News for
Ronald Reagan (I)

photos

board

add

contact

details

IMDbPro offers the latest entertainment industry news from the Hollywood Reporter. Sign-up for a two-week free trial today. Click here for a free trial!

Famed Publicist Warren Cowan Dies At 87
15 May 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Warren Cowan, whose Rogers and Cowan public relations company has represented many of Hollywood's leading luminaries and the music industry's best-selling recording artists over more than a half century, died Wednesday of cancer at age 87. His clients included Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, Cary Grant, Sylvester Stallone, Ronald Reagan, The Doors, Elton John, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michael Jackson.

John Slams Reagan At Clinton Fundraiser
11 April 2008 (WENN)
Sir Elton John used his Hillary Clinton fundraising concert in New York to hit out at ex-President Ronald Reagan's failure to help AIDS sufferers. The British rocker's gig at the Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday helped to raise $2.5 million for Clinton's presidential campaign. But as well as handing out praise to the senator and former first lady, John took a swipe at Reagan, who was in power during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Before performing "The Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes," he told the crowd, "This song is about a boy who as dying of AIDS. At that time Ronald Reagan was president, and the Reagan administration did nothing to help people with AIDS, and that is a disgrace."

Nancy Reagan's Tribute To Heston
8 April 2008 (WENN)
Ronald Reagan's widow Nancy Reagan has paid tribute to Charlton Heston, dubbing the late actor "a hero on the big screen and a hero in life." Heston, who died on Saturday, aged 83, was a long-term friend and supporter of the Republican ex-president. Both men moved into politics after acting careers and fought losing battles with Alzheimer's disease. Reagan died in 2004, aged 93. The former first lady says, "I will never forget Chuck as a hero on the big screen in the roles he played. But more importantly I considered him a hero in life for the many times that he stepped up to support Ronnie." President George W. Bush, who handed Heston the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003, also called him "one of the most successful actors in movie history and a strong advocate for liberty. He was a man of character and integrity, with a big heart." Members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) have also paid tribute to the man who was elected the organization's president in 1998. NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre said, "America has lost a great patriot." Heston, an Academy Award winner for his role in 1959 epic Ben-Hur, died at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He leaves behind wife Lydia and their two children Fraser and Holly.

NBC Bringing Back the Old Days
3 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Recalling those days in the 1950s and '60s when sponsors' names were included in the title of shows like General Electric Theater (which, as it rose to No. 1 in the ratings, enhanced the celebrity status of its host, Ronald Reagan), NBC said Wednesday that it intends to ask advertisers to become more involved with some of its shows. The network, now owned by General Electric, said that it had concluded a deal with Liberty Mutual Group insurance company to present two-hour original movies to be broadcast under the banner Liberty Mutual Presents. The first movie, titled Kings, could be developed into a regular series, the network indicated, and if it does, Liberty Mutual will have first dibs on sponsorship. Terms of the network's deal with Liberty were not disclosed.

Nancy Reagan Hospitalized
19 February 2008 (WENN)
Former U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan is receiving treatment in a hospital after falling at her home in Bel-Air, California on Sunday. The 86-year-old widow of President Ronald Reagan is recuperating at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, where she is doing well, according to her spokeswoman Joanne Drake. Drake says, "She's joking and visiting in her room." Doctors initially feared Reagan had broken a hip, but have now ruled this out. She spent Sunday night at the medical centre as a precaution and is expected to be discharged on Monday. Ronald Reagan died in 2004, following a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

ESPN Films Exhumation of "The Gipper's" Remains
11 October 2007 (StudioBriefing)
ESPN on Wednesday denied that it had anything to do with the decision to exhume the remains of former Notre Dame football star George Gipp, who was portrayed in the 1940 movie Knute Rockne All American by Ronald Reagan. (The movie produced one of the most memorable lines in movie history, "Win one for the Gipper," which later became Reagan's slogan when he entered politics.) ESPN filmed the exhumation for an upcoming documentary. According to news reports, DNA tests had been sought by members of the Gipp family, who declined to discuss the reasons for their decision to exhume the body, calling it "a very sensitive family matter."

