Denny Brisley had already joined the navy, but that didn’t lessen her enjoyment of the film when she watched it in Aspen with the Reagans. The president and Mrs. Reagan were settled on the couch together as usual, with their feet up on the ottoman and Rex nestled in between them. Brisley remembered the awkwardness during the “hot and heavy” love scenes between Cruise and McGillis that “seemed to go on forever”—the Reagans were well known to disapprove of too much adult content in movies. Incidentally, “Take My Breath Away,” the song used in their famous blue-tinted love scene, won the movie’s only Oscar, for best original song.
President Reagan was enthralled by the dogfighting scenes, which even the movie’s critics had to praise. Roger Ebert called them “brilliant.”IV The president’s dog apparently enjoyed them as well. During one intense aerial combat sequence, right as the movie’s pumping eighties power-rock soundtrack reached its crescendo, Rex jumped up on the ottoman and started barking at the screen. The excitement must have gotten to him, too. The president, however, was less than amused to have his concentration on the action broken. Brisley remembered laughing to herself, amused at the spectacle of the most powerful man in the world struggling to quiet his barking dog.
The president enjoyed Top Gun, perhaps not least because it was one of the biggest Hollywood movies in a long time that was unabashedly pro-military. Since the end of the Vietnam War, Hollywood had taken a disillusioned attitude toward the military, focusing on the bitterness and brutality of war and portraying American fighting men in a morally ambiguous light. Movies such as 1979’s Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter reflected this generally antiwar viewpoint. Movies about violent Vietnam veterans, like Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle (which reportedly inspired Reagan’s would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr.)V and Sylvester Stallone’s character John Rambo, from First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II), were in vogue as well.
But Top Gun, released more than a decade after the end of the Vietnam War, was not afraid to portray the American military unequivocally as the “good guys,” and that was certainly more in line with Reagan’s own thinking. He respected all men and women in the service, and the year before, during a Veterans Day service at Arlington National Cemetery, observed that “there is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we’re never quite good enough to them—not really; we can’t be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay.”VI
One aspect of Camp David that delighted the president was that it was a military facility, known officially as Naval Support Facility (NSF) Thurmont. He loved the troops and returned every salute directed at him. It was the president’s idea to “drop in” at their mess hall and have lunch every so often. He would take a plastic tray and choose food from the cafeteria line like everyone else. A spot had been saved for him at a table with men and women of all ranks. He would ask them where they were from and was eager to learn about their families. After lunch, President Reagan would go over to an area where everyone could see him, usually in front of the milk machine, and give a few remarks about how grateful he and Mrs. Reagan were, how much they appreciated everything the troops did to make them so comfortable at Camp David, and so on, and then open it up for questions. The troops were silent at first, but after some coaxing, they would ask questions ranging from national security, war, and peace issues, to what it was like in Hollywood in his day, to what his favorite sports team was. He would have stayed in the mess hall the whole day if the staff had let him.
Around the holidays, at Mrs. Reagan’s suggestion, every man and woman serving at Camp David was invited to meet the Reagans and have a picture taken, usually in front of the large fireplace in Laurel. The troops did not say much during their moments in front of the camera, but the Reagans enjoyed meeting and thanking them all.
The Reagans were similarly courteous to the military personnel with them at their ranch near Santa Barbara. There the on-duty military aide was assigned to a temporary housing trailer near the horse barn. The president would make the person feel welcome by walking over and offering a bottle of red wine on his or her first day of duty.
The members of the military who served at Camp David were complete professionals, who certainly did not display the flagrant (if endearing) disregard for higher authority shown by Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun. Nonetheless, Maverick was a hero who, despite some flaws, wants to do his nation proud. He tells his commander, “[I] just want to serve my country, be the best pilot in the navy, sir.” The line is delivered somewhat tongue in cheek as Maverick gets a dressing-down, but it’s not all irony. Maverick may have been a hotshot and a reckless flier, but his intentions were good.
Top Gun did not single-handedly end the trend of antiwar movies in Hollywood. Director-writer Oliver Stone’s Platoon, released the same year, depicted US soldiers engaging in war crimes in Vietnam. Three years later, Tom Cruise took on a different role as an antiwar Vietnam vet in Born on the Fourth of July. But in 1986 Top Gun’s tremendous success showed that America was beginning to come out from under the shadow of Vietnam. In their own ways, both Ronald Reagan and “Maverick” helped us get there.
Soon after Ronald Reagan left the White House those two would get a chance to meet face-to-face.
As the elevator door opened on the thirty-fourth floor of Fox Plaza, and I led Tom Cruise into our office, the rest of the staff was shocked. Only a handful of us knew that Cruise was coming in to meet with the boss—on the daily calendar, the time frame had been marked only as “Hold—Private Appointment.” I considered getting a movie poster for him to sign but decided that would be rude.
