FilmFan Remembers

MoPo Remembers

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan 1911-2004

Ronald Reagan began his acting career in Hollywood in 1937 (appearing in the film Love is on the Air), and ended it, some would say, in Washington, D.C. in 1989 when he left the White House and retired to private life.

During his Hollywood days Reagan appeared in 58 movies. Probably his best performance was in 1942's Kings Row, playing small-town playboy Drake McHugh. His years at Warner Bros. were busy, but major critical success seemed to allude him. He appeared in the 1939 Bette Davis classic Dark Victory, and several cops and robbers "B" pictures in the late 1930's including Code of the Secret Service (1939), Hell's Kitchen (1939) and Angels Wash Their Faces (1939).

The role that would give him the lifelong nickname "the Gipper" was his portrayal of George Gipp in Knute Rockne All American in 1940. Reagan continued working steadily through the 1940's and 1950's giving respectable performances in most of his movies. But he hit a new low when he co-starred with a chimpanzee in Bedtime For Bonzo in 1951. Perhaps the most important role of his life came in 1957 when he appeared with future wife Nancy Davis in Hellcats of the Navy. Reagan's first marriage (to actress Jane Wyman) had ended in 1948. Reagan was also very active on television as a pitchman for General Electric and appearing on TV shows such as Death Valley Days.

His last feature film was The Killers in 1964.

Ronald Reagan died on June 4, 2004 from pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.

Ronald Reagan at the Movies

Ronald Reagan Poolside 1930's Hollywood