From Actor to Politician: 1966, Ronald Reagan's Pivotal Year

The Reagans at Home
To cover the story of Reagan's candidacy, LIFE sent a team of reporters and photographer Bill Ray into the field. Based in the magazine's Beverly Hills, Calif., bureau, Ray was accustomed to covering movie stars, he says. He had shot the Reagans in November 1965 while Ron was mulling whether or not to run. In this family portrait, made in the Reagans' Pacific Palisades home, Ronald and Nancy are joined by son Ron, age 7, in the living room — which Nancy herself decorated.

• Grace Under Fire