Beckhams Top Overrated List
27 September 2007 (WENN)
David and Victoria Beckham have topped a quirky new U.S. magazine poll to find the Most Overrated People, Places and Things. Radar magazine has named the famous couple at the top of its new over-hyped list - ahead of cupcakes, Botox and Brad Pitt. Writer Michael Musto calls soccer star David "overpaid" and his wife "a pointless collection of body parts". Also on Radar's Overrated 100: blogging, sex with virgins, cocaine, Keira Knightley, pilates, Ronald Reagan, The Dalai Lama, Jake Gyllenhaal and hit TV show Grey's Anatomy.

Oscar Winner Jane Wyman Dead at 93
11 September 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Jane Wyman, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Yearling in 1946 and won the trophy two years later for Johnny Belinda, died in Palm Springs, CA Monday at age 93. (Some biographies list her age as 90.) She was former president Ronald Reagan's first wife but in interviews declined to discuss their personal relationship, which ended in divorce in 1948. Wyman was perhaps best known for her role as the powerful California vintner Angela Channing in the nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest, which aired from 1981 to 1990.

Actress Jane Wyman Dies at 93
10 September 2007 (IMDb News Flash)
Actress Jane Wyman, who won an Oscar for her performance in Johnny Belinda and who was known offscreen as the first wife of Ronald Reagan, died Monday morning at her home in Palm Springs; she was 93. An actress who started out as a contract player at Warner Bros., Wyman worked in a number of B movies (with most of her early parts uncredited) and was rarely cast in a lead role. In fact, her most notable part during the early '40s was as the wife of fellow contract player Ronald Reagan, whom she married in 1940 and with whom she had two children, Maureen and Michael. Reagan and Wyman would divorce in 1948, as her career was taking off. In 1945, Wyman was able to persuade Jack Warner to loan her out for the Paramount film The Lost Weekend opposite Ray Milland. The film was a box office hit and a critical smash, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The role finally put her on the Hollywood map, and the following year she starred in the adaptation of The Yearling, for which she received her first Oscar nomination. In 1948, she starred in the melodrama Johnny Belinda, playing a deaf-mute woman living in the backwoods of Canada who falls in love with a kindly doctor (Lew Ayers). The film, in which the deglamorized Wyman was a victim of rape, a single mother, town outcast and put on trial for murder -- all during which she never spoke a line of dialogue -- earned her a Best Actress Oscar and the freedom to choose roles she wished to play.

Wyman also starred in The Glass Menagerie, The Blue Veil (her third Academy Award nomination), So Big, and two Douglas Sirk dramas, Magnificent Obsession and All That Heaven Allows, both of which paired her with an up-and-coming actor by the name of Rock Hudson; she received her fourth and final Oscar nomination for Obsession. In the late '50s she moved to television with her own show, Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theater, and worked steadily in the medium throughout the '60s and '70s, occasionally appearing in feature films. In the early '80s Wyman enjoyed a career renaissance of sorts with the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest, in which she played the wealthy and ruthless matriarch of a Napa Valley wine family. During the show's run, her former husband became president of the United States and despite her high profile, Wyman remained quiet and respectful about their marriage, never giving interviews about him. Falcon Crest, which ran from 1981-1990, was essentially Wyman's last role; she made one last television appearance in 1993 in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Wyman was married five times, twice to her last husband, studio music director Fred Karger, whom she divorced in 1965. She is survived by her son Michael; her daughter, Maureen Reagan, died of cancer in 2001. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

Sheen: "I've Been Arrested 65 Times"
6 April 2007 (WENN)
Campaigning actor Martin Sheen has been arrested an astonishing 65 times in the last 20 years. On Sunday, the veteran actor received a police citation for trespassing on a Nevada nuclear test site. Sheen has fond memories of his first arrest, when he protested former President Ronald Reagan's nuclear initiative. He tells British movie magazine Empire, "We placed our bodies at the doors so the employees on the project couldn't get through and I remember being terribly frightened by what was going to happen. I remember (protest organizer) Father Bergin offering the New York Police the chance to come and us in our protest and they said 'no. You have three minutes to get out of here,' and I thought 'Gee, what's coming down now?'" The actor - who plays the role of a US President in hit show The West Wing - claims he has never been sentenced to more than a little time in jail and some personal humiliation.

