Page 131 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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RADIO. See Elmer Davis; Walter S. Lemmon.

REAGAN, RONALD (1911- ) was the 40th U.S. president. He was nicknamed
the Great Communicator for his polished political communication style, one he
learned as a movie star and as a public speaker.
Reagan grew up in Illinois in a working-class family. He went to Eureka
College, a small Christian school. In 1937, he took a Hollywood screen test and
signed a contract with Warner Brothers. His film career flourished, although he
often played in Grade B movies.
After World War II, he became the president of the Screen Actors Guild. He
held this position for six years, including the time of investigations of communist
activities by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although Reagan
was known to be a Democrat and very liberal, as president of the guild he
worked with the government to unearth communist activities in Hollywood. This
eventually led to the blackballing of several actors, actresses, writers, producers,
and others.
Reagan secured a job as the host of General Electric Theater, a national
television program. This engagement led him to doing motivational appearances
as well. Here he developed a rhetoric that appealed to business and audience
alike. It was full of imagery reminiscent of a time when America was strong.
Also during this time he switched party affiliations and became a Republican.
Perhaps more than any other event, a fund-raising speech on behalf of pres-
idential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater pushed Reagan into the national
limelight. In one evening, he raised nearly $1 million on behalf of the party's
efforts. Reagan then ran for governor of California and won the race and was
reelected. Again, voters liked his appeal as a common man sharing his dream
of a strong America.
In 1980 he won the Republican Party nomination to run against President