Love Triangle: Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, & Nancy Davis (Blood Moon's Babylon Series) Read online

  LOVE TRIANGLE

  RONALD REAGAN,

  JANE WYMAN, &

  NANCY DAVIS

  ALL THE GOSSIP

  UNFIT TO PRINT

  AWARD-WINNING ENTERTAINMENT

  ABOUT HOW AMERICA INTERPRETS ITS CELEBRITIES

  WWW.BLOODMOONPRODUCTIONS.COM

  “Love Triangle is that rare animal: A book that appeals both to the devotees and the detractors of Ronald Reagan. There’s not a page in this large, monumentally researched work that doesn’t contain a gold nugget of insider Hollywood revelation, some of which might shock the faint of heart.”

  “All the dish is here on star Jane Wyman and starlet Nancy Davis, too, those naughty ladies from the good (bad) days of Golden Age Tinseltown. Back then, secrets were to be covered up, not exposed as they are so blatantly today when personal communications, not meant for public viewing, lead off the night news, thanks to some hacker.”

  —Florence Gavin

  Dirty Laundry

  “There are guilty pleasures. Then there is the master of guilty pleasures, Darwin Porter. There is nothing like reading him for passing the hours. He is the Nietzsche of Naughtiness, the Goethe of Gossip, the Proust of Pop Culture. Porter knows all the nasty buzz anyone has ever heard whispered in dark bars, dim alleys, and confessional booths. And lovingly, precisely, and in as straightforward a manner as an oncoming train, his prose whacks you between the eyes with the greatest gossip since Kenneth Anger. Some would say better than Anger.”

  —Alan W. Petrucelli

  The Entertainment Report

  Stage and Screen Examiner

  Examiner.com

  A Word About Phraseologies

  Since we at Blood Moon weren’t privy to long-ago conversations as they were unfolding, we have relied on the memories of our sources for the conversational tone and phraseologies of what we’ve recorded within the pages of this book.

  This writing technique, as it applies to modern biography, has been defined as “conversational storytelling” by The New York Times, which labeled it as an acceptable literary device for “engaging reading.”

  Blood Moon is not alone in replicating, “as remembered” dialogues from dead sources. Truman Capote and Norman Mailer were pioneers of direct quotes, and today, they appear in countless other memoirs, ranging from those of Patti Davis to those of the long-time mistress (Verita Thompson) of Humphrey Bogart.

  Some people have expressed displeasure in the fact that direct quotes and “as remembered” dialogue have become a standard—some would say “mandatory”—fixture in pop culture biographies today.

  If that is the case with anyone who’s reading this now, they should perhaps turn to other, more traditional and self-consciously “scholastic” works instead.

  Best wishes to all of you, with thanks for your interest in our work.

  Danforth Prince

  President and Founder

  Blood Moon Productions

  LOVE TRIANGLE

  RONALD REAGAN,

  JANE WYMAN, &

  NANCY DAVIS

  DARWIN PORTER & DANFORTH PRINCE

  AND COMING SOON!

  Peter O’Toole

  Hellraiser, Sexual Outlaw, Irish Rebel

  Bill & Hillary

  So This Is That Thing Called Love

  OTHER BOOKS BY DARWIN PORTER

  BIOGRAPHIES

  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

  A Life Beyond Her Wildest Dreams

  Pink Triangle

  The Feuds and Private Lives of

  Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote,

  and Famous Members of their Entourages.

  Those Glamorous Gabors

  Bombshells from Budapest

  Inside Linda Lovelace’s Deep Throat

  Degradation, Porno Chic, and the Rise of Feminism

  Elizabeth Taylor

  There is Nothing Like a Dame

  Marilyn at Rainbow’s End

  Sex, Lies, Murder, and the Great Cover-up

  J. Edgar Hoover & Clyde Tolson

  Investigating the Sexual Secrets of America’s Most Famous Men and Women

  Frank Sinatra

  The Boudoir Singer. All the Gossip Unfit to Print

  The Kennedys

  All the Gossip Unfit to Print

  Humphrey Bogart, The making of a Legend (2010), and

  The Secret Life of Humphrey Bogart (2003)

