*Ø* Reagan no B-actor
He was a long-term friend of my uncle (photo), and I remember the Christmas cards from Ron and Nancy each and every Christmas, so I've naturally long had an interest in the late Ronald Reagan.
Reagan has a stigma. I doubt that, apart from within my family circle, in the countless times I've heard Reagan's name mentioned over the decades, it has ever been without either rancour or mirth.
I've also noticed that he is almost invariably referred to as a 'B-movie actor'. The term 'B-movie' denotes a particular kind of studio production, and I don't believe Reagan's extensive filmography supports this assertion. Australia's 'Mr Movies', Bill Collins, a brilliant walking encyclopaedia of film, says that Reagan was an A-movie actor first and foremost, and who am I to disagree with Collins? Certainly during Reagan's career, he was not seen as a 'B actor', either, regardless of the studios' nomenclature of the films he was in. He was hugely popular in his day, and he didn't 'appear' in movies, he usually starred in them. I haven't seen him on screen much, but I don't think he was too bad, against the background of his era.
I see that Bill Collins is backed up by none other than Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
"He had a pleasant screen presence, and was by no means as bad an actor as his detractors would have one believe. Nor was he strictly, as the press would have it, 'a B-movie actor'.
Ronald Reagan bio at IMDB
So, whatever one thinks of the late Ronald Reagan's politics or character, maybe the B-actor moniker can be seen as questionable at least.
As for his intellectual capabilities, I just can't accept that an idiot can get to be President of the Screen Actors' Guild, Governor of California and especially President of the USA. George W Bush notwithstanding – as much as I, like most people, like to ridicule Bush, I think he is more wily than he is stupid. Too many smart and ruthless men vie for the White House, for its resident to be a bumbling fool.
I think.
Let's put politics aside for a moment (and I'm no Reagan apologist): Ronald Wilson Reagan also had a sense of humour, and I like that. I have at hand a copy of a letter he wrote to my Uncle Fred a few years ago, congratulating him on the "37th anniversary of your 39th birthday". Now, that's pretty good and I wish I'd thought of it.
He was a long-term friend of my uncle (photo), and I remember the Christmas cards from Ron and Nancy each and every Christmas, so I've naturally long had an interest in the late Ronald Reagan.
Reagan has a stigma. I doubt that, apart from within my family circle, in the countless times I've heard Reagan's name mentioned over the decades, it has ever been without either rancour or mirth.
I've also noticed that he is almost invariably referred to as a 'B-movie actor'. The term 'B-movie' denotes a particular kind of studio production, and I don't believe Reagan's extensive filmography supports this assertion. Australia's 'Mr Movies', Bill Collins, a brilliant walking encyclopaedia of film, says that Reagan was an A-movie actor first and foremost, and who am I to disagree with Collins? Certainly during Reagan's career, he was not seen as a 'B actor', either, regardless of the studios' nomenclature of the films he was in. He was hugely popular in his day, and he didn't 'appear' in movies, he usually starred in them. I haven't seen him on screen much, but I don't think he was too bad, against the background of his era.
I see that Bill Collins is backed up by none other than Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
"He had a pleasant screen presence, and was by no means as bad an actor as his detractors would have one believe. Nor was he strictly, as the press would have it, 'a B-movie actor'.
Ronald Reagan bio at IMDB
So, whatever one thinks of the late Ronald Reagan's politics or character, maybe the B-actor moniker can be seen as questionable at least.
As for his intellectual capabilities, I just can't accept that an idiot can get to be President of the Screen Actors' Guild, Governor of California and especially President of the USA. George W Bush notwithstanding – as much as I, like most people, like to ridicule Bush, I think he is more wily than he is stupid. Too many smart and ruthless men vie for the White House, for its resident to be a bumbling fool.
I think.
Let's put politics aside for a moment (and I'm no Reagan apologist): Ronald Wilson Reagan also had a sense of humour, and I like that. I have at hand a copy of a letter he wrote to my Uncle Fred a few years ago, congratulating him on the "37th anniversary of your 39th birthday". Now, that's pretty good and I wish I'd thought of it.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 6:55 PM | Permalink
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