Dying, Art Buchwald Ticks Off Favorite Death Scenes
11 April 2006 (StudioBriefing)
Even though he reportedly is nearing death, Pulitzer Prize-winning satirist Art Buchwald, 80, is continuing to turn out his syndicated column, from a hospice in Washington D.C. In January, his right leg was amputated, and recently, he refused dialysis to treat kidney failure. In his latest column, he writes that from the time he was a child, his thoughts about dying were shaped by the movies, and he offers a remarkable montage of death scenes that have occupied his mind. He says his favorite one is Ronald Reagan's in Knute Rockne All American in which Reagan says to Pat O'Brien, who plays Rockne, "Tell them to go out there ... and win just one for the Gipper." Adds Buchwald: "Except I change it to 'win just one for you-know-who.'" Buchwald reels off a dozen other death scenes from movies, concluding poignantly: "I have always depended on movies to write my 'script.' I can't get the scene out of my head when I play Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity and I'm dying in Monty Clift's arms after being beaten in the stockade. What makes it so endearing is Monty Clift plays taps. I like someone playing taps in my final scene."

Travolta To Disclose Diana Secrets
9 March 2005 (WENN)
Hollywood actor John Travolta promises to reveal intimate secrets of his intense friendship with late British royal Diana, Princess Of Wales in his forthcoming autobiography. The Saturday Night Fever star first met Diana at a White House party in 1985 hosted by then American President Ronald Reagan - and his wife Nancy told Travolta the princess was desperate to dance with him. The 51-year-old recalls, "I was at the lowest point of my career and yet in that room I felt like a frog who had been turned into a prince. I timidly crept over and said, 'Excuse me, princess, would you care to dance?' And she dipped her head and looked up at me and she blushed. Then she said, 'I would love to.' As they started playing songs from my movies they all left the floor. We were dancing alone. I said, 'God, we're in the middle of the floor with the whole world watching!'" Travolta adds, "I'm writing my book. If I wait any longer, it'll be two memoirs and I can't do that. I guess for readers in England the most interesting thing is going to be the stuff about Princess Diana. It will include a lot of things I've never discussed with anybody."

Reagan's Daughter Sues Salvation Army
20 October 2004 (WENN)
Late President Ronald Reagan's daughter is suing the Salvation Army for breach of contract, accusing the group of reneging on a speaking engagement because she supports stem cell research. According to the complaint filed last week in New York's Manhattan Supreme Court, author Patti Davis signed a contract to speak at a Salvation Army event in Santa Rosa, California, on November 19. But one day after appearing on American TV show Primetime Live in August, the Salvation Army told Davis' booking agent that it no longer wanted her to speak at the event and that neither her $15,000 fee or a $7,500 cancellation charge would be paid. Her lawyer Lawrence Fabian says, "They said (it) was against their policy and position." A lawyer for the Salvation Army, Michael Watters, insists the lawsuit is without merit because "there was no binding contract". Davis supports stem-cell research because she believes it would have helped her father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

NBC To Devote Three Hours to Each Party Convention
9 July 2004 (StudioBriefing)
NBC announced Thursday that it will devote an hour a day to three of the four days of the Democratic and Republican conventions. During the Democratic convention, it will omit coverage on July 27, when Senator Edward Kennedy speaks to the convention. During the Republican convention, it will forego the night that it pays tribute to the late President Ronald Reagan. PBS has previously announced that it will air three hours of primetime coverage on all of the convention nights. ABC and CBS said yesterday that they have not yet decided what they'll do.

