The Ronald Reagan ‘GE’ tapes are restored and in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley California. Read about it below and see a video of the General Electric celebration of the Reagan Centennial.
Ronald Reagan was a great president, but before he was President of the United States, he was Governor of California. Before that he was an actor. While he was an actor, he hosted television’s ‘General Electric Theater’. For a long time it was thought that the tapes from many of the GE episodes were damaged or lost. However, they have been found and restored and all 208 episodes of ‘General Electric Theater’ hosted by Ronald Reagan have been delivered to former First Lady Nancy Reagan. She received the GE tapes on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 as part of the two-year celebration of the late president’s 100th birthday.
The ‘GE Tapes’ date from 1954 to 1962. They were recently uncovered in the General Electric/NBC Universal archives. They were restored to broadcast quality so that they can be used in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. During the 1950s Reagan traveled to plants throughout the nation as GE’s goodwill ambassador.
‘The opportunity to represent GE back in the 1950s, and the encouragement he received from the employees he met along the way, really launched Ronnie’s career in public service,’ Mrs. Reagan said in a statement released Wednesday. ‘I know he would be honored by this tribute.’
Jeff Immelt, GE CEO delivered the tapes to Mrs. Reagan at the library yesterday evening. General Electric is spending $15 million sponsoring the Ronald Reagan Centennial festivities. The gift includes $10 million in cash, advertising and promotion in support of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. That includes refurbishing a museum that will be unveiled on the eve of the president’s 100th birthday. Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911. The museum will include the new General Electric Theater that will focus on Reagan’s career in radio, television and film.
Five million will go to the Reagan Presidential Foundation to launch and support the GE-Reagan Scholars Program. The Foundation will provide 200 four-year college scholarships over the next decade to students who exemplify the vision and values personified by Reagan.
‘President Reagan helped our company expand its reach during a golden age of American technological progress,’ Immelt said in a statement. ‘He embodied the optimistic and innovative spirit of our company, and later successfully carried those qualities with him to the White House.’
Reagan ‘GE’ Tapes Restored – Video
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