- NAME – Ronald Wilson Reagan
Library of Congress - NICKNAME(S) – Dutch / the Gipper
- BIRTH / DEATH – Feb. 6, 1911 Tampico, Ill. / Los Angeles (Alzheimers – age 93)
- FATHER – salesman
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – Eureka College
- WIFE – Jane Wyman (divorced) / Nancy Davis
- KIDS – 2 boys and 2 girls
- PETS – King Charles spaniel (Rex); shepherd (Lucky)
- RELIGION – Disciples of Christ to Presbyterian
- ANCESTRY –
- AGE – 69
FIRSTS:
– first divorced
– first actor
– first to head a labor union (Screen Actors Guild)
– first to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court (Sandra Day O’Connor)
– first to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
– first to appoint a Hispanic-American to the Cabinet (Lauro Cavazos – Education)
MA AND PA: When his father was six, both of his parents died of tuberculosis. He was sent to live with an aunt and his brother and sister went to another relative. He had limited schooling and became a traveling salesman. A liberal Democrat, he worked to get FDR elected and was given a job with the WPA. He never made a good living. Although an alcoholic who would sometimes binge-drink, he was not abusive. He was against bigotry and while traveling as a salesman, if the local motel would not allow minorities, he would sleep in his car. He met Nelle when she was a sales clerk for the company they worked for. She thought she could overcome his alcoholism, she failed, but she stayed with him. Sometimes she had to take the children to relatives when he was binging. Her religion sustained her and she brought the kids up to be devout. She worked as a seamstress to help out the cash-strapped family. She liked to organize recitals and plays and that is where Ronald got his first taste of show business. Parents
BACKGROUND:
– after college, was a radio broadcaster, including doing the Chicago Cubs games
– 1937 – became an actor
– enlisted in the Army for WWII – made training films
– President of the Screen Actors Guild
– 1966 – elected Governor of California
FIRST LADY: Born Anne, she was nicknamed Nancy. Her early years were spent with her aunt and uncle as her mother performed as a stage actress. This changed when her mother remarried and her new father “Doctor Loyal” (he was a neurosurgeon) legally adopted her. She went to live with them. She majored in drama in college and went into acting. She became a movie actress and met the more famous Ronald. It was love at first sight for her. They made a movie together – “Hellcats of the Navy”. When they got married she gave up her career and dedicated her life to him. She used her knack for interior design to refurnish the White House, but she got little credit from the press which was consistently critical of her. She got a lot of grief for an expensive set of china (it cost $209,508), which was actually a gift. She was famous for her “Just Say No” program to discourage drug use. She also pushed the Foster Grandparents program that she had created as first lady of California. Her belief in astrology became a scandal when it was revealed that she encouraged her husband to make some scheduling decisions based on the stars. Some of the events that were supposedly scheduled based on an astrologer’s recommendation included the invasion of Grenada, the bombing of Libya, and the launching of Challenger (that recommendation must not have been followed). Kelly 346-347
Library of Congress
TRIVIA:
– was called Dutch as a child because his father thought he looked like a Dutchman as a baby
– in college, he was the student body president and captain of the football and swim teams; he also performed in plays
– he rescued 77 people during his days as a life guard
– loved jelly beans, especially Jelly Bellies
– he lived longer than any President – 93
– he appeared in 53 movies including “Bedtime for Bonzo” where he was overshadowed by a monkey; his most famous role was as George Gipp (the Gipper) in “Knute Rockne”; he co-starred with his future wife Nancy in “Hellcats of the Navy”
– as President, he had a reputation for being forgetful. Once, when using a pen for each letter of his name to sign an important law (the tax cut bill), he joked that he wished he had a middle name. An aide leaned over and whispered “Mr. President, you do have a middle name, it’s Wilson.” Whitcomb and Whitcomb 41
– Reagan, who would later suffer from Alzheimer’s after his presidency, was sometimes forgetful as President. Once, at a meeting with big city mayors, he greeted one by saying “How are you, Mr. Mayor? How are things in your city?” The problem was the “mayor” was actually Samuel Pierce, Jr. who was the only black member of his Presidential Cabinet. Whitcomb and Whitcomb 73
– When his first wife, Jane Wyman, went back to work, appearing on the TV hit “Falcon Crest”, she was paid an annual salary of $770,000. He was making $200,000 as President. Whitcomb and Whitcomb 137
– His last movie was “The Killers” in 1964. It was the only time he played a villain. mentalfloss.com
ANECDOTES:
MME. MITTERAND – The Reagan’s were hosting French President Mitterand and his wife. Nancy escorted President Mitterand into the dining room and Ronnie followed with Mme. Mitterand. They stopped in the doorway and the President tried to tell her that they would be sitting on the opposite side of the table. She didn’t move. He tried again to explain, but she kept trying to tell him something he could not understand. A translator was called for. “Mr. President, she is saying you are standing on her gown.” Whitcomb and Whitcomb 193