�America is too great to dream small dreams.� Words spoken by a man who lived his dreams to there fullest. If ever there was a man who lived by the words he spoke, and dreams he dreamed, it was, �The Gipper.� He went from humble beginnings, to the depths of Hollywood, to the White House of D.C.
Ronald Wilson Reagan, was born Febuary 6th, 1911, in an apartment in Tampico, Illinois.
As a child, young Reagan went to the Mount Lebanon School district. School officials there saw something different in Reagan, something no other child had. A gift for acting and entertaining staff and students. He would continue to entertain throughout his school years while working odd jobs. He went on to Eureka College, graduating there in 1932. He found work at at radio stations WOC in Davenport, Iowa, and then WHO in Des Moines (who Reagan never lost loyalty to) as an announcer for Chicago Cubs baseball games. He would read the ticker tape and dramatically add scenes to the game. Once when the power went out, he ad libbed the game with the same dramatic effect until power was restored. This continued until 1937, when Reagan was in Los Angeles covering the Cubs. While in L.A., Reagan auditioned for a screen test for �the� brothers of Warner, and nabbed a 7-year contract with WB Pictures.
Reagan was a natural on the screen and within 2 years, racked up 19 films. His films were instant success. You can see his film credits here. He was living in this palace in the Hollywood hills and was on the Hollywood A-list. He married actress Jane Wyman in 1940. That marriage would last 8 years, and to date, Reagan still stand as the only President to ever be divorced. He married actress Nancy Davis in 1952. His movie roles became less frequent in the late 50�s and Reagan turned to television. His final big-screen appearance came in the 1964 film, �The Killers.� It wasn�t long after this, Reagan set his eyes toward the political ring.
Originally a Democrat, defending Truman and Roosevelt, times were changing and Reagan would soon follow suit. He joined the Republican party in 1964. "I didn't leave the Democratic Party," he claimed. "The party left me." In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California, and was re-elected in 1970. He was at the tops in California and it wouldn�t be long before he started to show interest in the Presidency. In 1984, Reagan won what would be the first of two terms as President of the United States. In his two terms he accomplished feats, that to this date, have been unmatched by any other President. Even as President, he was true to Hollywood, making cameos in several films, including the 1985 hit comedy, �Spies Like Us.�
After he left the Presidency, he returned to his ranch, Rancho del Cielo, near Santa Barbara, California, to write his autobiography, ride his horses, and chop wood. He eventually moved to a new home in Bel-Air, Los Angeles. On November 5, 1994, Reagan announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He informed the nation of his condition via a hand-written letter. With his trademark optimism, he stated in conclusion: "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you." In his years of Alzheimer�s, he stayed out of public eye. Reagan died of pneumonia on June 5, 2004 at 1:09 PM PDT at his home in Bel-Air, California. After a major state funeral in Washington that drew leaders from around the world, he was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. R.I.P. Gipper, you�re not only a Hollywood legend, you�re a true American legend!
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