Ronald Reagan

==Entertainment career==
{{Further|Ronald Reagan filmography}}

===Radio and film===
{{Multiple image|total_width=400|image1=Ronald Reagan in Dark Victory trailer.jpg|alt1=A frame of Ronald Reagan in the 1939 film Dark Victory|caption1=''[[Dark Victory]]'' (1939)|image2=Ronald Reagan in The Bad Man (1941).png|alt2=A frame of Reagan in the 1941 film The Bad Man|caption2=''[[The Bad Man (1941 film)|The Bad Man]]'' (1941)}}

After obtaining a [[Bachelor of Arts degree]] in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932,{{sfn|Mullen|1999|p=207}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reagan.eureka.edu/visit-reagans-campus.html |title=Visit Reagan's Campus |website=The Ronald W. Reagan Society of Eureka College |access-date=February 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418015423/https://reagan.eureka.edu/visit-reagans-campus.html |archive-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref> Reagan took a job in [[Davenport, Iowa]], as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the [[Big Ten Conference]].{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=24–26}} He then worked for [[WHO (AM)|WHO radio]] in [[Des Moines]] as a broadcaster for the [[Chicago Cubs]]. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=29–30}} Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=458}} In 1936, while traveling with the Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with [[Warner Bros.]]{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=18–19}}

Reagan arrived at [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1937, debuting in ''[[Love Is on the Air]]'' (1937).{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=39–40}} Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions,{{sfn|Freie|2015|pp=43–44}} Reagan made thirty films, mostly [[B films]], before beginning [[military service]] in April 1942.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=30}} He broke out of these types of films by portraying [[George Gipp]] in ''[[Knute Rockne, All American]]'' (1940), which would be rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for president of the United States.{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=13–15}} Afterward, Reagan starred in ''[[Kings Row]]'' (1942) as a leg amputee, asking, "Where's the rest of me?"{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=25–26}} His performance was considered his best by many critics.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=37}} Reagan became a star,{{sfn|Friedrich|1997|p=89}} with [[Gallup polls]] placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=37}}

[[World War II]] interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again{{sfn|Friedrich|1997|p=89}} as [[Warner Bros.]] became uncertain about his ability to generate ticket sales. Reagan, who had a limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the roles he received. As a result, [[Lew Wasserman]] renegotiated his contract with his studio, allowing him to also make films with [[Universal Pictures]], [[Paramount Pictures]], and [[RKO Pictures]] as a freelancer. With this, Reagan appeared in multiple [[western film]]s, something that had been denied to him while working at Warner Bros.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=59}} In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros.,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=236}} but went on to appear in a total of 53 films,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=30}} his last being ''[[The Killers (1964 film)|The Killers]]'' (1964).{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=312}}

===Military service===
[[File:Reagan FMPU.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Captain Reagan in the Army Air Force working for the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, between 1943 and 1944|Reagan at [[First Motion Picture Unit#Life at Fort Roach|Fort Roach]], between 1943 and 1944]]

In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve]]. He was assigned as [[Private (rank)|a private]] in Des Moines' [[322nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|322nd Cavalry Regiment]] and reassigned to [[second lieutenant]] in the Officers Reserve Corps.{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=148}} He later became a part of the [[323rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|323rd Cavalry Regiment]] in California.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=96}} As relations between the United States and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] worsened, Reagan was ordered for active duty while he was filming ''[[Kings Row]]''. Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a [[draft dodger]], the studio let him go in April 1942.{{sfnm|1a1=Woodard|1y=2012|1p=26|2a1=Brands|2y=2015|2pp=54–55}}

Reagan reported for duty with severe [[near-sightedness]]. His first assignment was at [[Fort Mason]] as a [[liaison officer]], a role that allowed him to transfer to the [[United States Army Air Forces]] (AAF). Reagan became an AAF [[public relations officer]] and was subsequently assigned to the [[18th AAF Base Unit]] in [[Culver City]]{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|pp=148–149}} where he felt that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal [[bureaucracy]].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=27}} Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit [[Burbank, California|in Burbank]]{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=149}} and continued to make theatrical films.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=57}} He was also ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the [[Series E bond|sixth War Loan Drive]] before being reassigned to [[Fort MacArthur]] until his discharge on December 9, 1945, as [[Captain (United States O-3)|a captain]]. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 training films.{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=149}}