Cruise could not have been more gracious as I escorted him around and introduced him to the people in the office. Paula Wagner, the actor’s talent agent, joined us. Wagner had been instrumental in arranging this meeting. We approached her with the idea first, and she recognized its appeal. She promised to raise it with Cruise and got back to us within days to say that her client was in. Wagner would go on to become an acclaimed movie producer in her own right, sometimes partnering with Cruise.
After taking Cruise around to meet my colleagues, I took him in to see President Reagan, accompanied by Wagner and Fred Ryan. Reagan’s personal office was modest by CEO standards, furnished with a desk, couch, armchairs, and coffee table. The walls were taken up by paintings and shelves. Amid the books were framed photographs of the Reagan family, world leaders, and sculptures, most with a Western theme. The office’s best feature, by far, was the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. President Reagan never tired of taking visitors to the window to show them.
Reagan greeted his guests and offered them a seat on the couch. They were served water and jelly beans from a crystal jar bearing the presidential seal. Reagan and Cruise quickly engaged in an animated discussion about moviemaking and politics. Their conversation also touched on issues such as the environment and taxes. Reagan told Cruise that back in his day, his earnings had been taxed at a rate of ninety cents on the dollar. This astounded Cruise.
Comparing their own experiences in Hollywood seemed to be of the greatest interest to them. Reagan asked Cruise what it was like to be a star in the 1980s. For his part, the younger actor listened intently to Reagan’s stories from the earlier days and how his acting experience had compared with serving as president. Reagan talked, longingly, to my ear, about the old studio system that used to run Hollywood, comparing working for a studio to being part of a big family.
The studios, Reagan explained, were run “like a Greek candy store, where they made it in the back and sold it in the front.” They made the movies on their own lots and released them in their own theaters. Cruise was quite intrigued by that. Interestingly, just four years later, in 1993, he and Wagner would launch their own independent production company, something that would have been difficult, if not impossible, under the studio system of Reagan’s time.
Wagner remembered Reagan as a “lovely, kind man.” Despite her and
Cruise traveling in the highest Hollywood circles, she told me later that they were amazed to be in a room with a man who had been president of the United States.VII
When it came time for the nearly hour-long visit to end, Cruise and Wagner thanked Reagan for taking the time to see them. “No, thank you for coming by,” he replied. He meant it. He appreciated and enjoyed their visit.
As they got up to leave, I could not help but think how interesting it was that two of the most talented, best-known men to make it as movie stars got along so well. They were both consummate professionals who enjoyed unmatched success. Even though Reagan was now a private citizen, he had left office earlier that year with the highest approval rating of any president up to that point in history. Cruise had costarred in Rain Man, the previous year’s Oscar winner for best picture, and was about to secure his first Oscar nomination in his own right for Born on the Fourth of July. I had just witnessed a meeting between two of the most popular individuals in America.
Working in the White House was an experience like no other, but I will always have fond memories of those years in Reagan’s Los Angeles office. He remained a great boss right up until the end. A few weeks before I was to leave Reagan’s employ for good, he came into my office and said, “Well, Mark, is there anything you want?”
I had no idea what he meant, and said, “Sir, I must confess I do not know what you’re asking me.”
He chuckled. “Oh, well, I mean with regard to a position in Washington. I know when people left the White House, they sometimes arranged to be appointed to a position of some kind, and I’d be pleased to help with that, if you’d like.”
I thanked him and said I would think about it and let him know. It had never occurred to me to seek an appointment to anything after I left the Reagans, but I was intrigued by the idea. So I did some research into presidential boards and commissions. Maybe it was paranoia on my part, but I suspected that people in the George H. W. Bush White House might resist a presidential appointment of a longtime Reagan aide. So I had to come up with something to which they could not say no for any reason. Specifically, that meant a position that did not require Senate confirmation, was uncompensated, and was on a board or commission with no limit on its membership. Those were few and far between. But one that checked all the boxes and genuinely interested me was the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, which interviews and recommends to the president candidates for appointments as White House fellows. Begun in 1964, the White House Fellows program identified high-achieving and high-potential young professionals, and invited them to come to Washington to work in close proximity to top executive branch officials. Elaine Chao and Colin Powell are among those who served as White House Fellows earlier in their careers.
Once I identified the position, I went in to see President Reagan and told him I had found something I thought would work. He said, “Great, just give me the information, and I’ll call George.” As in Bush. As in President George H. W. Bush. Alrighty, then.
So I went back to my office, wrote the usual “Recommended Telephone Call” sheet, printed it out, and took it in to President Reagan. He looked at it, winked, and asked his secretary to get President Bush on the line. A few minutes later, she came in and said, “He’s on,” and President Reagan picked up the phone.
“Hi, George. How are you?” After an exchange of pleasantries, President Reagan said, “Say, George, I’m calling because I wanted to ask that Mark Weinberg, who has been with us for a number of years now and is coming back to Washington soon, be appointed to the Commission on White House Fellows. I think he’d do a great job there.” At that point, President Reagan stopped talking and listened to whatever his successor was saying. A few moments later, he said, “Thanks, George, I appreciate that. Nancy sends her love to Barbara. All right. Good-bye.” With that, he hung up the phone, looked at me, and said, “I think they’ll be in touch soon.” I thanked him and returned to my office, still a bit stunned by what I had witnessed.