It's A Slam Dunk for ABC
16 June 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Last week's NBA Finals games between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons may not have drawn the enormous crowds of viewers that Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls once did, but ratings for the first three games of this year's championship match-up were nearly twice what they were a year ago. And they produced the best ratings ABC has enjoyed since the Academy Awards telecast, giving the last-place network a taste of what it feels like to be No. 1 again. The three basketball telecasts gave ABC a win in all key demographic groups. By contrast, virtually all other network shows, most of them reruns, produced typically low summer ratings, even some first-run offerings like NBC's Next Action Star reality series, which generated little interest, as did the revived (for the summer) Drew Carey Show on ABC. Meanwhile, it was reported that fewer than 21 million viewers tuned in to coverage of the Ronald Reagan funeral ceremonies in Washington and about 35 million, to the services in California on all of the broadcast and cable networks on Friday. The number was well below the 43.4 million who watched President Bush's State of the Union address in January.

The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research: 1. NBA Finals (Game 4, Sunday), ABC, 12.7/22; 2. NBA Finals (Game 2, Tuesday), ABC, 10.7/19; 3. NBA Finals (Game 3, Thursday), ABC, 10.5/19; 4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 9.2/15; 5. Without a Trace, CBS, 9.0/15; 6. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 8.8/15; 7. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 8.5/14; 8. CSI: Miami, CBS, 8.2/14; 9. Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 7.6/13; 10. Cold Case, CBS, 7.3/13.

Donaldson Returns to the Wilderness
15 June 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Veteran ABC newsman Sam Donaldson said Monday that he felt like Lazarus after being called on by many news producers to contribute his recollection of encounters with Ronald Reagan during coverage of the Reagan funeral ceremonies. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Donaldson, the former ABC White House correspondent, 20/20 co-anchor, and This Week co-anchor, remarked: "I was delighted to be part of the remembrance. But let's face it, that was last week. This week, I'm back to my present-day status." He indicated that he remains in a professional wilderness. "They don't know what they want me to do. It's like the interim government of Iraq -- we're going to turn over sovereignty, but we don't know to whom."

Reagan Funeral Coverage Boosts Ratings for News Channels
9 June 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Ratings for the four major all-news channels -- Fox, CNN, Headline News, and MSNBC -- have risen 20-30 percent since Sunday, the day after Ronald Reagan died, as viewers tune in to coverage of the various ceremonies and civic rituals associated with the funeral. Chicago Tribune writer Steve Johnson observed in today's (Wednesday) edition that "Ronald Reagan will dominate television screens for the next three days to almost the same degree that he did when he was president" as the broadcast and cable networks cover the final ceremonies, beginning with the departure of Reagan's casket from the Reagan library in California this morning and ending with live coverage of the funeral service on Friday and the casket's return to California. CNN anchor Aaron Brown told the Tribune: "This is a perfect example of what cable news is for. ... We are in these moments the corner square. It's an opportunity to come and share the common experience."

TV News Goes All-Reagan
8 June 2004 (StudioBriefing)
CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather has complained that television has "over-covered" the funeral of Ronald Reagan. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rather remarked, "Even though everybody is respectful and wants to pay homage to the president, life does go on. There is other news, like the reality of Iraq. It got very short shrift this weekend." Similar comments were voiced by NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw, who told the Inquirer, "I think just about everything is over-covered these days. ... The spectrum is so crowded. With all the cable networks, it begins to have a 'video wall' feeling to it." But ABC World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings indicated that he intends to confine the funeral coverage. "I'm more inclined to spare coverage," he told the newspaper, "come on [the air], do something meaningful, then get away." Meanwhile, campaign representatives for President Bush and Senator Kerry said Monday that they have pulled their spots for 24 hours on Friday, the official day of the funeral, in order to set aside partisanship on that day.

