Phil Regan (actor)
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Phil Regan (28 May 1906 - 11 February 1996) was an American actor who appeared in 30 movies during his career, including
- What, No Men! (1934)
- Casino de Paris (1935)
- Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943), and
- Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946)
After retiring, Regan spent his time in his Palm Springs and Santa Barbara houses.His wife was Josephine and he had four children, Marilyn, Joan, Philip(Buddy), and Joseph.He also had 19 grand children. He also dabbled in politics, endorsing Ronald Reagan for governor of California in 1966 against incumbent Edmund G. "Pat" Brown. In 1972 he became involved with a developer named Halimi, who had created successful developments at Lake Tahoe and elsewhere. Halimi had purchased the option to develop a large coastal property on More Mesa in Santa Barbara, which required a permit from Santa Barbara County. Regan was aware that three of the five supervisors were in favor but he wanted to find a fourth vote for Halimi to avoid an appeal. He approached Frank Frost in December of 1972. Frost had just been elected to the Board of Supervisors and would take office in January. Frost perceived that an attempt at bribery was being arranged and reported his suspicions to the county district attorney and sheriff. A "sting" was planned and Regan passed $1000 to a friend of Frost's who posed as a go-between. Testimony at Regan's trial established that he had promised an additional $5000 for Frost's vote. Regan was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two years in prison. The formerly friendly supervisors made a good show of indignantly voting down the development of More Mesa.