Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911—1993) was an American actor and Republican politician from California.

Early Life
Reagan was born in Illinois in 1911. In 1937, he moved to California where he acted in multiple movies, including the poorly-received A Guy Named Joe. By 1945, Reagan was working in the Signal Corps creating propaganda films for the American war effort in World War II. It was here that the union-affiliated Democrat met fellow actor John Wayne, who converted Reagan to his own conservative views.

Political Career
Sometime before 1952, Reagan was elected to Congress as a Republican. During the 1952 Congressional race, he was challenged for his seat by Mexican-American Democrat Anthony Quinn. Reagan performed very well in televised debates with his opponent, drawing upon his charisma, acting experience and repeatedly mentioning Quinn's racial background (a tactic which won him support from the less racially-tolerant parts of his district).

Though Quinn would come within a few hundred votes of victory, Congressman Reagan had kept his seat and made a name for himself in both California politics and the Republican Party, and intended to pursue higher political office. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of California in 1960 [1], but lost to the Democratic candidate, fellow actor (and future President of the United States) Clark Gable. Reagan withdrew from electoral politics after this defeat, but after Republican Rock Hudson was elected governor in 1966, Reagan was given a cushy job in his old friend's administration.

Return to Acting
After leaving Hudson's administration, Reagan returned to acting, though he mostly starred in television productions rather than feature films. He was apparently a supporter of President Alexander Haig, as he lent his services as a narrator to Morning in America, a patriotic propaganda documentary produced by Haig's authoritarian administration in the 1980s. He died of liver failure in 1993, suggesting he might have developed a drinking problem to deal with the problems of living in America in the 1990s.

Mentions
Reagan is mentioned in Parts 9.5, 24.5, 61, 81 and 100, as well as the Epilogue of For All Time.