biography
| name: |
Reagan, Ronald (Wilson)
|
pronunciation:
[raygn]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1911– )
|
| biography:
| US statesman and 40th president (1981–9), and film actor, born in Tampico, Illinois, USA. He studied at Eureka College in Illinois (1932), and went to work as a sportscaster for several radio stations in the Midwest. Discovered by a Hollywood agent, he joined Warner Brothers, making his debut in Love is On the Air (1937). During his acting career he appeared in a total of 52 feature films, his best roles being in Brother Rat (1938), Dark Victory (1939), and Kings Row (1941). He also made training films for the Air Force in World War 2. He served as a spokesman for the General Electric Co (1952–62), also hosting and occasionally acting on the television series, General Electric Theater. In 1962–5 he hosted the television series Death Valley Days. Shifting from his Democratic Party affiliation, he moved into Republican politics, and with the 1964 presidential election he emerged as a Goldwater Conservative. In 1966 he was elected governor of California, and in his two terms (1967–75) he carried out a generally conservative agenda. In 1968 and 1976 he failed in bids for the Republican presidential nomination; successful in 1980, he easily beat Jimmy Carter in the election with promises of reducing taxes and government regulation while building up the military; four years later he defeated Walter Mondale by a landslide. In office (1981–9) he fulfilled those promises with varied results, including a snowballing national deficit, a shaky financial infrastructure, and an increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of the few. In foreign affairs, he maintained an adversarial approach to the USSR and communism everywhere. With little interest in or command of the details of government, he appealed to Americans with his genial manner and laissez-faire approach to the country's problems. Meanwhile, members of his administration, with at least his tacit approval, pursued secret and illegal arms-for-hostages deals with Iran, an enemy of the USA. He departed office still immensely popular, leaving the future to determine the value of his legacy. |
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