Most of the world remembers Ronald Reagan and Nancy (Davis) Reagan as geriatric figures in the White House in the 1980s. And it remembers Jane Wyman as the fierce empress, Angela Channing, in the decade''s hit TV series, Falcon Crest. But long before that, two young wannabee stars, Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, had arrived as untested hopefuls in Hollywood. Each of them separately stormed Warner Brothers, looking for movie stardom and love—and finding both beyond their wildest dreams. They were followed, in time, by Nancy Davis, who began her career posing for cheesecake in a failed attempt by the studio to turn her into a sex symbol.
In their memoirs, Ronald and Nancy (Jane didn''t write one) paid scant attention to their "wild and wonderful years" in Hollywood. To provide that missing link in their lives, Blood Moon''s Love Triangle explores in depth the trio''s passions, fury, betrayal, loves won and lost, and the conflicts and rivalries they generated.
A liberal New Deal Democrat, Reagan quickly became a handsome leading man in "B" pictures and a "babe magnet," as studio mogul Jack Warner defined him, "a swordsman like our resident Don Juan, Errol Flynn." Reagan himself admitted he developed "Leading Lady-itis" even for stars he didn''t appear with. He launched a bevy of affairs with such glamorous icons as Lana Turner, Betty Grable and Susan Hayward, even a "too young Elizabeth Taylor." He eventually married Jane, but he was not faithful to her, enjoying back alley affairs with the likes of "The Oomph Girl," Ann Sheridan.
Jane, too, had her affairs on the side, notably with Lew Ayres (Ginger Rogers'' ex) while filming her Oscar-winning Johnny Belinda. After dumping Reagan, Jane launched a series of affairs herself, battling Joan Crawford (for Hollywood''s most studly and newsworthy attorney, Greg Bautzer), and Marilyn Monroe (for bandleader Fred Karger, divorcing him, marrying him again, and finally divorcing him for good.)
Reagan''s oldest son, Michael (adopted), later said, "If Nancy knew that one day she would be First Lady, she would have cleaned up her act." He was referring to her notorious days as a starlet in the late 1940s and early 50s, when the grapevine had it that: "her phone number was passed around a lot." The list of her intimate involvements is long, including Clark Gable, whom she wanted to marry; Spencer Tracy; Yul Brynner; Frank Sinatra; Marlon Brando; Milton Berle; Peter Lawford; Robert Walker; et al.
Love Triangle, a proud and presidential addition to Blood Moon''s Babylon series, digs deep into what these three young movie stars were up to decades before two of them took over the Free World. In 2015, this one-of-a-kind triple biography was designated Runner-up to BEST BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR at the 2015 Hollywood Book Festival
Industry Reviews
Love Triangle: Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman & Nancy Davis may find its way onto many a Republican Reagan fan's reading shelf; but those who expect another Reagan celebration will be surprised: this is lurid Hollywood expose writing at its best, and outlines the truths surrounding one of the most provocative industry scandals in the world.There are already so many biographies of the Reagans on the market that one might expect similar mile-markers from this: be prepared for shock and awe; because Love Triangle doesn't take your ordinary approach to biography and describes a love triangle that eventually bumped a major Hollywood movie star from the possibility of being First Lady and replaced her with a lesser-known Grade B actress (Nancy Davis).From politics and betrayal to romance, infidelity, and sordid affairs, Love Triangle is a steamy, eye-opening story that blows the lid off of the Reagan illusion to raise eyebrows on both sides of the big screen.Black and white photos liberally pepper an account of the careers of all three and the lasting shock of their stormy relationships in a delightful pursuit especially recommended for any who relish Hollywood gossip. http://www.midwestbookreview.com/calbw/may_15.htm#Independent -- Diane Donovan California Bookwatch Section of the Midwest Book Review, May, 2015
