The fact that actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan once co-starred with a chimpanzee in Bedtime for Bonzo (1951) provided him with a long-running source of embarrassment after his political career took off decades later. The movie was, according to Johnny Carson, “a favorite of old movie buffs and Democrats” while other critics went on to cite Reagan as “the first president in history to be out-acted by a chimp.” In his own words, “I fought a losing battle with a scene-stealer with a built-in edge: he was a chimpanzee!” Making the film was certainly not monkey business; in fact, one unfortunate run-in with its leading ape nearly cost Reagan his life.
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