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stoneunhinged Inner circle 3067 Posts |
Crazy question, I suppose, but my music partner Hans insists that there was a big to-do in the German press regarding the pronunciation of Ronald Reagan's name. The theory (conspiracy theory?) goes like this:
until Reagan ran for President, he had always gone by the name Ronald "Ree-gun"--as an actor and as governor. I have never heard this before, and it seems ridiculous to me. I told Hans so. He stuck to his guns. So: without looking it up (because surely there must be some old cigarette commercials on YouTube where Ronnie says, "Hello, I'm..."), what have any of you heard about this? Weigh in without looking it up. Then, after the thread has progressed, let's look for those old cigarette commercials. |
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Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
It's been Raygun as long as I can remember.
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
The Gipper
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
Got me.
I do know that Sam Yorty pronounced the city of which he was mayor for twelve years los-ang-guh-less. I also know that Tom Lehrer, in his song George Murphy (on the album That Was The Year That Was, released in 1965), pronounced it ray'-gun (rhyming it with Helen Gahagan); that's at least some evidence that Reagan pronounced it ray'-gun before running for President. |
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LobowolfXXX Inner circle La Famiglia 1196 Posts |
I'd never heard it as anything other than Ray-Gun. This is consistent with his Irish heritage (e.g. the Irish poet Yeats rhymes sounds like the American novelist Yates, not like the British poet Keats; I believe this stems from The Great Vowel Shift). Without having looked it up, I tend not to believe Hans.
"Torture doesn't work" lol
Guess they forgot to tell Bill Buckley. "...as we reason and love, we are able to hope. And hope enables us to resist those things that would enslave us." |
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S2000magician Inner circle Yorba Linda, CA 3465 Posts |
Hans is untrustworthy; we should never believe anything Hans says; actuarially, he's a bad risk.
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
Ray-Gan. Guaranteed. I've been to the Reagan Library (fantastic!!!) and he also helped me once with a Disney promotion I produced.
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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HerbLarry Special user Poof! 731 Posts |
Either way Ray-Gun sounds much more "Don't screw with me cause I'm the President".
You know why don't act naive.
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balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-08-27 14:45, stoneunhinged wrote: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/other-talk/4639......gan.html "I just got the new Merv Griffin DVD set. cool set by the way. I found it interesting that 2 times so far in watching less than half the interviews Ronald Reagan's name came up. In the 60s early 70s a couple of times Merv and Sammy Davis Jr and I believe John Wayne referred to him as Ronald Ree-gun not Ray-gun. Was this the common pronunciation at the time? Anyone know? Why did it change? How did Ronnie feel about it?"
Make America Great Again! - Trump in 2020 ... "We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on welfare and food stamps. Did anyone help me? No." - Craig T. Nelson, actor.
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balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts |
Okay, so Hans' theory sounds nutty to me. However ...
It sounds as though Reagan knew how his name was pronounced, but others in the movie / tv / entertainment industry and in politics were not so sure initially. So it seems entirely reasonable to me that if his name was ever mentioned over the credits at the end of a movie, some voice over announcer might have easily mispronounced it. http://www.people.com/people/archive/art......,00.html Blarney Their ancestors are from Ireland, but somehow President Ronald Reagan and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan managed to be born into families of different persuasions concerning the spelling and pronunciation of their name. Regan reports that the President talked to him about their name problem when the Secretary was appointed late last year and even had a joke ready for the occasion. "When I was first running for office and wasn't well known," Reagan began, "this gentleman was preparing to introduce me at a luncheon in New York the next day." The man tossed in bed trying to figure out if the candidate's name was pronounced 'Ree-gun' or 'Ray-gun.' Finally he got up and went for a walk, and ran into Henny Youngman out walking his dog. He confided the problem to Youngman. Henny asked whether the candidate was Irish. Told he was, Youngman declared, 'It's Ray-gun, I guarantee it. I know how those Irishmen pronounce their names. It's definitely 'Ray-gun.' " The gentleman thanked Henny, then politely admired his dog and asked what kind it was. "Thank you," said Youngman. "it's a bagel."
Make America Great Again! - Trump in 2020 ... "We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on welfare and food stamps. Did anyone help me? No." - Craig T. Nelson, actor.
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Scott Cram Inner circle 2678 Posts |
It didn't help with the pronunciation any when he appointed Donald Regan (pronounced "Ree-gun") as his 1st term Treasury Secretary.
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Back during his Star Wars defense system days, we started calling him Ray Gun. I actually developed a magic routine of Ronald Ray Gun vs Gadaffi Duck. I actually found a picture of Daffy Duck with a box full of rockets (fireworks)!
The trick invoved a deck that exploded to reveal a chosen card. Lots of fun, but the topical-ness soon became obsolete.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
I used to watch Ronnie when he hosted Death Valley Days as well as his western films. As far back as I can recall it's always been Ray-gan.
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
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jazzy snazzy Inner circle run off by a mob of Villagers wielding 2109 Posts |
Good news! I'm not crazy afterall.
When I was a kid, he was Ronald REEGAN. Here's the proof... http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index.jsp?cid=178703 Unable to locate any Death Valley Days clips yet but you will notice the announcer in this GE clip seems rather tentative in his pronunciation. This was during Reagan's transition to politics. I'm 99.99% sure he used to pronounce it With the long e sound in the fifties. http://www.ge.com/reagan/video.html
"The secret of life is to look good from a distance."
-Charles Schulz |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Unless mispronounced his family always used Raygun. I new a guy pronounced Ree gun and his name was spelled Regan...
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
It's pronounced Dai.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Landster, you don't realize how close I came to that same answer.
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Bill Hilly Elite user 449 Posts |
On the Woodstock album, they call him Rrraaayyygun-Zap.
"He's a drugstore trick-drivin' man...." |
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ClintonMagus Inner circle Southwestern Southeast 3997 Posts |
I know everything, and it's always been RAY-gn...
Things are more like they are today than they've ever been before...
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-08-28 00:01, ClintonMagus wrote: LOL!!
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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