Correct me if I’m wrong-but wasn’t Reagan an announcer for the old “DEATH VALLEY DAYS” TV series? I seem to recall him plugging Boraxo-or whatever the sponsor of that series was.
Does anybody know if that series still exist on video?
Reagan did Death Valley,IIRC,which lead to the GE spots.DVD was syndicated,I believe.
His Actor’s Equity position,I think, was a reflection of thse golden days.Pretty nearly everybody else was thought to be “Red”,except for the commercially successful John Wayne’s and Coops of the day.
As far as his screen personna,Bogie is remembered for his cigarette dangling from his lip,smoke curling in his face.I remember Reagan with an unlit pipe.His acting roles resembled this picture-no fire.His Kings Row,“where’s the rest of me”,is laughable.
You’re in reverse, Lure. “Death Valley Days” hired Reagan after the cancelation of “GE Theater”.
How those years blend together 
Gotta share a keen example of my quick, rapier sharp wit. At my in-laws for dinner a year or so ago, Xmas 2001, actually, my wife’s aunt and uncle were in town from Florida. They are both 80 or so. We were talking movies and uncle was talking about his favorite film, I have forgotten the title, which featured Reagan. Now, my MIL is a staunch conservative and think Regan is second only to Jesus, and my FIL is a self-described moderate 9which makes him liberal in MIL eyes). any way, uncle finishes his story with the line, “Great movie, of course Reagan was a much better president than an actor.”
Ok wait for it…Can you see it coming?
Me: “He must of been a crappy actor.”
MIL: "Whaaaaaat!?!?!
FIL: <snort snort> wink wink
Ahh, I kill me.
DaddyTimesTwo, that punch line would make more sense if he had said, “He was a much better actor than he was a president.”
To say it the opposite way, that he was a much better president than an actor, and then to say (or imply) he was a bad actor, really tells you nothing about his qualities as president. Think about it.
Sounds like they’d both make lousy politicians 
The Killers is a really good movie. Ronald Reagan did a fine job as a character actor.
As for how he was seen by the public, I get the impression that he was seen as a poorman’s John Wayne (or for a more contemporary analogy, say John Travolta compared to Mel Gibson)
From another actor’s perspective, we’ll his work as president of the SAG during blacklisting period earned him both praise and condemnation.
Walloon, the point is that I don’t think much of Reagan as a president, so if was a much better pres than an actor and I think he sucked as a pres, geez, what a crappy actor he must have been.
OK, I thought it was funny.
One of the "Big Book of (Whatever) books had a short bio of him. As is usual, they copied their info from another source, but I don’t know which one. The piece was entitled “On Time and Sober”, because this reportedly was Reagan’s specialty – he was known to show up On Time and Sober. That is, he was reliable. Not bad for a town with so many remowned Bad Boys (and girls), but I suspect you’d rather be known for your charisma or superb acting ability. “On Time and Sober” doesn’t make a good review, or epitaph.