Ronald Wilson Reagan
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3,340
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363
Film credits
23
Books
27
Awards
Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989, started as a Hollywood actor in the 1930s. He led the Screen Actors Guild as president from 1947 to 1952 and again in 1959, then served as California governor from 1967 to 1975. His 1987 demand that Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall defined his presidency, and he won 525 electoral votes in 1984.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Ronald Reagan — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Ronald Reagan by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Ronald Reagan — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Nelle Wilson Reagan and Jack Reagan, a salesman and storyteller, welcomed their son Ronald Wilson on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois. He attended Dixon High School and later Eureka College, where he cheered on the sidelines and developed an interest in sports and broadcasting. After college, he worked as a radio announcer for WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, recreating Chicago Cubs games from telegraph reports.
Reagan signed with Warner Bros. in 1937 and appeared in over 50 films, including Knute Rockne All American 1940 as George Gipp and Kings Row 1942, which earned him critical praise. During World War II he made training films for the Army Air Forces. He was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1947 and served five years, navigating the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. As his acting career slowed, he hosted General Electric Theater from 1954 to 1961, becoming a spokesman for corporate conservatism.
Reagan won the California gubernatorial election in 1966, serving two terms until 1975. He won the presidency in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter. As president from 1981 to 1989, he implemented tax cuts, increased defense spending, and took a hard line against the Soviet Union. His 1987 speech at the Berlin Wall, demanding that Gorbachev tear down this wall, came to symbolize the Cold War’s end.
Reagan married actress Jane Wyman in 1940, and they had three children — Maureen, Michael, and Christine, who died in infancy — before divorcing in 1949. He married actress Nancy Davis on March 4, 1952, and they had two children, Patti and Ron. Nancy Reagan served as his closest advisor and supporter. Reagan counted actors Robert Taylor and Rock Hudson among his close friends, and he and Nancy enjoyed their ranch, Rancho del Cielo, near Santa Barbara.
Reagan reshaped American politics with his conservative policies and communication style. His 1987 Berlin Wall speech pressured the Soviet Union and contributed to the end of the Cold War. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2002, and the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. He died on June 5, 2004, and was laid to rest at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California. His presidency transformed American politics and defined modern Republicanism.
Browse the complete filmography of Ronald Reagan — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Ronald Reagan — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Ronald Reagan's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
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A wall of memorable lines from Ronald Reagan — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
The Best View of Government Is Seen on a Rear View Mirror as One Is Driving Away from It.
America Is Too Great to Dream Small Dreams.
Politics Is Not a Bad Profession. If You Succeed There Are Many Rewards; If You Disgrace Yourself You Can Always Write a Book.
You Can Tell a Lot About a Fellow’s Character by His Way of Eating Jellybeans.
Government Is Not the Solution to Our Problems. Government IS the Problem!
All the Waste in a Year from a Nuclear Power Plant Can Be Stored Under a Desk.
Fascism Was Really the Basis for the New Deal.
I Have Left Orders to Be Awakened at Any Time in Case of National Emergency Even If I’m in a Cabinet Meeting.
Trees Cause More Pollution Than Automobiles.
They Say Hard Work Never Hurt Anybody, but I Figure Why Take the Chance.
We Are Trying to Get Unemployment to Go up and I Think We’re Going to Succeed.
When I Go in for a Physical, They No Longer Ask How Old I Am. They Just Carbon Date Me.
Approximately 80% of Our Air Pollution Stems from Hydrocarbons Released by Vegetation, so Let’s Not Go Overboard in Setting and Enforcing Tough Emission Standards.
Abortion Is Advocated Only by Persons Who Have Themselves Been Born.
Tonight Is a Very Special Night, Although at My Age, Every Night Is a Special Night.
A Few Months Ago I Told the American People I Did Not Trade Arms for Hostages. My Heart and My Best Intentions Still Tell Me That’s True, but the Facts and the Evidence Tell Me It Is Not.
I Can’t Do a Damn Thing Until I’m Elected!
If I Could Paraphrase a Well Known Statement by Will Rogers That He Never Met a Man He Didn’t Like, I’m Afraid We Have Some People Around Here Who Never Met a Tax They Didn’t Like.
Of the Four Wars in My Lifetime, None Came About Because the U.S. Was Too Strong.
If We Ever Forget That We’re One Nation Under God, Then We Will Be a Nation Gone Under.
