What if Ronald Reagan did not go in the Army?

[ejpsan]

In 1942 Reagan was put on active service but due to his poor eyesight he was put on limited duty and stayed stateside durring the war.
But what if he was deemed unfit for service and continues to make movies?
With almost all the big male movie stars in uniform this left the door open for actors like Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne to break out of their usual roles
and made them big stars.
Reagan could have played the lead in the better "B" movies and supporting roles in "A" movies. With this continuing exposure he would have been making more money and after the war he could have made an earlier transition to television.
Reagan could have formed his own production company like other actors and have more control over his roles and pay less in taxes, but that would mean he have to give up being the president of the Screen Actors Guild.
As president of SAG he met Nancy Davis whom he later married, Nancy being very conservative was instrumental in influencing Reagan turn to the right.
So no army, more movies, earlier t.v., own production company, not being SAG president, no Nancy, what is the affect on history?

 

[Jonathan]

Well in 1944, Ronald Reagan was asked to play the role of an aged tattooist, Featherhead, in the David Butler film, The Princess and the Pirate opposite Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo.
Also in this year, Ronald Reagon was chosen by Darryl F. Zanuck, being picked over Alexander Knox (who being canadian was seen as a bad choice) to star in Wilson, the biographical film about US President Woodrow Wilson, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor, in this film he works with Mary Anderson, who places his Eleanor Wilson.
He will work along side Mary in two more movies, he will play Arthur Templeton, in 'Behind Green Lights' (1946) and then the murderer, George Kalecki in 'I, the Jury' (1953)
In 1957 he plays Juror 4, (the rational, unflappable, self-assured and analytical stock broker who is concerned only with the facts, and avoids any small talk,) in 12 Angry Men.
For this role, he was approached by Alfred Hitchcock, to play the UN ambassador in his upcoming film, North by Northwest (1959.) Alfred Hitchcock will use Reagan for roles in three other films as a private detective, Milton Arbogast in "Psycho" (1960); as Sebastian Sholes, in the "Birds" (1963) and as Mr. Rutland, the father of Mark (who was played by Sean Connery) in "Marnie" 1964.
Lastly he will be casted in a number of episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the television hosted by Alfred Hitchcock, himself.

After these films he goes into the business that will see his star rising even higher ... Politics.

 

[ejpsan]

I sincerely doubt that Reagan would have gone in politics if he was still getting work in Hollywood. It was because of his work as SAG president that took him out of consideration for some roles and as SAG president he could work only as an actor for hire.
One of the jobs he got was the host of GE Theater where also he went around the country giving speaches and that along with his wife Nancy helped shape his conservative ideas. I think that if he had his own production company he could have tailored a show to his talents instead of being he fourth or fifth choice of the producers.
Reagan only met his future wife Nancy Davis because she was mistaken for another actress with same name who was on the blacklist and as SAG president he helped Nancy clear up the mistake in identity.