John Loves Mary
Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal
Released: 1949
Directed by: David Butler
John Loves Mary is a 1949 film directed by David Butler. It stars Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal and Jack Carson. This was Patricia Neal’s film debut. Based on Broadway play John Loves Mary..
14.Hell’s Kitchen
Ronald Reagan, William Forsythe
Released: 1939
Directed by: E. A. Dupont, Lewis Seiler
Hell’s Kitchen is a 1939 thriller Warner Bros. film starring Ronald Reagan and The Dead End
13.Storm Warning
Ronald Reagan, Doris Day
Released: 1951
Directed by: Stuart Heisler
Storm Warning is a 1951 American thriller, directed by Stuart Heisler, and featuring Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day and Steve Cochran. Lauren Bacall was originally cast in the..
12.This Is the Army
Ronald Reagan, Joe Louis
Released: 1943
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
This Is the Army is a 1943 American wartime musical comedy film produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from a wartime stage musical wit..
11.The Killers
Ronald Reagan, Angie Dickinson
Released: 1964
Directed by: Don Siegel
The Killers, released in the UK as Ernest Hemingway’s “The Killers”, is a 1964 crime film directed by Don Siegel, starring Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson and Ronald Reagan, and…
10.Desperate Journey
Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn
Released: 1942
Directed by: Raoul Walsh
Desperate Journey is a 1942 American World War II action and aviation film starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan, directed by Raoul Walsh. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey..
9.Hellcats of the Navy
Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan
Released: 1957
Directed by: Nathan H. Juran
Hellcats of the Navy is a World War II submarine movie starring Ronald Reagan and his wife, billed as Nancy Davis, her then professional name. Married since 1952, this was the only film in..
8.Santa Fe Trail
Ronald Reagan, Olivia de Havilland
Released: 1940
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 American western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey and Ronald Reagan. Written by Robert Buckner, the..
7.Cowboy from Brooklyn
Ronald Reagan, Ann Sheridan
Released: 1938
Directed by: Lloyd Bacon
Cowboy from Brooklyn is a 1938 American musical comedy film starring Pat O’Brien, Dick Powell, Priscilla Lane, Ann Sheridan and the future US President Ronald Reagan..
6.The Winning Team
Ronald Reagan, Doris Day
Released: 1952
Directed by: Lewis Seiler
The Winning Team is a 1952 biographical film directed by Lewis Seiler. It is a fictionalized biography of the life of major league pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander starring Ronald Reagan..
5.Cattle Queen of Montana
Ronald Reagan, Barbara Stanwyck
Released: 1954
Directed by: Allan Dwan
Cattle Queen of Montana is a 1954 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Jack Elam, Chubby…
4.Tennessee’s Partner
Ronald Reagan, Angie Dickinson
Released: 1955
Directed by: Allan Dwan
Tennessee’s Partner is a Western film starring Ronald Reagan in what Peter Bogdanovich called his “most likeable performance.” It co-starred John Payne as Tennessee. It was directed by Allan..
3.Dark Victory
Ronald Reagan, Bette Davis
Released: 1939
Directed by: Edmund Goulding
Dark Victory is a 1939 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding, starring Bette Davis and featuring George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry..
2.Knute Rockne, All American
Ronald Reagan, Brian Keith
Released: 1940
Directed by: William K. Howard, Lloyd Bacon
Knute Rockne, All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach. It stars Pat O’Brien portraying the role of Rockne and Ronald..
Ronald Reagan, Claude Rains
Released: 1942
Directed by: Sam Wood
Kings Row is a 1942 film starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and Ronald Reagan that tells a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth…
Biography
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), a former actor and California governor, served as the 40th president from 1981 to 1989. Raised in small-town Illinois, he became a Hollywood actor in his 20s and later served as the Republican governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Dubbed the Great Communicator, the affable Reagan became a popular two-term president. He cut taxes, increased defense spending, negotiated a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and is credited with helping to bring a quicker end to the Cold War. Reagan, who survived a 1981 assassination attempt, died at age 93 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” Reagan (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, and Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). The family, which included older son Neil Reagan (1908-1996), resided in an apartment that lacked indoor plumbing and running water and was located along the small town’s main street. Reagan’s father nicknamed him Dutch as a baby, saying he resembled “a fat little Dutchman.”
Ronald Reagan’s Movies and Marriages
In 1937, while in Southern California to cover the Chicago Cubs’ spring training season, Ronald Reagan did a screen test for the Warner Brothers movie studio. The studio signed him to a contract, and that same year he made his film debut in “Love is on the Air,” playing a radio news reporter. Over the next three decades he appeared in more than 50 movies. Among his best-known roles was that of Notre Dame football star George Gipp in the 1940 biographical film “Knute Rockne All American.” In the movie, Reagan’s famous line–which he is still remembered for–was “Win one for the Gipper.” Another notable role was in 1942 in “Kings Row,” in which Reagan portrayed an accident victim who wakes up to discover his legs have been amputated and cries out, “Where’s the rest of me?” (Reagan used this line as the title of his 1965 autobiography.)
In 1940, Reagan married actress Jane Wyman (1917-2007), with whom he had daughter Maureen (1941-2001) and an adopted son, Michael (1945-). The couple divorced in 1948. In 1952, he married actress Nancy Davis (1921-). The pair had two children, Patricia (1952-) and Ronald (1958-).
During World War II (1939-1945), Reagan was disqualified from combat duty due to poor eyesight and spent his time in the Army making training films.
From 1947 to 1952, and from 1959 to 1960, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), during which time he testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). From 1954 to 1962, he hosted the weekly television drama series “The General Electric Theater.” In this role, he toured the United States as a public relations representative for General Electric, giving pro-business talks in which he spoke out against too much government control and wasteful spending, central themes of his future political career.