Actor/Politician Ronald Reagan Dead at 93
7 June 2004 (StudioBriefing)
Ronald Reagan, an actor who starred in mostly B-movies before becoming the host of television's General Electric Theater in 1954 and Death Valley Days 10 years later, died at his Bel Air Home Sunday at the age of 93. Following his acting career, Reagan entered politics, serving two terms as governor of California and another two terms as president of the United States. During his first year as an actor in 1938, he told the Des Moines Register: "It's a tough racket. But when you consider the rewards you're shooting at -- fame such as couldn't be won in any other profession and wealth that mounts to dizzying heights -- it's worth the chances you take."

Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93
6 June 2004 (IMDb News Flash)
Former President Ronald Reagan, whose career as an actor preceded his highly successful run in politics, died Saturday after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease; he was 93. Reagan died at his home in California, after his health reportedly took a swift turn for the worse, and word of his death was given to news sources on condition of anonymity by a family friend, who also said the Reagan family was currently making funeral arrangements and would issue an official statement later Saturday. "Dutch" Reagan, as he was known in his younger years, started his career as a radio sportscaster in Chicago and moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he became a contract player for Warner Bros., making his debut in Love Is on the Air. Numerous Warner films followed through the 30s and 40s, most notably a supporting role opposite Bette Davis in Dark Victory and the iconic part of George Gipp, aka "the Gipper," in Knute Rockne All American. 1942's Kings Row (where Reagan uttered the memorable line, "Where's the rest of me?") marked a turning point for the actor, and after completing military service during World War II and returning to Hollywood, well-received roles in The Voice of the Turtle, The Hasty Heart, and Storm Warning followed. Alas, most of his post-war films were less than memorable – though Bedtime for Bonzo, in which Reagan was paired with a monkey, became something of a comedy classic – but 1957's Hellcats of the Navy paired him with his second wife, Nancy Davis, whom he married in 1952 (he had previously been married to Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman from 1940-1948).

TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 – the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin – and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Former President Ronald Reagan Dies at 93
5 June 2004 (IMDb News Flash)
Former President Ronald Reagan, whose career as an actor preceded his highly successful run in politics, died Saturday after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease; he was 93. Reagan died at his home in California, after his health reportedly took a swift turn for the worse, and word of his death was given to news sources on condition of anonymity by a family friend, who also said the Reagan family was currently making funeral arrangements and would issue an official statement later Saturday. "Dutch" Reagan, as he was known in his younger years, started his career as a radio sportscaster in Chicago and moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he became a contract player for Warner Bros., making his debut in Love Is on the Air. Numerous Warner films followed through the 30s and 40s, most notably a supporting role opposite Bette Davis in Dark Victory and the iconic part of George Gipp, aka "the Gipper," in Knute Rockne All American. 1942's Kings Row (where Reagan uttered the memorable line, "Where's the rest of me?") marked a turning point for the actor, and after completing military service during World War II and returning to Hollywood, well-received roles in The Voice of the Turtle, The Hasty Heart, and Storm Warning followed. Alas, most of his post-war films were less than memorable – though Bedtime for Bonzo, in which Reagan was paired with a monkey, became something of a comedy classic – but 1957's Hellcats of the Navy paired him with his second wife, Nancy Davis, whom he married in 1952 (he had previously been married to Oscar-winning actress Jane Wyman from 1940-1948).

TV work followed, though Reagan also began pursuing a career in politics, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild twice; he also made a notable turn from liberal to conservative in the 60s. Reagan made his last film in 1964 – the acclaimed The Killers opposite Lee Marvin – and successfully ran for governor of California in 1966, a post he held for eight years. Though he lost the Republican party's candidacy for president in 1976, he successfully ran again in 1980, and his eight year term as President, in which he survived an assassination attempt, defined the 80s; the rest, as they say, is history. After his presidency, Reagan's health quickly declined due to Alzheimer's, and was said to have contributed to his rapidly deteriorating mental condition; he lived the rest of his life in seclusion, tended to by his wife. According to news reports, Reagan's body is expected to be taken to his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA, and then flown to Washington to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. A funeral is expected to be at the National Cathedral, with his body to be returned to California for a sunset burial at the library. Living longer than any US President, Reagan is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children: Michael Reagan, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Streisand Lashes Out at 'Reagans' Cancellation
7 November 2003 (WENN)
Barbra Streisand has slammed the decision to axe her actor husband James Brolin's new TV movie about Ronald Reagan - calling it "a sad day for artistic freedom". Streisand, a Democratic activist, was horrified when she learned TV bosses at CBS had bowed to pressure from right wingers and cancelled The Reagans, which was due to air later this month featuring Brolin as the former president of America. Posting a fiery note on her website yesterday, Streisand lashed out, "(Artistic freedom is) one of the most important elements of an open and democratic society." Streisand is being backed by actress Meryl Streep, who says, "Any time that something is banned it makes you uncomfortable as an American."

