Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

has been variously depicted in popular culture since he was elected president in 1980. Reagan also appeared numerous times in popular fiction, particularly in his role as U.S. president in the 1980s.

Film and television

* '' Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card'', a satirical depiction of Reagan's presidency aired as a

Cinemax Comedy Experiment Cinemax Comedy Experiment is an anthology series broadcast on Cinemax throughout the mid-to-late 1980s. Every episode was written and directed by a different standup comedian. The series was known for giving full creative freedom to those comedi ...

* ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'', a satirical British puppet show featuring Reagan * ''

The Day Reagan Was Shot ''The Day Reagan Was Shot'' is a 2001 American made-for-television film drama film directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and co-produced by Oliver Stone. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and Richard Crenna as Ronald Reagan, and co-stars Mic ...

'', a 2001 film about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan * ''

The Reagans ''The Reagans'' is a 2003 American made-for-television biographical drama film about U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his family. The network CBS had planned to broadcast the film in November 2003 during fall "sweeps", but was ultimately broadcast ...

'', a 2003 television film about Ronald Reagan and his family * ''

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

'', a 2011 documentary film about the presidency of Ronald Reagan * ''

The Butler ''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's ''Washington Post'' article "A Butle ...

'', a 2013 film about an African-American butler who bore witness to the presidency of Ronald Reagan * ''Killing Reagan'' (film), a 2016 television film about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan * ''

'', a 2022 film starring

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

Reagan appeared as one of the fictional supporting characters in the ''

Inhumanoids ''Inhumanoids'' is the title of an animated series and the name of a Hasbro toy property that were both released in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as ''Transformers'', and ''G.I. Joe'', the show was produced by Sunbow Ente ...

'' episode "The Surma Plan" as president of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Upon learning that the Soviet leadership were planning an Earth-threatening attack on the lair of the Inhumanoid leader Metlar, Reagan first suggested that they contact the Soviets. After being advised that the Soviets wouldn't listen he instead contacted the Earth Corps to stop the Soviet mission that could end up destroying the planet itself. He later expressed gratitude to the Earth Corps for stopping the Soviet plan. Reagan was portrayed by voice actor

Neil Ross Neil David Ross is a British-American voice actor and announcer. Noted for his Trans-Atlantic accent, he has provided voices in many American cartoons, most notably ''Voltron'', ''G.I. Joe'', and ''Transformers'', as well as video games, inclu ...

. In the second season of the television series '' Fargo'', Reagan (

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low ...

) makes a stop during his second presidential campaign in 1979 in the titular town; Campbell previously appeared in the 1995 film '' Fargo'' on a television screen and credited as "Soap Opera TV Star"; the season retroactively establishes this character as Reagan from his former career as an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Also, in the first film of ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'', Reagan is referenced heavily in the first part of the movie, in which 1955 Doc Brown mocks Marty McFly after he answered Reagan was the president, as at 1955, Reagan was still an actor, referenced earlier in the film when his name appeared on a theater on the background

Literature

Comics

Ronald Reagan met

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, would become the paranormal hero "Teflon" in

New Universe The New Universe is an imprint (trade name), imprint from Marvel Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1986 to 1989. It was the first line produced by Marvel Comics utilizing a pre-conceived shared universe concept. It was cre ...

and was even depicted as the star of the Solsons' Comics series ''Reagans Raiders'', in 1987. Marvel Transformers UK Annual 1985 contained a story called "Plague of the Insecticons".

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, , is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were ...

lead Prowl and Warpath to a meeting with President Ronald Reagan in Washington D.C. to open a dialog between the Autobots and the US government. The evil Insecticons attack the US military in the name of the Autobots hoping to derail the peace talks. Although the Autobots managed to chase off the Insecticons Optimus Prime gave up on explaining the misunderstanding to Reagan, thinking he would never be believed. Reagan had been ready to hear what Optimus had to say and was disappointed they gave up so easily. In 1986, Ronald Reagan made an appearance in volume 1, issue 8, of the DC Comics series Booster Gold. Reagan would also make an appearance in

Strontium Dog ''Strontium Dog'' was a long-running British comics series starring Johnny Alpha, a mutant bounty hunter who lives in Earth's future. The series was created in 1978 by writer John Wagner (under the pseudonym T. B. Grover) and artist Carlos Ezque ...

