One Error in a Prominent Reagan Obit

By: Greg Mitchell In a mammoth four-page obituary, one would expect any newspaper to make at least one factual mistake, and there is at least one in Sunday's New York Times review of Ronald Reagan's life. It was repeated in a shortened version published on Monday.

Describing Reagan's years as a Hollywood political activist, the newspaper observes, "In 1950 he actively supported Helen Gahagan Douglas, the liberal Democrat who was defeated by Richard M. Nixon in a California a senatorial campaign that became a portent of an era of Red-baiting."

That's just not true, unless new evidence has emerged since I wrote my book, "Tricky Dick and the Pink Lady," published by Random House in 1998. In fact, the 1950 campaign was a true turning point in the life of Reagan (and, as it turned out, the history of America).

Apparently Reagan's new friend Nancy Davis helped steer him from Douglas (the former actress and wife of actor Melvyn Douglas) to Nixon. Reagan had already taken a very public anti-Communist stance within the film industry.

The full story, as detailed in my book, goes something like this:

During the 1950 Senate race, Hollywood split pretty much along party lines. Nixon, however, did attract a few members of a new breed of fiercely anti-Communist Democrats. For several longtime Democrats in the industry, the polarization of the 1950 race clarified their true beliefs.

One of these individuals, apparently, was Ronald Reagan.

A solid Democrat, Reagan flirted with leftist groups during the mid-1940s, which landed him on at least one rightwing blacklist. He was so far left that Douglas organizers would not let him officially take part in her maiden run for Congress in 1944 because he was "too hot to handle," as one of them told me. (The writer Howard Fast later claimed that at one point Reagan even wanted to join the Communist Party.)

But the actor renounced his past affiliations in 1947, when the Red Scare came to Hollywood. After FBI agents showed him how he had been manipulated by "front" groups, he agreed to act as a confidential informant for the bureau on Screen Actor Guild (SAG) activities, with the I.D. number of "T-10." He also campaigned against Communist-inspired labor actions within SAG, and appeared as a "friendly" witness before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC).

Reagan appeared obsessed with politics. His passion and speaking ability, his glad-handing and garrulousness, caused some friends to suggest he run for public office some day.

In one of the guest columns he wrote for labor reporter Victor Reisel in 1950, Reagan declared, "We've gotten rid of the Communist conspirators in Hollywood." But he advocated that any former Communist who "has now changed his mind" should be willing to stand up now, admit he was wrong, "and give all the information he has to the government agencies who are combating the Redplotters."

In the early fall of 1950, Reagan sent along a $50 contribution to the Douglas campaign, but this seemed oddly tiny, and her organizers counted on him for further fundraising support. He never delivered. Reagan also failed to take part in any rallies or offer a public endorsement, which seemed suspicious to Douglas insiders.

On Oct. 23, Douglas sent him a brief note, thanking him for his "help and support," but it was surprisingly cool, as she addressed her old friend not as "Ron" or "Ronnie" but "Ronald Reagan." The next day, Reagan's new film, the very minor "Louisa," opened, with the actor winning praise from The New York Times for his "amusingly befuddled" performance.

By then, if not earlier, his support for Douglas had wavered. For almost a year he had been dating the politically conservative Nancy Davis, whose career as an actress seemed to be on the rise after a reasonably well-received role (as a pregnant housewife) in "The Next Voice You Hear."

Nancy often socialized with comedienne Zasu Pitts, a friend of J. Edgar Hoover and a strong Nixon activist. Now, Nancy took Reagan to a meeting where he heard Zasu rail against Helen Douglas and her pro-Communist record.

Reagan was close to Dick Powell, another Nixon activist. June Allyson, then married to actor Powell, would later explain, "I do not know whether it was Richard [Powell] or Nancy and her staunchly Republican family who finally switched Ronnie. I only know that Richard, chortling with glee, took full credit for it."

One late night, actor Robert Cummings, who had Republican sympathies but was fairly apolitical, received a telephone call from Reagan. The two had acted together in "King's Row" in 1942 and remained good friends. Cummings considered him one of the most honorable men in town. Reagan seemed so passionate about politics Cummings had joked that he should consider running for President of the United States.

Cummings would later recall the late night phone conversation with Ronald Reagan this way:

"I'm trying to help a senator get elected," Reagan said, "and we're giving a party for him tomorrow night. Can you come?"

"You know I'm not political, Ronnie."

"Couldn't you just come and be there anyway?"

"Who is the senator?"

"His name is Richard Nixon."

"But isn't he a Republican?"

"I've switched," Reagan explained, according to Cummings. "I sat down and made a list of the people I know, and the most admired people I know are Republicans."

Nixon ended up defeating Douglas, and two years later became Vice President. As for Reagan: the rest, as they say, is history.