7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7son as his “fat little
Dutchman.” After sev-
eral years of moving
from town to town,
the family settled in
Dixon, Illinois, in 1920.
At Eureka College
in Eureka, Illinois,
Reagan played grid-
iron football and was
active in the drama
society. After graduat-
ing, he landed a job as
a sportscaster.
In 1937 Reagan
took a screen test for
the Warner Brothers
studio and was signed
to a contract. During
the following 27 years,
he made more than
50 full-length motion
pictures as well as
several short subject
fi lms. In 1938 Reagan became engaged to his costar Jane
Wyman, and the couple married in Hollywood two years
later. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1948.
Commissioned a cavalry offi cer at the outbreak of World
War II, Reagan was assigned to an army fi lm unit based
in Los Angeles, where he spent the rest of the war mak-
ing training fi lms. From 1947 to 1952 and again from 1959
to 1960, Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors
Guild. Reagan met Nancy Davis in 1949, and the two
were married in 1952.
Ronald Reagan (second from right)
with his parents, Jack and Nelle,
and his brother, Neil, c. 1915.
Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library