Former President and Conservative Icon, Cultural Rebel Act in 1954 CBS Production “The Dark, Dark Hours”

(CBS) In the mid-20th Century, Ronald Reagan began his transformation from B-movie actor to champion of American conservatism, riding in part a backlash against the cultural rebellion taking place throughout the nation.

With that setting in mind, recently unearthed footage of Reagan paired with his cultural polar opposite, James Dean, the rebel without a cause, is stirring.

Found by Wayne Federman, a writer for NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and published on the The Atlantic website, the production, titled “The Dark, Dark Hours,” aired Dec. 12, 1954, during an episode of CBS’ General Electric Theater.

Read the full article at The Atlantic.

Reagan plays a doctor who feels threatened by Dean, a teenage criminal seeking medical help for a friend.

Together with millions of fans around the world, I am saddened, I am shocked, by the tragic death of Michael Jackson. Elvis was the King of Rock, but Michael was the King of Pop — perhaps the most famous celebrity on the planet. Known all over the world for his best-selling albums, groundbreaking performance style, and larger than life personality, he had incalculable influence upon our culture, not only here in America, but worldwide. Because any country he ever visited, Michael Jackson was the news that day.

Michael grew up here in Indiana, where CMG is headquartered, and where another Hollywood icon that shocked the world with his death was born and buried…James Dean. Back in 1997, Michael asked a mutual friend for a good book about James Dean, so I sent over a copy of “James Dean: American Icon.” Michael was understandably fascinated by Dean and the legacy he left behind. It was James Dean who said, “If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, I mean live on after he has died, then he was a great man.”

Even though, incredibly, none of them got past age 50, there is no doubt that Michael Jackson will live on in the same vein as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and James Dean. Future generations will look back on the “King of Pop” and realize that he was indeed “A Great Man.” As he said, as he sang, “We are the world, we are the people,” and all of us, everywhere, together, we extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

Mark Roesler