Reagan: The Hollywood Years

ISBN: 0307405133

Author: Eliot, Marc

Condition: New

The compelling biography of an American icons early years-as an aspiring actor, Hollywood star, and family man.Ronald Reagan was one of the most powerful and popular American presidents. The key to understanding his political success and the remarkable likability and effortless charisma that made it possible lies embedded in his early years as a Hollywood movie star.Using never-before-published interviews, documents, and other materials, acclaimed writer and biographer Marc Eliot sheds new light on Reagans film and television work opposite some of the most talented women of the time; his starlet-strewn bachelor days; his tumultuous first marriage to Jane Wyman and his career-making second marriage to Nancy Davis; his controversial eight years as the president of the Screen Actors Guild; his place in the Irish Mafia alongside Pat OBrien, James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, and Errol Flynn; and his friendships with Jimmy Stewart and William Holden, as well as with super-agent Lew Wasserman, who was instrumental in developing the persona that would prove essential to Reagans future as a world leader.Set against the glamorous and often combative background of Hollywoods Golden Age, Eliots biography provides a nuanced examination of the man and uncovers the startling origins of the legend.A fresh look . . . [at] the genesis of Reagans later public persona.-New York TimesFilm critic and historian Marc Eliot has dug up even more about young sportscaster Dutch Reagan, his journey west to Hollywood, his B-movie career . . . his relationship with super-agent Lew Wasserman, and his rocky marriage to his first wife, actresss Jane Wyman.-USA Today