Gays Debate Reagan Legacy
6 November 2003 (StudioBriefing)
The onetime lover of Rock Hudson has written to CBS President Les Moonves congratulating him on his decision to cancel the miniseries about Ronald and Nancy Reagan, in which the former president was reportedly depicted as being homophobic and expressing the opinion that gay men who contracted AIDS deserved to die. The letter from Mark Christian, which was posted on the conservative website FrontPagemagazine.com, said that the characterization "strikes me as silly beyond belief." Christian pointed out that Ronald Reagan not only had "several gay men on his staff when he was Governor of California, he called my lover, Rock Hudson, when he was on his deathbed just weeks before he died of AIDS and wished him well and voiced his and Nancy's concern and prayers. ... The Reagans had known Rock for years and knew he was gay (as did most in Hollywood). ... I bet President Reagan's phone call to Rock Hudson isn't in the screenplay or should I say smearplay, is it?" Meanwhile Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, whose play Angels in America faults the Reagan administration for its delayed reaction to the AIDS crisis, has told the New York Daily News that he was "appalled" by the CBS cancellation of the Reagan drama. "I had friends who died in really terrible circumstances because Ronald Reagan couldn't bring himself to say the word 'gay' in public 'til 1987," Kushner said.

CBS's 'The Reagans' Draws More Flak
3 November 2003 (StudioBriefing)
GOP National Chairman Ed Gillespie has charged that CBS's planned two-part miniseries The Reagans, about former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, "is not historically accurate" and should therefore be labeled on the air as fiction. In a letter to CBS President Les Moonves, Gillespie, who acknowledged that he has not seen the program but has read a New York Times report about it, said that viewers are likely to come away from the drama "with a misunderstanding of the Reagans and the Reagan administration." He suggested that the show be vetted by a panel of historians before being aired. Meanwhile, Newsweek is reporting that Moonves has ordered that wholesale changes be made to the miniseries. "It's being edited with a machete," a person close to the program told the magazine. It also said that director Robert Allan Ackerman withdrew from the editing process. "Whatever is going on [in the editing] is going on very secretly," Ackerman told Newsweek.

Conservatives Say CBS Doing a "Hatchet Job" on Reagan
28 October 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Admirers of Ronald Reagan are expressing anger over CBS's planned miniseries about the former film star and president and are calling on CBS to shelve it. Philadelphia public interest lawyer Jonathan M. Stein, in an article posted on the conservative NewsMax website, has suggested that Nancy Reagan sue CBS for defamation. "CBS must be stopped from ever airing the program," Stein wrote. NewsMax commentator Geoff Metcalf wrote Monday: "The Reagans is a Kill Bill without the hacked-off body parts. It is petty, mean-spirited character assassination and it demands vengeance." And Reagan's former chief of staff and attorney general, Edwin Meese, called the miniseries "a very cynical and very malicious plot, really, to try to darken [Reagan's] reputation."

