Ronald Reagan before the presidency

Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico IL.  He was born in a small apartment above a small drugstore. In his early life Ronald Reagan lived in small towns throughout northern Illinois, ultimately settling in Dixon, in another apartment above another drugstore.... He attended Dixon High School where he was a cheerleader, athlete, and developed a passion for acting. This love for "show business" - as he called it - led to his first few jobs at local radio stations. He graduated in 1929, bound for Eureka college (a small liberal arts school in northern IL) where he pursued a degree in economics. Although committed to his education he became known as a very average student, rarely deviating from the C range. He instead focused on sports and extracurriculars. He played football all four years and became the captain of the swim team after only two years. He also was very interested in the theater department. He became heavily involved in school politics. He was elected student body president in 1934. His career in theater and radio led him to Hollywood after a brief stint as a sports announcer for the Chicago Cubs. Although successful at this, he decided that he wanted to pursue his passion for theater. He moved to Hollywood, where he successfully auditioned for the Warner Brothers "B actors unit". He spend a few years playing small roles in dozens of movies for Warner Brother, finally landing his first lead role in Love is in The Air in 1937. He went on to star in several high profile movies including, Bad Man, Dark Victory, and his personal favorite Kings Row. He was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1938. However, when 1942 came along he was called to active service in the army. He served in many roles in the army including Liaison officer for a cavalry unit, public relations officer, and ultimately in the first armed forces motion picture unit until 1945 when he was released from active duty. He returned to Hollywood after the war where he was again elected as president of the screen actors guild. The spread of communism at the time was terrifying the country. He was recruited as an informant for a special FBI task force to root out communist sympathizers in Hollywood. He served in this capacity until 1949. At this point, he decided to get back into politics. He gave several high profile speeches and fought for many bipartisan issues. He was elected governor of California in 1967 after running as a republican. He was involved in many state issues during the 60s including cracking down on protesters in Berkeley, reworking the highway patrol system, and signing a bill that legalized abortion in CA. This helped him gain a strong political following going into the 1976 presidential race. His economic policies and tough-on-communism attitude helped him to beat Gerald Ford in the election. Although he had made it to the pinnacle of his storied career that had led him to the white house, he was still noted as joking that his new accomodations in the upper floors of the white house made him feel like he was living above the store again.