Reagan: The Hollywood Years

While his presidency has been rigorously examined, Ronald Reagan's early life as an actor and union leader has remained largely unexplored. In this highly entertaining and revealing new biography, acclaimed author and film historian Marc Eliot uncovers Reagan's unlikely and often frustrating career in motion pictures as well as his unpredictable rise to the top of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Set against the glamorous and often combative background of Hollywood's celebrated Golden Age, Eliot's biography provides an exceptionally nuanced portrait of the man and reveals the startling origins of the legend.

Covering more than thirty years of Reagan's film and television work, Eliot sheds new light on Reagan's bachelor life, his two marriages, and his two runs as the president of SAG. It also examines his personal relationship with superagent Lew Wasserman, the crucial player who helped develop Reagan's movie-star persona, which would prove essential to his eventually becoming...

Publishers Weekly

For 30 years, Ronald Reagan was dedicated to a film and television career. Yet Eliot (who has written bios of Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, among others) claims previous studies of the former president gloss over this influential era. "To be able to fully comprehend Reagan the man, one must also understand Reagan the actor." With that charge, Eliot chronicles Reagan's film career, from his numerous "B" pictures, such as Girls on Probation, to the image-enhancing Knute Rockne All American, which contained Reagan's future political rallying cry: "Win one for the Gipper." Interspersed with tales of Hollywood casting maneuvers, Eliot takes a no-holds-barred approach to Reagan's personal life, whether his numerous affairs, his rocky marriage to Jane Wyman or Nancy Davis's single-minded determination to marry him. Eliot also examines his time heading SAG, the actors' union, which proved prescient. By 1962, Reagan was out of work, reduced to giving his "Price of Freedom" speech to interested groups. His delivery at a Goldwater fund-raiser was so inspiring that it jump-started his second career, clearing the way for the "Central Casting version of what an American president should look like." Extensively researched, this biography is an accessible and eye-opening read. (Oct.)

Marc Eliot is the "New York Times" bestselling author of more than a dozen books on popular culture, among them the highly acclaimed biography "Cary Grant," the award-winning "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince," "Down 42nd Street," "Take It from Me" (with Erin Brockovich), "Down Thunder Road: The Making of Bruce Springsteen," "To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles," and "Death of a Rebel," He has been featured in many documentaries about film and music and has written on the media and popular culture for numerous publications, including "Penthouse," "L.A. Weekly," and "California" magazine. He divides his time among New York City; Woodstock, New York; and Los Angeles. Visit him at marceliot.net.

"From the Hardcover edition."