sold Ronald Reagan – The Employment Agreement For His First Television Appearance

Reagan appeared in more than 50 films over two decades in Hollywood, but by the dawn of the 1950’s the medium of television was exploding, and his movie career (and those of many other actors) was in decline. Reagan determined to take advantage of this trend and break into TV. On December 7, 1950, he made his historic television network debut on the Nash Airflyte Theatre.

This is a contract for that debut.

Document Signed, New York, November 24, 1950, agreeing that the Management Corporation of America (MCA) is his official employer for the appearance. It is entitled “Agreement between Ronald Reagan and Management Corporation of America dated Nov. 24, 1950, for Nash Airflyte Theatre program 12-7-50.” “…You have advised me that you are acting as my employer thereunder; that I have consented to and hereby approve of your so acting as my employer…that neither the execution of such agreement, nor any of the provisions thereof, nor your acting as my employer thereunder, shall be deemed or construed to be a breach of any of the provisions of any agency and management contracts…”

This agreement would have been originally signed with a companion document spelling out other terms and conditions of the employment arrangement. This appearance gave Reagan his start in TV; and his relationship with MCA also changed history. The break that would lead Reagan into politics came when Taft Scheiber of MCA acquainted him with the General Electric Theater, a weekly television program that needed a host. Some of Reagan’s productions had impressed G.E. executives and they offered him the job. It climbed to be the number-one show in its time slot, making Reagan one of the most recognizable men in America.

Selected to serve as the company’s national spokesman, Reagan began traveling for G.E. around the country; he spoke at corporate banquets and to employees at factories, gaining a valuable political apprenticeship. His speeches were part patriotism and part economics, and his message became increasingly conservative. "I began to talk more and more," he remembered, "of how government had expanded and was infringing on liberties and interfering with private enterprise.”His political views and convincing spokesmanship brought him to the attention of conservatives in the Republican Party and led to a nationally televised speech for Barry Goldwater, "A Time for Choosing," on October 27, 1964.

This speech, which David Broder hailed as "the most successful political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic Convention with his ‘Cross of Gold’ speech," brought in a large volume of donations for the Republican candidate and marked the beginning of Reagan’s reign as the leading conservative for the next 25 years. Thus did television lead to the political career of Ronald Reagan.