===Screen Actors Guild presidency===
When [[Robert Montgomery (actor)|Robert Montgomery]] resigned as president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]] (SAG) on March 10, 1947, Reagan was elected to that position, in a special election.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=86}} Reagan's first tenure saw various labor-management disputes,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=133}} the [[Hollywood blacklist]],{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=146}} and the [[Taft–Hartley Act]]'s implementation.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=154}} On April 10, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) interviewed Reagan and he provided them with the names of actors whom he believed to be [[communist sympathizers]].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=32}} During a [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]]{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=97}} and that he was well-informed on a "jurisdictional strike".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=98}} When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the [[Screen Writers Guild]], he called the efforts "hearsay".{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=89}} Reagan would remain SAG president until he resigned on November 10, 1952;{{sfn|Eliot|2008|p=266}} [[Walter Pidgeon]] succeeded him, but Reagan stayed on the board.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=179}}

The SAG fought with film producers over [[Residual (entertainment industry)|residual payments]]{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=35}} and on November 16, 1959, the board installed Reagan as SAG president for the second time,<ref>{{cite news |date=November 17, 1959 |title=Reagan Heads Actors Guild |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/phoenix-arizona-republic-nov-17-1959/ |newspaper=[[The Arizona Republic]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |page=47 |access-date=February 10, 2023 |via=[[NewspaperArchive]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> replacing the resigned [[Howard Keel]]. In his second stint, Reagan managed to secure the payments for actors whose theatrical films were released from 1948 to 1959 and subsequently televised. The producers were initially required to pay the actors fees, but they ultimately settled for pensions instead. However, they were still required to pay residuals for films after 1959. Reagan resigned from the SAG presidency on June 7, 1960, and also left the board;{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=111–112}} [[George Chandler]] succeeded him as SAG president.{{sfn|Landesman|2015|p=173}}

===Marriages and children===
{{Multiple image|total_width=400|image1=Wyman & Reagan.jpg|alt1=Actors Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan at a Los Angeles premiere for the 1942 film Tales of Manhattan|caption1=Reagan and Jane Wyman, 1942|image2=The Reagan's at the Stork Club in New York City.jpg|alt2=The Reagans at The Stork Club in New York City, 1952|caption2=Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1952}}

In January 1940 Reagan married [[Jane Wyman]], his co-star in the 1938 film ''[[Brother Rat]]''.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=43}}{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=23}} Together, they had two biological daughters: [[Maureen Reagan|Maureen]] in 1941,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=25}} and Christine in 1947 (born prematurely and died the following day).{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=29}} They adopted one son, [[Michael Reagan|Michael]], in 1945.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=27}} Wyman filed to divorce Reagan in June 1948. She was uninterested in politics, and occasionally recriminated, reconciled and [[Marital separation|separated]] with him. Although Reagan was unprepared,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=29}} the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would also remain close to his children.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=73–74}} Later that year, Reagan met [[Nancy Davis]] after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a [[communist]] [[blacklist in Hollywood]]; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=109}} They married in March 1952,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=113}} and had two children, [[Patti Davis|Patti]] in October 1952, and [[Ron Reagan|Ron]] in May 1958.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=199}}

===Television===
Reagan became the host of [[MCA Inc.]] television production ''[[General Electric Theater]]''{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=236}} at Wasserman's recommendation. It featured multiple guest stars,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=120}} and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, continuing to use her stage name Nancy Davis, acted together in three episodes.{{sfn|Metzger|1989|p=26}} When asked how Reagan was able to recruit such stars to appear on the show during television's infancy, he replied, "Good stories, top direction, production quality".{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=122}} However, the viewership declined in the 1960s and the show was canceled in 1962.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=131–132}} In 1965, Reagan became the host{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=145}} of another MCA production, ''[[Death Valley Days]]''.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=36}}
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