“Get On it Hollywood!”
It is no secret that Hollywood is notoriously known for being overtly liberal. Few are surprised when an Oscar acceptance speech turns into a diatribe about the Iraq war, or celebrities stump for Democrats running for office. What many often overlook are the (decidedly small) ranks of Republicans who are actors for television of movies. Sure, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger are by far the most prominent, but there are other conservatives populating movie trailers and back lots.
Back in 2004, AMC aired a documentary called “Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood” which first opened my eyes to a counter to the liberal Ben Afflecks and Barbra Streisands that seem to take many of the headlines when it came to support for politicians. They highlighted a few individuals who I hadn’t known were conservative - Patricia Heaton (”Everybody Loves Raymond”), Pat Sajak (”Wheel of Fortune”), Drew Carey (if I remember right, he described himself as a libertarian or ‘a conservative who likes to get high’), Adam Sandler and Heather Locklear, as well as others who I knew, or weren’t surprised to hear, like Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Ben Stein, Donald Trump and Chuck Norris.
The list goes on of Republican actors both past and present: Fred Thompson, Frank Sinatra, Charleton Heston (”cold, dead hands” anyone?), John Wayne, Bob Hope, Britney Spears, James Woods, Kid Rock, Kelsey Grammer, “The Rock” (spoke at the Republican Convention in 2004), Jessica Simpson, Jon Voight, Alice Cooper, Jim Belushi, Clint Eastwood (he actually served as a Republican mayor of a small town in California from ‘86-’88), Brooks and Dunn, Rip Torn, Sonny Bono, Tom Selleck and undoubtedly more.