An affable Midwesterner, Ronald Reagan parlayed his athletic good looks and undeniable charisma into a middling career in the movies, but it was the smaller screen that he would eventually master on his way to two terms as governor of California and ultimately as the 40th President of the United States. In that role of a lifetime, the 'Great Communicator' displayed constant optimism and a jaunty self-confidence, both of which endeared him to millions, despite revelations of wrongdoing by aides or occasional failures in foreign policy. Reagan acquired almost mythic status leading the charge
Moved to Dixon, Illinois when he was nine (date approximate)
Began career as a sportscaster, first for radio station WOC in Davenport, Iowa, and later for WHO in Des Moines, with which WOC merged; announced the baseball games of the Chicago Cubs
1937
While in California covering baseball's spring training, spotted by a Warner Bros. agent and offered a screen test
1937
Signed by Warner Bros.; film debut in "Love Is on the Air" playing a radio announcer
1938
First film with future wife Jane Wyman, "Brother Rat"