Reagan Film Criticized
23 October 2003 (WENN)
The makers of a new TV film about former American President Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy Reagan have rebuffed criticisms they have misrepresented the pair. The film - shown on the CBS network next month and starring James Brolin and Judy Davis - has been slammed for showing Reagan making statements he was never known to utter - leading his radio chat show host son Michael to allege, "Hollywood has been hijacked by the liberal left." In one scene when Nancy argues for more funds for AIDS victims, Reagan replies, "They that live in sin shall die in sin." Reagan biographer Lou Cannon responds, "He is not intolerant. He was a bit asleep at the switch, but it's not fair to have him say something he didn't." However, Elizabeth Egloff, who was responsible for the final version of the two-part film's script, says, "We know he ducked the issue over and over again, and we know she was the one who got him to deal with it. Biographies show Mr. Reagan had trouble squaring homosexuality with the Bible."

Clooney Gets TV Help From Hillary Clinton
16 September 2003 (WENN)
George Clooney's new TV project K Street had a helping hand from America's former First Lady Hillary Clinton. The movie hunk and production company partner Steven Soderbergh pitched the idea for their documentary/drama, all about what really goes on in the corridors of power on Washington's Capitol Hill, before they knew whether they could make a series. Their idea was to team real politicians up with actors to reveal what really goes on in American politics - but they only realized what an ambitious venture it was when cable channel HBO picked it up. Clooney reveals, "We did a TV pilot to get picked up by HBO, but before we did it that we were like, 'Let's see if we can actually do this. Can we actually put this together in this time?' Fortunately, Hilary helped us out with the test episode. It won't be shown, however." The show's consultant is Ronald Reagan's former aide Michael Deaver.

FX Yanks Schwarzenegger's Films
14 August 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Reminiscent of the time when TV stations and networks pulled films and reruns of TV shows featuring Ronald Reagan when he ran for governor and president, the News Corp-owned FX cable network on Wednesday said that it was yanking films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger for the duration of the current California gubernatorial recall campaign. Other cable and broadcast networks are expected to follow suit in order to comply with the FCC's "equal time" rule.

Streisand's Hubby To Play Reagan
22 July 2003 (WENN)
Democrat Barbra Streisand's actor husband James Brolin is to play former Republican President Ronald Reagan in a new TV movie. The two-part venture The Reagans will chart the career and life of the former Hollywood actor and is set to air on network CBS in November. However, outspoken liberal Streisand has long been a critic of Reagan's policies and of his time in office, once stating in 1992 that she would "never forgive" him for his stance on AIDS research and education. CBS chairman Leslie Moonves says, "We haven't asked Barbra Streisand what she thinks about James Brolin playing Ronald Reagan, but we'll have to live with that." Speaking about Brolin's suitability for the role of the ex-President, Moonves adds, "What he did on The West Wing influenced us. He played a conservative figure and did a very good job." The movie will also star Judy Davis as Nancy Reagan and promises to be a in-depth portrayal of what Reagan "did well and what he didn't do well."

Greatly Exaggerated News on CNN Site
18 April 2003 (StudioBriefing)
CNN was embarrassed Thursday when elaborate obituaries for a number of prominent figures turned up on its website, even though they were still alive. Although the error was discovered relatively quickly, they were nevertheless picked up by major Internet search engines, which included brief excerpts in their copy of the death notices. (Thus, typing in "Reagan" on, say, Google would have brought up the story, "Ronald Reagan Remembered.") The gaffe was also discovered by The Smoking Gun website, which preserved and displayed CNN's planned obits for Reagan, Bob Hope, Fidel Castro, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Gerald Ford and Dick Cheney.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Withdraws From Politics
26 April 2001 (WENN)
Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped out of the 2002 race for California governor -- citing his film career and family as higher priorities. The 53-year-old Austrian-born star had earlier expressed a wish to do more to help his adopted country, America -- and was even quoted as saying he'd quit movies for the political role. But the actor will now focus on completing the film True Lies 2, before beginning work on Terminator 3 around September. He says, "I feel great doing the movies, and I would have felt great doing the governor's race. I'm in a most wonderful position. The movie projects came together, so I have to keep up my end of the deal. It's not like it could have gone this way or that." But the actor has vowed his break from politics is merely temporary, and plans to plunge back into the arena "some other time" once his four children, aged between three and 11, are older. Schwarzenegger's withdrawal from the race will mean that Ronald Reagan remains as the last celebrity seeking state-wide office in Sacramento, California -- which he achieved 35 years ago.

