Ronald Wilson Reagan (; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American actor and politician who served as the 40th President of the United States from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. He was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Reagan was the 9th and 13th President of the Screen Actors Guild, from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1959 to 1960. Reagan was a movie, television and radio actor before he began his career in politics.
Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois. Reagan had a successful career in Hollywood. He was in fifty-three movies. He married actress Jane Wyman in 1940. The couple divorced in 1949. They had three children. Reagan then married Nancy Davis in 1952. They had two children. Their marriage lasted until Reagan's death in 2004.
Before winning his presidental election in 1980, Reagan ran for president two times in 1968 and in 1976. He was re-elected in 1984 at the age of 73, making him the second oldest person elected president of the United States after Joe Biden who was elected in 2020 at the age of 77. He is known as the "Great Communicator" because he was a good public speaker. Reagan was also known as the "Teflon president" because any criticism or scandals against him never stuck or affected his popularity. Reagan still remains one of the most popular presidents in American history because of his optimism for the country. Reagan was the first president of the United States to have been divorced.
Reagan was inaugurated in January 1981. As president, Reagan helped create a new political and economic idea. He created the supply-side economic policies. It was later called Reaganomics. Reagan's economic policy lowered tax rates. It created an economic growth and lowered inflation. In his first term he also survived an assassination attempt. Reagan also declared a War on Drugs. Reagan ordered an invasion of Grenada to end a Communist coup.
Reagan bombed Libya in 1986 trying to kill colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi but failed. President Reagan criticised the Libyan leader's support for terrorist groups and revolutionaries. And he coined a nickname for him: the "mad dog of the Middle East."
He was re-elected in a landslide victory in 1984. During his second term, Reagan worked on ending the Cold War. He also ordered the 1986 bombing of Libya. In 1987, the Reagan administration faced a political scandal. It was the Iran–Contra affair. Reagan worked with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev during his second term. This led to the signing of the INF Treaty. It decreased nuclear weapons in the United States and the Soviet Union. Reagan left office in January 1989.
Reagan was originally a Democrat. In 1962 he changed to the Republican party. He is ranked high in presidential opinion polls.
Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at his Bel Air, Los Angeles home from pneumonia after a ten-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93 years old.
Reagan was born to Jack and Nelle Reagan on February 6, 1911 in a small apartment building in Tampico, Illinois. He had an older brother named Neil. His father was a Roman Catholic of Irish descent. His mother was a Protestant of English and Scottish descent.
The family moved to different places in Illinois when Reagan was a child. They moved to Monmouth, Galesburg, and Chicago. His family finally settled in Dixon, Illinois. They lived in a small house in Dixon. His family was very poor. Reagan did not have much as a child. In high school, Reagan enjoyed acting. Reagan was athletic. He became a lifeguard and saved 77 lives.
Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932. He became a sports announcer at news radio station WHO. Reagan was also a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. He was good at recreating baseball games. He made them interesting. At this time, the radio station would get only the scores. He was fired for not mentioning the show's sponsors. Reagan was soon re-hired. Station executives could not find anyone as capable as Reagan to re-create baseball games.
His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie "Love Is on the Air". He then starred in many movies such as "Dark Victory" with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Before the movie "Santa Fe Trail" with Errol Flynn in 1940, he played the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the movie "Knute Rockne, All American". From his role in the movie, he got the lifelong nickname "the Gipper". In 1941, experts voted him the fifth most popular star from the younger generation in Hollywood.
Reagan's favorite acting role was as a double amputee in 1942's "Kings Row". In the movie, he says the line, "Where's the rest of me?" It was later used as the title of his 1965 autobiography. Many movie critics thought "Kings Row" to be his best movie. Even though the movie was popular, it received bad reviews by "New York Times" critic Bosley Crowther.
Although Reagan called "Kings Row" the movie that "made me a star", he was unable to keep up on his success. This was because he was ordered to active duty with the U.S. Army at San Francisco two months after the movie's release.
During World War II, Reagan was separated for four years from his movie career. He served in the First Motion Picture Unit. After the war, Reagan co-starred in such movies such as in, "The Voice of the Turtle", "John Loves Mary", "The Hasty Heart", "Bedtime for Bonzo", "Cattle Queen of Montana", "Juke Girl", "This Is the Army", "The Winning Team", "Tennessee's Partner", and "Hellcats of the Navy", in which he worked with his wife, Nancy. Reagan's last movie was a 1964 movie "The Killers". Throughout his movie career, his mother, Nelle, often answered much of his fan mail.
Reagan was also a spokesperson. He hosted the "General Electric Theater" since it was first shown in 1953. He was fired in 1962.
Reagan was first elected to the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild in 1941. After World War II, he quickly returned to Screen Actors Guild. Reagan became the 3rd vice-president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1946.
Reagan was nominated in a special election to become president of the Screen Actors Guild. Reagan was elected in 1947. Reagan was re-elected president in 1959. He served only a year before resigning in 1960.
Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild through labor disputes, the Taft–Hartley Act and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era.
During the late 1940s, Reagan and his then-wife Jane Wyman gave the FBI names of actors whom they believed were communists. Reagan even spoke at a special meeting at Congress on communism in Hollywood as well.
Despite not supporting giving out names of actors who were suspected communists. Reagan said:
Reagan was very active in politics near the end of his acting career. Reagan used to be a Democrat. He strongly supported the New Deal. He admired Franklin D. Roosevelt. Over time, Reagan became a conservative Republican. This was because he felt the federal government had too much power and authority. He made a famous speech speaking out against socialized medicine (government run health care).
Reagan endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon for the United States presidency. The last time Reagan supported a Democrat was when Helen Gahagan Douglas ran for the United States Senate.
During the 1964 presidential election, Reagan supported Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. He made a famous speech called "A Time for Choosing" to support Goldwater. In the speech he spoke against government programs and high taxes. Even though Goldwater did not win the election, Reagan gained popularity from it. In his speech, Reagan said,
After Reagan gave this speech, many businesspeople thought that Reagan could run for Governor of California.