The Taxpayer: That’s Someone Who Works for the Federal Government but Doesn’t Have to Take the Civil Service Examination.
No Arsenal or No Weapon in the Arsenals of the World Is so Formidable as the Will and Moral Courage of Free Men and Women.
It Isn’t That Liberals Are Ignorant. It’s Just That They Know so Much That Isn’t So.
The Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger Honored Us by the Manner in Which They Lived Their Lives. We Will Never Forget Them, nor the Last Time We Saw Them, This Morning, as They Prepared for Their Journey and Waved Good Bye and Slipped the Surly Bonds of Earth to Touch the Face of God.
Freedom and Security Go Together.
Little-known facts about Ronald Reagan — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
After Reagan’s assassination attempt, a Secret Service agent was asked for his address on admission forms and answered 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
His Secret Service codename as president was Rawhide.
In his 1984 reelection, Reagan won 525 electoral votes, the most ever, losing only Minnesota and D.C.
His last public appearance was at Richard Nixon’s funeral in April 1994.
As an Army captain, he signed Clark Gable’s discharge papers in 1944.
After the presidency, he and Nancy lived at 668 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air, changed from 666 due to superstition.
He continued playing golf with Bob Hope and Kevin Costner until 1996.
He was the first president since John F. Kennedy to die before his predecessor.
He broke the zero factor curse that had killed every president elected in a year ending in zero since 1840.
John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate Reagan in 1981 to impress actress Jodie Foster.
Reagan had a photographic memory.
His state funeral coincided with the 25th anniversary of John Wayne’s death.
As California governor in 1972, he pardoned country singer Merle Haggard.
He volunteered for WWII combat duty but was rejected due to poor eyesight.
For two weeks in 1954, he performed as a stand-up comic at the Hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas.
Until Donald Trump, Reagan was the oldest man to serve as U.S. president, taking office just 17 days before his 70th birthday.
He spent WWII making Army training films at Hal Roach Studios.
Reagan and Nancy were close friends with Rock Hudson, and after Hudson’s death, Reagan increased funding for AIDS research.
He hosted Warren Beatty at the White House for a screening of Reds 1981.
His daughter Maureen appeared with Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins 1964.
He was a member of the Eureka College cheerleading squad.
He served as California governor from January 2, 1967 to January 6, 1975.
He and Nancy received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2002 for ending the Cold War and fighting substance abuse.
In 1978 he opposed the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gay teachers, calling it a violation of human rights.
He was the most conservative president since Herbert Hoover.
His closest Hollywood friend was Robert Taylor.
He was the first true conservative to win the presidency since Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
Although he advertised cigarettes, he never smoked and later became anti-smoking, especially after Robert Taylor died of lung cancer.
He was buried at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
He was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers in 1989.
Before acting, he was a sports announcer in Des Moines, Iowa, until 1937.
He was the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve two full terms.
He and Donald Trump are the only U.S. presidents to have been divorced.
He was the first guest of honor on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in 1973.
His two most famous movie lines were delivered while lying in bed: Win just one for the Gipper in Knute Rockne All American and Where’s the rest of me? in Kings Row.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, receiving the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.
He never actually broadcast Cubs games; he recreated them from telegraph reports for Des Moines radio.
He is the only U.S. president to have headed a labor union Screen Actors Guild.
He was the 40th president, serving from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.
Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2011.
He was a lifelong friend of actor Fess Parker.
As a young lifeguard, he once retrieved an old man’s dentures from a pool without hesitation.
His was the first presidential state funeral in Washington, D.C. since Lyndon B. Johnson’s in 1973.
He appeared on a 37-cent commemorative stamp in 2005, later reissued at 39 cents in 2006.
Upon his inauguration in 1981 he became the oldest living president, holding that title until his death.
A forever stamp commemorating his 100th birthday was issued in 2011.
The University of Notre Dame football team presented him with George Gipp’s letterman’s sweater in 1989.
He discovered Marilyn Monroe by sending a photographer to a factory in Van Nuys during WWII.
William Holden and Brenda Marshall served as best man and matron of honor at his 1952 wedding to Nancy Reagan.
Originally a liberal Democrat, he joined the Republican Party in 1962 at age 51 and campaigned for Barry Goldwater in 1964.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Ronald Reagan.
Celebrities similar to Ronald Reagan — same craft, ranked by reach.
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