By Stephen Schochet
In 1937, 26-year-old Chicago Cubs radio announcer Ronald Reagan had
the acting bug rekindled in him. The former Dixon, Illinois native
performed on stage in high school and college but during the great
depression he had drifted into the sports world. In those days the
Cubs trained in California and Reagan went with them to get away from
the Iowa cold and pursue his Movie Star dream. Through a friend he
got a screen test at Warner Brothers. Studio executives had mixed
reactions. He was no Robert Taylor, but he did have more of an All-
American look than some of the stars that worked at the Warner's
factory, such as James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. The glasses and
crew cut had to go. When questioned about his acting experience
Reagan told several lies to pad his resume. The casting Director
asked him to stick around an extra day for more tests. "No dice", he
said feigning indifference when he was really desperate. "I'm on the
train with the Cubs." He left the studio thinking he had blown any
chance to be signed by them. He was amazed that same day when Warners
made an offer to put him under contract at $200.00 a week, and
hastily agreed before they changed their mind.
In typical Hollywood fashion the former radio announcer was cast as a
radio announcer. It seemed like every film his big line was "Get me
the City desk! I have a story that will break this town wide open!"
Ronald who was once a lifeguard preferred playing heroes to the
drunken socialite he portrayed along side Bette Davis in Dark Victory
(1939) even if meant he'd be in mostly B- movies. He learned quickly
that Hollywood could be a cutthroat place. He dated some of his
leading ladies who fell out of love him after their movie was over.
He worked with insecure stars like Errol Flynn, who demanded that the
taller Reagan not stand next to him on camera. And there were tough
Directors like the Hungarian born Michael Curtiz, with whom he made
Santa Fe Trail (1940). In one scene the young actor watched in
amazement as Curtiz kept telling an extra playing a minister to keep
moving backwards until he fell of a scaffold, severely injuring his
leg. "Get me another minister!" shouted the angry director.
In order to better his career he suggested to his bosses that they
buy the story of the legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne
and Reagan could play the role of the tragic halfback George Gipp.
Warner Bros. liked the first idea more than the second: he was told
he was too small. Reagan produced a photograph of himself playing
college football; he was actually bigger than Gipp. He got the part
but Knute Rockne All American (1940) was not all fun and games. One
day Reagan showed up to shoot the scene where Gipp ran the ball
eighty yards for a touchdown. He was told he was not needed. They
would film something else instead. He proceeded to eat a huge and
unhealthy breakfast. Then he was informed they were going to film the
run after all. After the third eighty-yard take Reagan dashed far
past the goal line where he privately lost his meal.
He was a political animal right away, driving his Hollywood co-
workers to distraction with his praise of the policies of Franklin
Roosevelt. It was mostly just talk; he rejected any suggestion that
he might someday go into politics. One time he was yammering on about
the necessity of government aid when a friend suggested he run for
President. "You don't like my acting either!" He wailed.
Ronald Reagan's Star rose with King's Row (1942) where he gave a
dramatic performance in which his legs were amputated and he screamed
out," Where's the rest of me?" King's Row gave his agent Lew
Wasserman the leverage to negotiate a solid movie star salary for
him. But his acting opportunities slowed because of military service
during World War II. Though his terrible vision kept him from seeing
combat (he was told that if he was sent overseas he would
accidentally shoot an American General and probably miss him) the
short propaganda films he appeared in (for which he received
military, not movie star pay) did little to help his career. By the
time war ended he sensed the public wanted new faces.
He met Jane Wyman on the set of Brother Rat (1938). She was attracted
to him right away but wondered if his niceness was just an act. She
convinced herself he was the real deal when she saw he was just as
kind to waiters as he was to big shots at the studio. But after the
war her career moved ahead of his with her Academy Award winning
performance as a deaf mute in Johnny Belinda (1948). There was gossip
about her having had a love affair with her co-star Lew Ayres. And
his constant harping on politics drove Jane Wyman crazy; sometimes
she would yawn away in public when he got on his soapbox. Still with
all that Reagan was shocked when they divorced, that was something
that happened to other people. During that time the stressed out
Midwesterner came down with a severe case of pneumonia that nearly
killed him.
Ronald Reagan became frustrated with both his acting career and his
personal life. In The Hagen Girl (1947) he reluctantly became the
first man to kiss twenty-year-old Shirley Temple on screen. He argued
that he was that he should end up with Shirley's schoolteacher, but
the Director was Reagan's age, had a teenage girlfriend and wanted to
make a point. Movie patrons shouted,"Oh no!" when he and Shirley got
into a clinch. He became President of the Screen Actors Guild and as
his politics drifted more to the right threats came from Communists
in Hollywood. Perhaps they would throw acid in his face or his bomb
his house. He began carrying a gun for protection. Movie bosses saw
Reagan more as a labor negotiator than a viable Movie Star. He broke
his leg at a charity baseball game, which cost him two movie roles
and a sizeable amount of money. He publicly stated he could do a
better job choosing his roles than Jack Warner, who fired him after
fourteen years without a handshake. He enjoyed making Bedtime For
Bonzo (1951) at Universal but he knew his amazing chimp co-star was
stealing the show when the Director Fred De Cordova started giving
personal instructions to Bonzo instead of his trainer. Reagan's money
problems became so severe in the early 1950s that he tried to eek out
extra cash by selling his autographs through the mail.
After he became the President of the Screen Actors Guild in 1949, he
met Nancy Davis a not very ambitious actress who needed her name
cleared from being linked to a Communist group. They hit it off
immediately, but he took it slow and dated several actresses in
Hollywood. When he woke up one morning with a girl whose name he
couldn't remember he decided it was time to marry again. He and Nancy
co-starred in the disappointing, big budget Hellcats Of The Navy
(1957) but the new Mrs. Reagan was far more interested in her family
than acting and unlike his first wife never threatened his ego.
Ronald Reagan became a rich man by moving into television. Thanks to
the advice of his longtime agent and manager Lew Wasserman he became
the host of the General Electric Theater (1953-1962). But success in
TV did not translate into high demand at the box office. The movie
offers became fewer. In 1964 he made a film called The Killers where
he played a villain for the first time. Audiences were shocked when
the nice guy they thought they knew smacked co-star Angie Dickinson
in the face. Reagan found the role unpalatable. He had a falling out
with Wasserman who felt he was a whining has-been. Faced with a
future of similar type roles made it easier for him to go into
politics full time.
Ronald Reagan denied that he was a great communicator. He felt that
the content of his words was more important than his style. But he
never forgot his movie roots. "Win one for the Gipper"! "May the
force be you!" "Go ahead! Make my day!" They all became political
sound bytes for him. And sometimes he could use film references as a
source for witticisms. Early in his first term as Governor of
California the now very conservative Reagan described an encounter
with a hippie. "He looked like Tarzan, acted like Jane and smelled
like Cheetah!" But Reagan had to take it as well as dish it out. Once
as President he leaned on a prominent Democrat. "We have to cut
taxes, damn it! Do you know when I was in the movies I was in the 90%
tax bracket." "Ninety percent? My God, Mr. President, I didn't think
you were that good of an actor!" The President roared with laughter.
Want to hear more stories about Disney Characters? Stephen Schochet
is the author and narrator of the audiobooks "Fascinating Walt
Disney" and "Tales Of Hollywood". The Saint Louis Post Dispatch
says," these two elaborate productions are exceptionally
entertaining." Hear RealAudio samples at
http://www.hollywoodstories.com.