Back when Reagan was a corny Hollywood actor

Reagan, the actor

The Gipper on screen.

Alex Q. Arbuckle

1940-1958

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

You know him now as the 40th president of the United States. But first, he juggled monkeys for Hollywood.Ronald Reagan started his career in show business in Des Moines, Iowa as a radio announcer for baseball games. In 1937, while traveling through California, Reagan took a screen test for Warner Brothers, eventually signing a seven-year contract with the studio. Later that year, he appeared in his first film, Love is on the Air.In 1938, he starred in Brother Rat alongside Jane Wyman, who he married two years later.Reagan earned his nickname, "The Gipper," in 1940, when he played George "The Gipper" Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American.

Reagan in The Bad Man. Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Reagan performs in The Winning Team alongside Dorothy Adams and Doris Day. Credit: Warner Bros./Getty Images

He appeared in dozens of films over the following few years, but his ascent to stardom was stymied when he was ordered to active military duty in April 1942.After serving nearly four years stateside in the film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces, narrating and acting in propaganda and training films, Reagan returned to Hollywood in 1947 as the star of film Stallion Road.Reagan and Jane Wyman divorced in 1949. That same year, while acting as president of the Screen Actors Guild, he met Nancy Davis, who requested his help in removing her name from a Communist blacklist. They married in 1952.As film roles dwindled, Reagan expanded to television, taking supporting and leading roles, and hosting specials. His final role was as host of the anthology series Death Valley Days. In 1965, he left showbiz to run for governor of California.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Reagan performs with Cloris Leachman on an episode of Nash Airflyte Theater. Credit: CBS/Getty Images

Reagan gets made up for an appearance on an episode of Nash Airflyte Theatre. Credit: CBS/Getty Images

Reagan performs with Cloris Leachman on an episode of Nash Airflyte Theater. Credit: CBS/Getty Images

Reagan poses in a promo still for Tropic Zone. Credit: Paramount Pictures/Getty Images

Reagan performs on the television show Death Valley Days. Credit: US Borax/Getty Images

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Reagan performs with Rhonda Fleming in The Last Outpost. Credit: Mondadori/Getty Images

Reagan and Barbara Stanwyck pose for a promo still for Cattle Queen of Montana. Credit: Pressefoto Kindermann/ullstein bild/Getty Images

A promo still for Cattle Queen of Montana. Credit: BENHAMOU SERGE/GAMMA/Getty Images

Reagan performs in the General Electric Theater CBS teleplay The Lord's Dollar. Credit: Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Credit: A787/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Credit: A787/GAMMA/Getty Images