By Jason Apuzzo. Ronald Reagan’s 101st birthday was just two days ago on February 6th, and in honor of the occasion journalist and scholar John Meroney recently put together a fascinating new video detailing new discoveries concerning Reagan’s early days combating communism in Hollywood.
The thesis of the video, and of an accompanying piece by Meroney in the latest edition of the Los Angeles Times Magazine, is that Reagan’s early experiences combating communism in Hollywood served as a template for Reagan’s later struggles against the Soviet Union as President.
The video and the article are the result of copious research conducted by Meroney in the private archives of Roy Brewer, a Hollywood labor leader during the 1940s and ’50s and a close colleague of Reagan’s at that time. In the video you will hear audio recordings – unearthed for the first time in over 60 years – of Reagan and Brewer discussing their complex struggles against communist influence in Hollywood’s labor unions.
Meroney refers to these findings and others in Brewer’s archives as “Reagan’s Rosebud” (referring to ‘Rosebud’ from Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane) – i.e., the key to unlocking Reagan’s early transformation from Roosevelt liberal to anti-communist Cold Warrior. Meroney’s compelling thesis, detailed in the full LA Times Magazine article, makes for fascinating reading if you are an admirer of President Reagan’s as I am, or interested in either Cold War or Hollywood history.
I encourage Libertas readers to watch the video and read the full article for context, and we wish John the best with his ongoing efforts to uncover the vital role of Reagan’s early Hollywood experiences in his ultimate defeat of the Soviet system.
Posted on February 8th, 2012 at 12:50pm.