  Howard Hughes

  Hell’s Angel

  Steve McQueen

  King of Cool, Tales of a Lurid Life

  Paul Newman

  The Man Behind the Baby Blues

  Merv Griffin

  A Life in the Closet

  Brando Unzipped

  Katharine the Great

  Hepburn, Secrets of a Lifetime Revealed

  Jacko, His Rise and Fall

  The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson

  and, co-authored with Roy Moseley

  Damn You, Scarlett O’Hara,

  The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh & and Laurence Olivier

  FILM CRITICISM

  Blood Moon’s 2005 Guide to the Glitter Awards

  Blood Moon’s 2006 Guide to Film,

  Blood Moon’s 2007 Guide to Film, and

  50 Years of Queer Cinema

  500 of the Best GLBTQ Films Ever Made

  NON-FICTION

  Hollywood Babylon—It’s Back! and

  Hollywood Babylon Strikes Again!

  NOVELS

  Butterflies in Heat,

  Marika, Venus (a roman à clef based on the life of Anaïs Nin)

  Razzle-Dazzle,

  Midnight in Savannah,

  Rhinestone Country,

  Blood Moon,

  and Hollywood’s Silent Closet

  TRAVEL GUIDES

  Many Editions and Many Variations of The Frommer Guides, The American Express Guides, and/or TWA Guides, et alia to:

  Andalusia, Andorra, Anguilla, Aruba, Atlanta, Austria, the Azores, The Bahamas, Barbados, the Bavarian Alps, Berlin, Bermuda, Bonaire and Curaçao, Boston, the British Virgin Islands, Budapest, Bulgaria, California, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean and its “Ports of Call, ” the Cayman Islands, Ceuta, the Channel Islands (UK), Charleston (SC), Corsica, Costa del Sol (Spain), Denmark, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Edinburgh, England, Estonia, “Europe by Rail, ” the Faroe Islands, Finland, Florence, France, Frankfurt, the French Riviera, Geneva, Georgia (USA), Germany, Gibraltar, Glasgow, Granada (Spain), Great Britain, Greenland, Grenada (West Indies), Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jamaica, Key West & the Florida Keys, Las Vegas, Liechtenstein, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Maine, Malta, Martinique & Guadeloupe, Massachusetts, Morocco, Munich, New England, New Orleans, North Carolina, Norway, Paris, Poland, Portugal, Provence, Puerto Rico, Romania, Rome, Salzburg, San Diego, San Francisco, San Marino, Sardinia, Savannah, Scandinavia, Scotland, Seville, the Shetland Islands, Sicily, Sint Maartin & St. Martin, South Carolina, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, the Turks & Caicos, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Venice, Vienna and the Danube, Wales, and Zurich.

  LOVE TRIANGLE

  Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, & Nancy Davis

  Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince

  Copyright ©2014, Blood Moon Productions, Ltd.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  www.BloodMoonProductions.com

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  ISBN 978-1-936003-41-9

  Special thanks to th
e Stanley Mills Haggart Collection, the Woodrow Parrish-Martin Collection, the H. Lee Phillips Collection, the Fredric and Grace Smithey Collection, and Elsa Maxwell Café Society.

  Cover designs by Richard Leeds (Bigwigdesign.com)

  Videography and Publicity Trailers by Piotr Kajstura

  Distributed worldwide through National Book Network

  (www.NBNbooks.com)

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

  Thanks for the Memories

  THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO

  JOAN BLONDELL AND VAN JOHNSON

  AND TO STANLEY MILLS HAGGART AND WILLIAM HOPPER

  Ω

  PLUS A CAST OF HUNDREDS OF OTHER PLAYERS FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, SOME OF WHOM DID NOT WANT TO BE NAMED.

  RONALD REAGAN WAS THE FIRST U.S. PRESIDENT TO TRIUMPH OVER WHAT HAD BEEN CONSIDERED, PRIOR TO HIS ELECTION, AN INSURMOUNTABLE STIGMA: HE WAS A DIVORCÉ WHO HAD BEEN MARRIED TWICE.

  THIS IS THE STORY OF THE LOVE TRIANGLE WHOSE COMBATANTS ARE FEATURED BELOW.

  Ronald Reagan with Jane Wyman. Love is in bloom. Their marriage lasted from 1940 to 1948.

  Ronald Reagan with Nancy Davis. Their “until-death-do-us-part” union lasted from 1952 until 2004.