, a long running strip in the British comic 2000 AD. In the storyline 'Bitch' (Progs 505–529, 1987), he is kidnapped and held hostage by time travelling alien freedom fighters. The Reagan of this story is depicted as somewhat bumbling and not at all aware of what is happening; despite all evidence to the contrary, he maintains the opinion throughout that he has been kidnapped by the '

Commies Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

'. In the 1986 miniseries ''

The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and pub ...

'',

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

is an operative for the United States government, covertly fighting Soviet forces in Latin America and serving as the president's right-hand man. Though unnamed, this president bears an identical resemblance to Reagan, who was in office when the comic was published. He also possesses Reagan's folksy way of speaking. Reagan was also a key character in the satirical comic strip ''Benchley'' by

Mort Drucker Morris "Mort" Drucker (March 22, 1929 – April 9, 2020) was an American caricaturist and comics artist best known as a contributor for over five decades in '' Mad'', where he specialized in satires on the leading feature films and televisio ...

and

Jerry Dumas Gerald John "Jerry" Dumas (June 6, 1930 – November 12, 2016) was an American cartoonist, best known for his ''Sam and Silo'' comic strip. Dumas was also a writer, illustrator, and essayist, and a columnist for the '' Greenwich Time''. Biograph ...

. The plot revolved around the fictive character Benchley who served as Reagan's assistant.

Web original

On the collaborative fiction writing website

SCP Foundation The SCP Foundation is a fictional secret organization documented by the collaborative-writing wiki project of the same name. Within the website's shared universe, the Foundation is responsible for capturing, containing, and studying various p ...

, Ronald Reagan is depicted in SCP-1981, an anomalous VHS tape that depicts the president giving corrupted versions of his

Evil Empire speech The "Evil Empire" speech was a speech delivered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983 during the Cold War. In that speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" and as "th ...

while accompanied by a black hooded figure, all while being gradually mutilated by an unseen force until he is unable to continue speaking. The tape changes in content every time it is viewed. The real-life Reagan of the SCP universe was said to have developed an unhealthy obsession and chronic nightmares with SCP-1981 after being shown the tape, and developed Alzheimer's Disease after Secret Service agents' unqualified attempt at inducing a

drug-induced amnesia Drug-induced amnesia is amnesia caused by drugs. Amnesia may be therapeutic for medical treatment or for medical procedures, or it may be a side-effect of a drug, such as alcohol, or certain medications for psychiatric disorders, such as benzodiaz ...

using amnestics stolen from the SCP Foundation.

Music

Reagan is the subject of many songs.

Toys

In 2020, ''Amazo Toys'' ran a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign for the ''United States Space Force Action Figures''. The basic 4 inch tall action figure for the Space Force Red team came with six head options, one of which was the Ghost of Ronald Reagan. In the series fiction the Ghost of Ronald Reagan is part of the Space Force Red team, led by Donald Trump, which is teamed up with the Space Force Blue team to right the Russian Space Agency. A second Kickstarter campaign by Amazo Toys was ''American Presidents Action Figure Collection'' which included a Ronald Reagan figure with two alternate heads.

Video games

* Reagan was featured as

easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

in 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' where he was seen in a poster shooting then Soviet leader

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

. He is also mentioned on the radio in the game and is also mentioned in the 2006 prequel game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories''. * On August 26, 2020, in the worldwide reveal of '' Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War'', Reagan is the president of the United States in the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

. He is voiced by Jeff Bergman. * In the video game ''

Wasteland 3 ''Wasteland 3'' is a role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is a sequel to ''Wasteland 2'' (2014) and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2020. It was po ...

'', a digitized version of Ronald Reagan is displayed on a computer screen similar to how

Max Headroom Max Headroom is a fictional artificial intelligence (AI) character portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. Advertised as "the first computer-generated TV presenter", Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, ...

was often depicted.

Postage stamps

After Reagan's death, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

issued a President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp in 2005.