Spielberg Becomes Honorary Knight
31 January 2001 (WENN)
Movie great Steven Spielberg made an honorary knight of the British Empire, joining an elite list of Americans. Spielberg received the award at the British Embassy Monday. Also present were his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and actress Holly Hunter. The honorary title is for those born outside the United Kingdom who make outstanding contributions to society. With trademark humility, Spielberg asked, "Why me?" after Sir Christopher Meyer, the British ambassador to America, presented the award at the front of a candlelit ballroom. After hanging a cross-shaped medallion around Spielberg's neck, Meyer said, "Mr. Spielberg's career has had a global impact." He added, "But the impact in the United Kingdom stands out. His films helped significantly in the doubling of cinema admission in the UK since the early 1980s." Spielberg, who will not be addressed as "Sir", joins the likes of former American Presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan, comedian Bob Hope and conductor Andre Previn as an honorary knight.

Jodie Foster Stalker "Still Obsessed With Star"
26 May 2000 (WENN)
A stalker obsessed with Jodie Foster has ruined his chances of being let out alone from a mental hospital - after being found with a smuggled book on the star. JOHN HINCKLEY, who shot Ronald Reagan 19 years ago to impress Jodie, is banned from having material about her. Guards at the security ward where the 44-year-old is being held also found racist hate materials in his room. The discovery comes as doctors claimed Hinckley had recovered from his obsession with Jodie. They allowed him to make escorted trips into Washington and last month applied to let him make the trips alone. Now, Hinckley has been ordered to stay in his ward 24 hours a day. A spokesman at the St Elizabeth's hospital where he is being held says, "He's blown it now. He is forbidden from having any kind of material connected with Jodie Foster." Hinckley admitted after his assassination bid on Reagan that he had spent months stalking Jodie while she was a student.

Richard Dreyfuss Gets The Presidential Jitters
30 March 2000 (WENN)
Richard Dreyfuss has confirmed he's one celebrity who definitely won't be running for President - after taking on the role for the screen. The Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) star is to become the next screen American President in the upcoming live television film Fail Safe (2000) (TV) in which he stars alongside Harvey Keitel, George Clooney and Noah Wyle. But unlike former President Ronald Reagan and actor Warren Beatty, Dreyfuss says the experience has taught him never to let his political aspirations stray from the screen. He says, "I play the President of the United States in a nuclear crisis. The film takes place in the mid 1950s-1960s." "I'm modelling my role on my own fantasy of being President. But it's a pretty scary position to be in. The world does seem to scrunch right down to one terrible moment of awesome responsibility. No way would I like to have to do it."

Michael Reagan Says That Maher Is Incorrect About His Father
29 October 1998 (StudioBriefing)
Syndicated radio talk-show host Michael Reagan has informed Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher that he will refuse to book anyone on his show who also appears on Maher's. Reagan, in a letter to Maher, portions of which are published in today's New York Post, expressed his anger over Maher's reference to his father, the former President, during his TV show last week, saying that it crossed "every line of taste and decency." Maher had said that Ronald Reagan "ran up the debt, he lied about something much more important than sex Iran-Contra, and he is nuts." Michael Reagan called the final shot, "a vicious insult to every person who suffers from Alzheimers disease." The Post quoted representatives for Maher as saying that his comments were directed solely at Ronald Reagan's conduct in office.

X-Files Comedy On Cd-Rom
10 October 1997 (StudioBriefing)
Palladium Interactive has released a $20 CD-ROM parody of Fox's hit drama, The X-Files, sending up the paranoia of "Mulley and Scudder, " who claim that the TV show is really an attempt by extraterrestrials to brainwash the public, Business Week reports in its current (Oct. 20) issue. It also offers a closeup of Ronald Reagan's neck, suggesting that it is really a topographical map of Mars.