  Contents

  PROLOGUE #1: RONALD REAGAN

  The Heartland’s Heartthrob Becomes the Horny, Hardworking, Most Eligible Bachelor in Des Moines, and Radio Broadcasting’s “Sports Voice of the Midwest.”

  PROLOGUE #2: SARAH JANE FULKS (JANE WYMAN)

  Abandoned and Molested, “Pug Nose” Wyman is Seduced into a Teenage Marriage.

  PROLOGUE #3: ANNE FRANCIS ROBBINS (NANCY DAVIS)

  Born to a potty-mouthed Vaudevillian actress who imagined herself as Scarlett O’Hara, “Cuddles” Davis Becomes an Ambitious Debutante in a World of Theatrical Celebrities.

  ***

  CHAPTER ONE

  Before Meeting Reagan, “Sarah Jane” Marries a Sex Maniac and later, a Trannie Who Sold Dresses. Her First Marriage is Suppressed, the Other Forgotten. Mating Games: Jane’s Romantic Detours with George Raft, Errol Flynn, & Bing Crosby. Jane and the “Chorus Girl Cuties” (Lucille Ball, Betty Grable, & Paulette Goddard).

  CHAPTER TWO

  Ronald Reagan in Hollywood—Warner Brothers’ “Errol Flynn of the B’s.” A Victim of Chronic “Leadinglady-itis,” He Falls in Love Again...and Again...and Again...and Again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jane Wyman, Starlet on the Rise, Pursues Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, and Robert Taylor. Overdressed, Ambitious, and Outfitted with Cheap, Flashy Jewelry, “the Hey-Hey Girl” Dances the Night Away.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Horndog Reagan,” Conquering Warners, Starlet by Starlet. “He’s a Greater Swordsman than Errol Flynn.” Reagan About His Role in Dark Victory: “Just because I was cast as a homo doesn’t mean I am one.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Fiery Susan Hayward Battles Jane Wyman for Reagan during His War with the Dead End Kids. Reagan Complains: “Too Many Starlets are Demanding my Services.” Bobbysoxers in Philadelphia Strip “Sexy Ronnie” Naked.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Louella Parsons’ “Favorite Lovebirds,” Ronnie and Jane, Begin Married Life. “Win One For the Gipper” Morphs into a Vote-Getting Jingle for Future Campaigns. USC’s Art Department Offers Reagan a Stint as a Nude Model.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  When Quoted by His Enemies, Reagan’s Most Famous Movie Line, “Where’s the Rest of Me?” Becomes a Mockery of His Shortcomings. The Press Hails “Jane and Ronnie” as America’s Perfect Couple. “Dreamboats” John Payne and Dennis Morgan Pursue Jane, as Reagan is Ensnared by Rival Blondes, Betty Grable and Carole Landis.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  After His Success in Kings Row, Reagan Becomes MCA’s “Million Dollar Baby.” Drafted into the Army, He Objects to Medics Fondling “My Family Jewels.” Jane Enlists the Homosexual Actor Van Johnson as a “Beard” to Disguise Her Infidelities.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Jane and Reagan Go to War. When Reagan Becomes a Propaganda Agent for the U.S. Army—a “Bloodless Celluloid Commando”—His Popularity Roars to An All-Time High. Jane, Finding True Love in the Arms of John Payne, Defines Reagan as a “Has-Been.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Starlet Nancy Davis Joins MGM’s Contract Players and Gets a Reputation as “One of Those Girls Whose Phone Number Gets Handed Around a Lot.” Her romantic interludes include “Quality Time” with Clark Gable, Peter Lawford, Robert Walker, Alfred Drake, Mike Wallace, and Marlon Brando, and career-enhancing assistance from Spencer Tracy and MGM’s Casting Director, Benny Thau.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jane Wins an Oscar—At Last, Big-time Stardom for “the Hey-Hey Girl.” She Spends Lost Weekends with Ray Milland, and Works Through Marital Dramas Behind the Scenes of Johnny Belinda. Jane to Reagan: “I’m in love with Lew Ayres, and he wants to marry me.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Jane Dumps Reagan, Leaving Him Broken-Hearted and Suicidal. Pistol-Packin’ Reagan Faces Death Threats from Union Brass, then Outs Hollywood Commies to the FBI. In His New Role as a Liberated, Highly Visible Bachelor on the Prowl, He Pleasures Marilyn Monroe and Doris Day.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Jane Battles Marilyn for the Man Who Becomes Her Husband #4 and #5. A “Cougar on the Prowl,” with a Magnificent Obsession, She Seeks Young, Hot, and Handsome Male Flesh on the Hoof, Falling in Love with Rock Hudson, Until She Discovers Him in Bed with Her Husband.