I can only imagine what it was like on the other end of that call. George H. W. Bush is sitting in the Oval Office, and his secretary comes in to tell him Ronald Reagan is on the line. Since they did not talk by phone often, the new chief executive had to be curious about the subject of the call. So he picks it up only to find that his predecessor is calling about . . . me. I hope he was not disappointed.
An hour or so after President Reagan spoke to President Bush, I received a call from the White House, telling me that my appointment was in the works.
* * *
I. “Top Gun,” Box Office Mojo, accessed September 19, 2017, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=topgun.htm.
II. Todd Leopold, “Director Tony Scott: An Appreciation,” CNN online, last modified August 21, 2012, www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/showbiz/movies/tony-scott-appreciation.
III. Mark Evje, Associated Press, “ ‘Top Gun’ Boosting Service Sign-Ups,” Los Angeles Times online, July 5, 1986, http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-05/entertainment/ca-20403_1_top-gun.
IV. Roger Ebert, review of Top Gun, RogerEbert.com, May 16, 1986, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/top-gun-1986.
V. Laura A. Kiernan, “Hinckley, Jury Watch ‘Taxi Driver’ Film,” Washington Post online, May 29, 1982, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/05/29/hinckley-jury-watch-taxi-driver-film/783cde2f-1eea-4ec5-a36f-5ccf5d2a290f/?utm_term=.7e3aa890f502.
VI. “Remarks by President Reagan, Veterans Day National Ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, November 11, 1985,” US Department of Veterans Affairs online, last modified November 10, 2009, www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/speakers/1985remarks.asp.
VII. Author conversation with Paula Wagner via phone, August 9, 2016.
14
KNUTE ROCKNE ALL AMERICAN
Starring:
Pat O’Brien, Ronald Reagan
Directed by:
Lloyd Bacon
Viewed by the Reagans:
October 2, 1987
The Film That Created a Political Legend
The week of September 27, 1987, had been an interesting and unsettling one at the White House. On Tuesday, the president delivered a major economic address to the annual meeting of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group, and later signed a bill to increase the federal debt ceiling.
But the real focus of the week was on Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Robert H. Bork to become an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Lewis Powell. The nomination had been made on July 1, and it immediately brought equally strong support and opposition. No one doubted his intellect, but Bork’s ultraconservative (some would say unyielding) stance on many issues and his absolute certainty of the correctness of his positions both delighted and infuriated many. Throughout the summer, supporters and opponents were in high gear, and by October, it was clear the nomination was in deep trouble. President Reagan did everything he could to support Bork, then a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, including speaking on his behalf on three different occasions that week. He had given Bork his word that he would do whatever he could to ensure his confirmation.
When Ronald Reagan gave his word, that was it. It was gold. You could take it to the bank. I learned that the hard, yet reassuring, way a year earlier. In late January and early February 1986, I was in Asia on a pre-advance for an upcoming presidential visit there. A pre-advance takes a small group of White House staff, State Department aides, Secret Service, military support personnel, and representatives of the White House press corps to wherever the president is scheduled to visit overseas, so they can evaluate their respective logistical needs for the actual trip. I was in Tokyo on January 28, the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I returned to Washington a few days later and went to work as usual. On my first or second day back, Larry Speakes, the chief White House spokesman, called me to his office. At first, he was chatty, asking me how everything was, if there were any interesting stories from rec
ent Camp David weekends, and so forth. Then he told me to have a seat on the couch opposite his desk. I was nervous. And I became even more so when he closed the door. He sat on a chair near the couch, looked toward but not at me, avoiding direct eye contact, and said, “Mark, you gotta find another job.”
I thought I was going to pass out. I could not imagine my life without working in the White House for the Reagans. It was everything to me. I asked him what he meant, and he said that Don Regan, the current White House chief of staff, “told me you have to go.” Larry claimed that he protested and asked Regan why, but was given no information. Larry was upset by this, but that was of little consolation to me. He asked me if my relationship with Mrs. Reagan was still good, thinking that perhaps she was involved. I assured him that it was good, that our most recent weekend at Camp David was fun as usual, and that I could not imagine she had anything to do with my being fired.
It bothered me that there was the tendency of some on the White House staff to blame Mrs. Reagan first for anything bad. It was unfair and almost never the case. Larry went on to say that “the plan” was that I would be assigned to be the spokesman for the recently named presidential commission investigating the Challenger accident, during which time I would look for a job and ultimately never return to the White House. I did not know what to say. I left his office and returned to mine. I immediately called my closest friend on the staff, Jim Kuhn, the president’s personal aide, and asked if he knew anything. He didn’t, but Jim had the wisdom to ask me if I had said anything derogatory about Don Regan. I said it would take less time to tell him what I hadn’t said about Regan than what I had said.
Movie Nights with the Reagans Page 18
