Ron Reagan

Tall, lanky American TV journalist, former dancer, who worked for a time contributing stories to ABC's "Good Morning, America." In 1991, he tried to make his mark on the late-night talk-show circuit with his own show. "The Ron Reagan Show" was deliberately designed to give viewers a reasonably intelligent alternative to the Johnny Carson-Arsenio Hall recipe of celebrity chat, comic monologues and music, mimicking instead the topic-oriented daytime discussion format of Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey and adding a note of welcome sobriety. During the show's brief run, Reagan proved to be articulate and intelligent, and also showed a certain flair for ringmastering the nightly debates. He displayed a decidedly more liberal viewpoint than his President father Ronald Reagan, references to whom were infrequent and tongue-in-cheek. But the show's ratings never got very high, and after several months Reagan had to admit honorable failure.