  SPECIAL FEATURE: HELLCATS OF THE NAVY

  Hellcat Reagan and Nurse Nancy Co-Star in a “Jingoistic Wartime Potboiler.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Ronnie and Nancy”—Their Tortuous, Sometimes Reluctant Road to Marriage, and the Dysfunctional Union of Two Competing Families. Before Presiding as First Lady of the Free World, Nancy Learns to Shovel Horse Manure at her Boyfriend’s Ranch in Malibu.

  SPECIAL FEATURE: WHITE HOUSE NIGHTS

  Frank Sinatra and the Reagans: A Love Triangle.

  SPECIAL FEATURE: “GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!”

  What a Venerable Starlette of B-List Films, “Songbird” Joy Hodges, told the President of the Soviet Union during a State Dinner at the White House.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN. THE LONG GOODBYE. FINALE. REST IN PEACE.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

  Who Talked and Who Didn’t.

  RECORDING THE VOICES

  Love Triangle: Its Authors

  Scenes from the Life of an American President

  “Back in Dixon, Illinois, a rich older woman wanted me to be her kept boy. But I had other plans. I headed for Hollywood.”

  “Talk about getting your ass beat. When I returned to my alma mater, Eureka College, in 1947, my TKE frat brothers left me with red buns.”

  (Left) “If there’s one thing I liked to do, it was playing Cowboys and Indians.”

  “Here, I’m ready to scalp a few, although Barbara Stanwyck (right, his co-star in Cattle Queen of Montana; 1954) preferred to shoot them down off their horses.”

  “In 1955, John Payne and I made Tennessee’s Partner. People in Hollywood always claimed that Jane had this thing for Payne.”

  “Here, he and I take a break and absorb some sun. You decide which of us is the hottie.”

  “Okay, so Jack Warner had fired me and I had to make a living. Here I am in Las Vegas with the slapstick Honey Brothers. It was burlesque, but I insisted that the showgals wear pasties.”

  Michigan governor George Romney (yes, Mitt’s father) watches as Reagan fails to flip a jelly bean into his mouth. The setting was the Governors’ Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 1967.

  Running for Governor of California in 1966, Reagan on horseback waves his cowboy hat in San Jose during Mexican Independence Day. He told friends, “Sacramento is the first act before I gallop off to the White House.”

  “When Nancy and I arrived in Sacramento, we realized that that Victorian monstrosity of a governor’s mansion was a damn fire trap. We moved out. Here I am, carrying
our dishes.”

  During his Governorship, the Reagans’ housing dilemma was solved by rich friends, who bought them an elegant home in an exclusive suburb of Sacramento.

  “At Eureka College, they wouldn’t let me on the baseball team. I showed them.”

  “Here, as Governor of California, I threw out the first ball of the 1972 World Series at Oakland.”

  “Here, I am at my ranch in California on a foggy day, August 13, 1981.”

  “Whereas Hitler danced a jig at the fall of France, I’m tossing my leg into the air after signing the largest tax reduction and spending control bill in American history.”

  “At my ranch in California, I drove my Jeep to clear some dead limbs from my property.”

  “In Washington, I set out to clear deadwood from the government.”

  “Forget Milton Berle! That Liz from across the pond could wow them with her jokes about the heavy rains of California.”

  On March 10, 1983, Queen Elizabeth II visited the flooded Reagan spread, Rancho del Cielo.

  Nancy told the press, “Thank god she didn’t spend the night! Our guest bedroom could house a Munchkin or two from The Wizard of Oz. And Ronnie used to say, ‘If you sat down on the can, your legs stuck out the door.’”

  Reagan shook the hand of John F. Kennedy, Jr., as Caroline Kennedy looks on. It was their first visit to the White House since the Presidential regime of Richard Nixon in 1973.