REVERENCE - OR REVERENCE FOR A BUCK?

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

As the nation mourns the death of President Ronald Reagan today, collectors and entrepreneurs have begun memorializing him in another fashion.

Mourners wishing to preserve Reagan's legacy can commemorate him with pins, post cards and even action figures. Everything from bubble-gum cigar boxes bearing his name to signed memoirs turns up in a search of eBay's more than 10,000 Reagan items. Even funeral cards, distributed free to mourners who attended the public memorial at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, are already fetching bids of more than $60 on the online auction site.

``We live in a patriotic time, so when you have a great leader like Ronald Reagan passes on, it spurs interest,'' said Dwayne Crosby, vice president of sales and marketing for ToyPresidents.com, a Houston-based company that makes commemorative action figures of Reagan. ``The best way to do that is to find a product that's positive.''

He acknowledges that selling the memory of a beloved leader can be a difficult task. On one hand, he calls Reagan his hero and deplores exploitation of his name. On the other, he's running a business that's sold thousands of dolls that feature the 40th president delivering his Evil Empire speech.

The company has been manufacturing the talking dolls for seven months and already counted Reagan among its top sellers, running advertisements this week hyping the doll. Where possible, Crosby said he'd tried to tone down the ads to make them as somber and respectful as possible.

Both Crosby's doll and a version made by rival TalkingPresidents.com have seen big spikes in sales this week for Entertainment Earth, a North Hollywood Internet and catalog retailer. The deaths of other pop culture figures such as Run DMC's Jam Master Jay and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt sparked similar interest, according to Jason Labowitz, Entertainment Earth's president. Where people once simply put aside a newspaper to commemorate an idol's passing, he sees them now seeking out more tangible reminders.

``People want to be a part of the event,'' he said. ``If they can't get there, or even if they do, it's something memorable. A newspaper will fade in a drawer somewhere, but with an action figure, you can have it out, tell stories about it; it keeps the good feeling alive.''

With the throngs of well-wishers and well-publicized tributes dominating headlines and airwaves, retail expert Jackie Fernandez noted Reagan's memorial ceremonies have become inescapable. In a consumer-oriented society, mourners' natural instincts drive them to enshrine their feelings of respect in a tangible object.

``Nothing like this, the funeral and all the pomp and circumstance, has happened in 30 years,'' noted Fernandez, a partner with Deloitte & Touche's Los Angeles office. ``People get caught in the momentum, they want a piece of it so they can remember. This is a huge piece of history, and they're thinking they want to be part of it.''

Most companies try to maintain an aura of reverence when marketing the products. Another leading presidential action figure manufacturer, HeroBuilders.com, flatly refused to design a Reagan doll, saying it would be in poor taste regardless of how it was handled. But others appear quite comfortable in profiting from the president's death, selling signed photos of Reagan with Michael Jackson - opening eBay bid $1,000 - to bobblehead dolls.

``That's just the paradox of fame in our culture,'' said Leo Braudy, an English professor at the University of Southern California. ``It runs the gamut from sincere mourning to the desire to make a buck.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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The Ronald Reagan action figure by ToyPresidents.com speaks 25 phrases and retails for $29.95.

ToyPresidents.com