Before he was the Commander in Chief and before he was Governor of California, Ronald Reagan was a host, pitch man and even motivational speaker for General Electric, the parent company of NBC-Universal.
Wednesday night, GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt presented the Reagan Library with a special gift of a restored archive of the 208 episodes of GE Theater hosted by Reagan.
Former First Lady Nancy Reagan accepted the stack of tapes, which will become part of the Reagan Library archive. She said she recalled the GE years, from 1954 to 1962, as a time when her husband honed his interpersonal skills and became inspired about running for office.
GE donated the archives as part of the upcoming centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth, which begins next year. The company is also contributing $15 million in cash and advertising to promote the centennial, as well as establishment of a GE-Reagan Scholarship fund to be established.
