Reagan, Ronald

Description

Type: Letter
Description: (1911-2004) Actor, California Governor 1967-75, unsuccessfully sought 1968 & 1976 GOP presidential nominations. US President 1981-89, GOP & conservative icon. When Reagan left office in 1989, his approval rating matched those of FDR and, later, Bill Clinton as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era.  He disclosed in Nov. 1994 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease earlier that year and died June 5, 2004. He is viewed favorably in historical rankings of US presidents, and his tenure saw a US realignment toward conservative policies.

After graduating from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan worked as a radio announcer at several stations. He moved to WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa as an announcer for the Chicago Cubs,  creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions received by wire as the games were in progress. While with the Cubs in California in 1937, he took a screen test that led to a 7-year Warner Bros. contract. He spent his first few years in the “B film unit” and earned his 1^st screen credit starring in “Love Is on the Air” (1937). By the end of 1939, he had been in 19 films, inc. “Dark Victory” with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Before the 1940 film “Santa Fe Trail” with Errol Flynn, he played George Gipp in “Knute Rockne, All American” and acquired the lifelong nickname “the Gipper”. In 1941, exhibitors voted him the 5^th most popular Hollywood younger generation star. His favorite role was in 1942’s “Kings Row” where he played a double amputee who says “Where’s the rest of me?”, later the title of his 1965 autobiography. “Kings Row” made him a star; Warner tripled his salary to $3,000/week, and received co-star above-the-title billing with Flynn in “Desperate Journey” (1942). In April 1942, Reagan was ordered to active duty and never became a 1^st rank star. After his wartime service he co-starred in such films as “The Voice of the Turtle”, “John Loves Mary”, “The Hasty Heart”, “Bedtime for Bonzo”, “Cattle Queen of Montana”, “Tennessee’s Partner”, “Hellcats of the Navy” (his only film with Nancy Davis Reagan), and his one turn at playing a vicious villain in the remake of “The Killers” (1964, his final film).

ALS “Ronald Reagan” on his 10 ¼  x 7 ½ “Ronald Reagan/Hollywood, California” letterhead, August 2, no year, to “Lynn”, a fan. Reagan  belatedly thanks her for her “wonderful” letter of May 4, “none the less sincere [sic].” He is”…grateful on behalf of all of us for your kind letter and want you to know I shall try to use it whenever and where ever I can.” In closing, he states: “Most of us in our business, love our jobs and I think it is people like you on the other side of the footlights who keep us feeling that way. Again, my heart felt thanks-/Sincerely/ [signed].”

Much of Reagan’s Hollywood fan mail was answered by his mother, Nelle. This is not one of those but authentically handwritten and signed by Ronald Reagan himself, typical of his genuine warmth!

Condition: Very good, 2 light mail folds