Neil Reagan

Neil Reagan
Born	John Neil Reagan September 16, 1908[1] Tampico, Illinois[1]
Died	December 11, 1996 (aged 88)[1]
Nationality	American
Religion	Roman Catholic[2]
Spouse	Bess Hoffman[1]
Children	(none)[1]
Parents	Jack Reagan and Nelle Wilson
Relatives	Ronald Reagan (younger brother)

John Neil Reagan (September 16, 1908 - December 11, 1996) was a radio station manager, CBS senior producer and senior vice president of McCann Erickson. He is the older brother of Ronald Reagan.

Neil "Moon" Reagan was baptized as a Roman Catholic at birth. As an infant, Neil attended his mother's Disciples of Christ church, but became affiliated his father's Catholic faith in his youth.^[3] He was described to as a boisterous and gregarious personality in his youth.^[4] In 1933, Neil graduated Eureka College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.^[1] He followed his brother to California and established a career as a television producer and advertising executive.

From the '30s through the '50s, Neil Reagan directed the radio series Dr. Christian, starring Jean Hersholt. In between he launched a brief Hollywood career as a supporting actor in films such as Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940) and Doughboys in Ireland (1943). Neil Reagan directed Ronald Reagan in the television series Death Valley Days.

He served as president of both the Hollywood and Los Angeles advertising clubs, as well as served on numerous community and professional boards including: the Crippled Children's Society of Los Angeles, the Kennedy Child Study Center in Santa Monica, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

He was an alternate delegate to the 1972 Republican National Convention from California, and a delegate to the 1980 Republican National Convention. Neil Reagan served two terms as trustee of the Eureka College before his death in December 1996. The Reagan Physical Education Center on the Eureka College campus was dedicated in 1970 in honor of both Ronald and Neil Reagan. Twelve years later, Ronald Reagan would return to the Reagan Center to make one of his most important foreign policy speeches of his first term known as the START speech, or Eureka speech.

His wife, Bess Reagan, died in 2010 at the age of 102.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Yager (2006), p. 63
2. ^ Harmer (2002), p. 110
3. ^ Watson (2007), p. 457
4. ^ Yager (2006), p. 64

Bibliography

• Harmer, John, Reagan: Man of Principle, Cedar Fort, 2002, ISBN 1555176194
• Watson, Robert W., White House Studies Compendium, Volume 1, Nova Publishers, 2007, ISBN 1600215211
• Yager, Edward M., Ronald Reagan's Journey: Democrat to Republican, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006, ISBN 0742544214

Persondata
Name	Reagan, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 16, 1908
Place of birth	Tampico, Illinois
Date of death	December 11, 1996
Place of death