A piece of Dixon history: The climax of Neil Reagan’s career 

Editor’s note: This is the third installment of a three-part series about Ronald Reagan’s older brother, Neil. Parts 1 and 2 were published Jan. 17 and 31.

From 1952 to 1964, Neil Reagan had a producer and director of “Death Valley Days,” a popular national TV show. In 1964, the show was looking for a new star to be its on-air spokesperson and host.

At the time, Ronald Reagan’s TV and movie career was at a standstill. In 1962, he just ended 10 years as the spokesperson and star of CBS’s weekly “General Electric Theatre,” and he was without regular employment.

Neil successfully persuaded his brother to take the “Death Valley Days” job. The timing was perfect. The job helped Ron maintain a high public profile at a time when more people were urging him to run for governor of California. Ron kept the TV job until 1966, when he finally entered the governor’s race.

Seasoned media strategist

Who managed Ronald’s media campaign? Armed with 30 years of radio, television, and advertising experience, 58-year-old Moon Reagan became the media mastermind behind Ron’s 1966 campaign.

His help was crucial. After all, Ronald Reagan was a political neophyte who had never run for public office. It didn’t help that he had recently switched parties.

But Neil contended that the campaign’s magic was all due to Ronald – his winning personality, his photographic memory for details, and his world-class communication skills. Neil’s strategy was to avoid gimmickry and just get Ronald to talk directly to people and to the camera. Knowing Ronald’s audience appeal in the movies and on television, Neil was confident that his little brother could win hearts and minds by the direct approach.

It worked … in a big way. Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Governor Pat Brown by a landslide, winning 56 of the state’s 59 counties.

Neil and McCann-Erickson again returned in 1970 to manage advertising for Reagan’s reelection campaign. Even though California was then becoming a popular haven for leftist radicals, the conservative Governor Reagan won handily again, winning 47 of California’s 59 counties.

Hometown hero

In December 1970, immediately after California voters reelected Reagan as governor, Dutch and Moon returned for a visit to their home state of Illinois. Eureka College, their alma mater, asked them to dedicate the new Reagan Physical Education Center. Note that the college named the facility, not just for Ronald Reagan, but for Neil and Ronald.

In bestowing the honor on the two brothers, the school said, “They have maintained high standards of character and ethics in their dealings with both friends and opponents. They hold in high regard their heritage, family, and college and have acknowledged their deep appreciation of these values.”

Drifting back to Dixon

When Moon retired in 1973, his thoughts often drifted back to his Dixon and Eureka roots. For several years, he served on the board of Eureka College. Whenever he came back to Illinois, he said that his standard practice was to rent a car and stay in Dixon for two or three days and then go to Davenport, visiting with old Dixon friends.

With his characteristic wry smile and a twinkle in his eye, he once said, “Gangs of us, both in Dixon and Davenport, get together for lunches and dinners and tell untruths about how great we were back in those days.”

In 1980, after Ronald became the Republican nominee for president, Neil became the honorary chairperson of the Reagan Home Restoration Committee, and he served many years in that role. His involvement was crucial to the committee’s progress, as he provided invaluable insights and direction for the restoration of the boyhood home to its 1920s appearance.

Neil had inherited from his mother some original furniture, heirlooms and old photos that would have been helpful in restoring the home. However, the devastating Bel Air fire of November 1961 had completely destroyed his California home along with 487 other homes.

Consequently, Neil’s memory was invaluable to the restoration committee. His input involved personal meetings and sharing myriad details about the dimensions and decorations of rooms. Moon also revealed many valuable stories of the Reagan boys’ life in the home and in Dixon. Many of his stories have become a centerpiece of Reagan lore that now echoes throughout Dixon and especially on tours of the Reagan Home.

The fruit of his labor

In 1980 and 1984, Neil was able to witness his brother’s greatest success: being elected – and reelected – president of the United States. As the president’s only sibling, Neil participated in the inauguration and in family photo ops at the White House. Knowing that he had a significant role in launching Ronald’s political career in the 1960s, Moon had to feel some satisfaction that his work continued to bear fruit long after he retired.

On Feb. 6, 1984, he joined his brother in Dixon for the huge celebration of President Reagan’s 73rd birthday. During that visit, he and the president dedicated the boyhood home, enjoyed lunch in its dining room, and later visited a host of old Dixon friends.

Final days

Moon’s health began to fail in 1996. Through his final days of trial, Ronald Reagan kept constant contact with his brother. After all, Neil was the president’s lifelong companion and friend who had followed him from Tampico to Dixon, from Eureka to Iowa, and then to Hollywood, the California governor’s mansion, and even to the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Neil died on Dec. 11, 1996, at age 88 in San Diego. Upon announcing his passing, Ronald and Nancy Reagan issued a simple heartfelt message to the press.

“We will miss him terribly.”

Throughout Neil’s life, his fame and achievements were completely overshadowed by his brother’s global renown. But when Dixon remembers former Dixonites who later became famous, the name of John Neil Reagan deserves a place on that list.

• Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.