Ronald Reagan in Hollywood

Ronald Reagan is being laid to rest under the golden light of a California sunset tonight. It was in Hollywood that Ronald Reagan found his footing. It was in an acting career that spanned two decades that the nation was introduced to a future President.

From 1937 to 1964, Ronald Reagan made almost 60 films. Reagan was never a huge star, but he made a good living. He once called himself the "Errol Flynn of B-Movies." But Hollywood schooled him, and acting taught him how to sell an idea, and nail an emotion. It polished a persona that drove a political power house: Ronald Reagan, the manly, plain-spoken, sunny, all-American boy from Illinois.

Click the "Listen" link to hear about Ronald Reagan's life in film and his years in Hollywood.

Guests:

Stephen Vaughn, professor of journalism and history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.