Ronald Reagan's Acting Career

Using his success from radio, Reagan transitioned into acting. After being offered a contract from Warner Brothers, he quit his job as a sports announcer. An agent he met in Hollywood obtained him a screening which led to the $200-a-week contract offer from the studio. As Degregorio says, “He had by this time decided to use radio as a stepping-stone to an acting career, despite advice from fellow announcer Hugh Hipple that he just did not have what it takes to make it in show business” (639). Even though it was ill advised, Reagan used his radio career to start his acting career in 1937. This seven-year contract would be the start of his filmography. Reagan was an overall average actor throughout his film career but had a couple memorable films. He mainly was …show more content…
He desperately wanted the role of George Gipp, a football player for Notre Dame who was terminally ill. After beating out dozens of actors, Reagan was casted for the part and critics considered it one of his best roles. Just a year later, in 1941, Reagan’s most memorable film came out called King’s Row. Acquiring the role of playboy Drake McHugh, he wakes to find his legs have been amputated by a crazy surgeon. This film was wildly acclaimed to be his best performance by critics (“Ronald Reagan: Life Before the Presidency” 2). As written by Degregorio, Reagan’s success in Hollywood grew rapidly after the movie, but WW2 intervened and he ended up being drafted. Being barred from combat because of his bad eyesight, Reagan actually acted during the war. He narrated training films for bomber pilots and he was also in the musical This Is the Army in 1943. Upon return in 1946, Reagan signed another seven-year contract with Warner Brothers but for $3,500 this time. This lead to another string of forgettable movies that Reagan produced (639-640). With an acting career that stretched from 1937 to 1957, he appeared in 52