'Reagan': New History Special Premieres Wednesday 2/9

His popularity and his politics may have been straightforward, but presidential scholars and historians have yet to define exactly what made our 40th President "bigger then life." In REAGAN, a two-hour special premiering on Wednesday, February 9 at 9 pm ET, HISTORY brings insight to Ronald Reagan's ascent from an impoverished childhood to the nation's highest office.

REAGAN looks at the trajectory of Reagan's 93-years - from his nomadic youth in the mid-west, his Hollywood career, his election as Governor of California and ultimately as Commander-in-Chief, and finally, his gracious journey into the sunset of his life.

But more than just a documentary of Reagan's public life, the special explores the makings of a man who was both admired as a hero, and criticized. Yet whatever one thought about his policies, his resiliency communicated hope and strength to a divided America. "When a guy gets up and takes a bullet and walks away with a smile," says David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst and former Director of Communications for Reagan, "people just think differently about him."

Rare archival footage, audio and photos help to shed new light on Reagan's enigmatic character, as do interviews with those who knew him. Along with Gergen, they include former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Gen. Colin Powell, and CBS news correspondent Bob Schieffer, among others. Also weighing in is Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, who was with Reagan at the time of the attempted assassination, recounting the harrowing ordeal and the decision Parr made which saved the President's life.

REAGAN is produced for HISTORY by Boom Pictures. Executive producer for HISTORY is Russ McCarroll. Executive producer for Boom Pictures is Matt Ginsburg.

HISTORY(R) and HISTORY HD(R) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, The Universe, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America, The President's Book of Secrets and Life After People. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.

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