Forster, Hunt On Board for Ronald Reagan Play/Film, THE LIFEGUARD

According to a report by Deadline.com, Robert Forster is set to play Ronald Reagan in both the one-man stage show and movie version of David Rambo's The Lifeguard: Ronald Reagan and His Story. Tony award winning director Peter Hunt has also signed on for the project.

David Permut, Mark Travis, Merry-Kay and Steven Poe will produce the play, which is set to begin rehearsals on March 1. For now, a tour of the show is being scheduled, but producers have hopes that Broadway will be the ultimate destination.

After smaller roles, such as Private Williams in Reflections in a Golden Eye, Forster starred in the critically acclaimed 1969 film Medium Cool. After starring roles in the TV shows Banyon (1972) and Nakia (1974), he played mostly supporting roles in action and horror films including Disney's The Black Hole (1979). Forster had lead roles in cult B-movies in the 1980s like Alligator (1980), Vigilante (1983), The Delta Force (1986), and The Banker (1989). He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 for Jackie Brown, which he credits with reviving his career. A busy actor, he has since gone on to appear in Like Mike; Mulholland Drive; Me, Myself, & Irene; Lucky Number Slevin and Firewall, to name a few. He recently appeared in the made for television movie The Hunt for the BTK Killer, as the detective intent on capturing serial killer Dennis Rader. Forster also played the father of Van on the short-lived Fox series Fastlane.

In 1969, Hunt helmed the Broadway musical 1776, winning the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his efforts. His next project, Georgy, was less successful, closing after only four performances. He received a second Tony nomination for Goodtime Charley in 1975. His most recent Broadway project was The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1997. He has since directed several benefit shows for the Actors Fund in Los Angeles, including staged readings of Sunset Boulevard and Casablanca. Hunt's feature film credits include the screen adaptation of 1776 and Give 'em Hell, Harry!. He has directed numerous television movies, including four based on the Hart to Hart series, and episodes of Baywatch, Baywatch Nights, and Touched by an Angel, among others. He was producer-director of four of the feature adaptations in the Peabody Award-winning Mark Twain Series on PBS including Life on the Mississippi and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

 To read the full article, visit: http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/robert-forster-to-play-ronald-reagan-in-one-man-stage-show-and-movie/