re: #216 HappyWarrior

I had read somewhere that he was turned down as a possible Congressional candidate because he was considered too liberal heh. I think he was a bit of an opportunist honestly. I think he took his disillusionment with liberalism and the New Deal to the extreme knowing that it would help him more electorally than if he had just become a moderate.

Well, certainly during the 1960s he went through a kind of metamorphosis. and Nancy Reagan no doubt had no small influence on him, especially regarding birth control and abortion (and astrology!). His movie career was on the skids, and he delved into TV as a “host” for Death Valley Days (1964) and after being fired by GE (and made wealthy) as host of GE Theater from 1964 to 1962. He also had dabbled in radio when his acting career bottomed out. Nancy herself had never had much of a movie career and was limited in her ability to make much.

There’s just something about having a lot of money that changes some people’s priorities.