05pm, Mar 25, 2009 from txt
kourtney12

Ronald Reagan = very bad actor. I'm not makin it a TCM night.


Posted by Unknown at Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 12:21 AM

    ES TAN GUAPO RONALD
    Me gusta el como actor y presidente
    donde descargo Hellcats of the Navy ??

    ReplyDelete

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