Ronald Wilson Reagan

 Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004)

He served as U.S. President from 1981-1989, and Governor of California from 1967-1975. However, prior to his political career, he spent many decades in Hollywood (Films and TV). Reagan also served on the board of the Screen Actors Guild, later becoming its' President (1947-1952, 1959). His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie Love Is on the Air, and by the end of 1939 he had already appeared in 19 films, including Dark Victory with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Before the film Santa Fe Trail with Errol Flynn in 1940, he played the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American; from it, he acquired the lifelong nickname "the Gipper". Reagan's favorite acting role was as a double amputee in 1942's Kings Row, in which he recites the line, "Where's the rest of me?", later used as the title of his 1965 autobiography. Despite his early criticism of television, Reagan decided to join the new medium in the 1950s. He was hired as the host of General Electric Theater, a series of weekly dramas that became very popular. His contract required him to tour GE plants sixteen weeks out of the year, often demanding of him fourteen speeches per day. Reagan left Hollywood in 1965, starting his political career. A few years after leaving the White House, Reagan announced he was suffering from Alzheimer's, and died at age 93 from complications of the disease. He is buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.