{{Short description|Restaurateur and former child actor}} {{Infobox person | name = Mason Reese | image = 6.8.08MasonReeseByLuigiNovi.jpg | caption = Reese at the Big Apple Convention<br>in Manhattan, June 8, 2008 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1965|4|11}} | birth_place = | occupation = Actor<br>Restaurateur }} '''Mason Reese''' (born April 11, 1965) is an American former child actor and restaurant entrepreneur who appeared in numerous television commercials in the 1970s, including Underwood Deviled Ham, Ivory Snow, Dunkin' Donuts, and Post Raisin Bran.
==Early life and acting career== Mason Reese is the son of William Reese and former actress Sonia Darrin. He attended Saint Michael's Montessori School, a non-denominational elementary school that was housed in St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Manhattan, through the fourth grade. In late 1975, he transferred to the Professional Children's School, also in Manhattan.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reese|first=Mason|last2=Haney|first2=Lynn|title=The Memoirs of Mason Reese|publisher=Dodd, Mead|year=1974|isbn=978-0396069539}}</ref><ref name=WashPost>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/05/21/mason-reeses-borgasmord-of-new-plans/24606e81-3158-4704-b152-6879e5eed824/|author=Brown, Joe|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Mason Reese's 'Borgasmord' Of New Plans|url-status=live|language=en-US|date=May 21, 1982|accessdate=March 2, 2022|archivedate=March 2, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302155835/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/05/21/mason-reeses-borgasmord-of-new-plans/24606e81-3158-4704-b152-6879e5eed824/}}</ref>
Beginning at age four, Reese appeared in television commercials and was known for his red hair and the distinctive, high-pitched voice with which he delivered his lines. The most memorable of these was an ad for Underwood Deviled Ham, in which he humorously mispronounced the word "smorgasbord" as "borgasmord."<ref name=WashPost/> The commercial garnered Reese a Clio Award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Commercial. He appeared in over 75 commercials for numerous products, among which were Ivory Snow, Dunkin' Donuts' "Munchkins" donut holes,<ref name=WashPost/> and Post Raisin Bran.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/lists/the-seven-most-memorable-mason-reese-commercials-of-the-1970s|publisher=MeTV|title=The seven most memorable Mason Reese commercials of the 1970s|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=March 6, 2017|accessdate=March 2, 2022|archivedate=March 2, 2022|archiveurl=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220302160354/https://metv.com/lists/the-seven-most-memorable-mason-reese-commercials-of-the-1970s}}</ref>
Throughout the 1970s, Reese appeared in features and interviews on New York's WNBC-TV. He was a guest on numerous television talk shows,<ref name=WashPost/> most notably ''The Mike Douglas Show'',<ref name=WashPost/> where he made several appearances and also served as a guest host.<ref name=WashPost/><ref>Douglas, Mike. ''Mike Douglas, My Story''. New York: Putnam, 1978. {{ISBN|978-0-399-11963-7}}</ref>
In 1982, he and his mother voiced a series of syndicated, 90-second radio spots titled ''Mason and Mom'', in which they offered lighthearted advice to children's questions, with Reese sharing a child's perspective, while his mother offered an adult's.<ref name=WashPost/>
At age eight, Reese wrote a memoir, titled ''The Memoirs of Mason Reese, in cahoots with Lynn Haney'' (1974), joking to a ''Washington Post'' interviewer in 1982, "Oh yes, I think my second volume should be out any day now."<ref name=WashPost/>
==Post-acting career== After retiring from acting Reese became a restaurateur with multiple businesses in the New York City area. He owned Paladar, a now-defunct Pan-Latino restaurant located in Manhattan's Lower East Side.<ref>Lewis, Steve (June 19, 2008). [http://www.goodnightmrlewis.com/2008/06/more-than-15--1.html "More Than 15 Minutes With Mason Reese (Part Two)"]. goodnightmrlewis.com. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801175819/http://www.goodnightmrlewis.com/2008/06/more-than-15--1.html |date=August 1, 2008 }}</ref> He then opened Destination Bar and Grille located on Avenue A in the East Village, which is also now closed.<ref>Venezia, Todd (May 18, 2009). [http://www.nypost.com/seven/05182009/news/regionalnews/tv_kid_a_club_king_169810.htm "TV Kid a Club King: Mason Reese in Comeback"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521094731/http://www.nypost.com/seven/05182009/news/regionalnews/tv_kid_a_club_king_169810.htm |date=2009-05-21 }}. ''New York Post''.</ref> He opened a sports bar called The Luxury Box, which closed in 2015.<ref>Ask American Profile. ''American Profile'' magazine. January 29, 2012 edition.</ref>
Reese starred as himself in the 1990 short film ''Whatever Happened to Mason Reese'', the first film directed by Brett Ratner. Reese quit the project after one of his co-stars broke his leg during filming. Since looping was required, Reese was voiced in the film by actor Anthony Michael Hall.<ref>{{cite video|title=Rush Hour Bonus Feature - Short Film: Whatever Happened to Mason Reese |medium=DVD |publisher=New Line Home Video |people=Ratner, Brett|date=1999}}</ref>
==Personal life== As of May 1982, Reese lived in Midtown Manhattan.<ref name=WashPost/> As of June 2019, he is still living in New York.<ref name=LadBible>{{Cite web|author=Reid, Clarie|url=http://honeybee.ladbible.com/entertainment/film-and-tv-man-28-years-older-than-his-partner-insists-hes-not-a-sugar-daddy-20190619|title=Man 28 Years Older Than His Partner Insists He's Not A Sugar Daddy|website=Lad Bible|language=en|url-status=live|date=June 18, 2019|access-date=March 30, 2023|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419210528/https://honeybee.ladbible.com/entertainment/film-and-tv-man-28-years-older-than-his-partner-insists-hes-not-a-sugar-daddy-20190619}}</ref>
In 2019, Reese and adult model Sarah Russi confirmed that they were dating. In July 2022, ''The Sunday Times'' reported that they had broken up after three years together.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-gossip/adult-model-sarah-russi-and-child-star-mason-reese-split-as-russi-moves-on-with-onlyfans-influencer-three6live-c-7434995|newspaper=The Sunday Times|title=Adult model Sarah Russi and child star Mason Reese split as Russi moves on with OnlyFans influencer Three6Live|author=Tawfick, Eve|language=en|url-status=live|date=July 6, 2022|access-date=July 8, 2022|archivedate=July 8, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708191301/https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-gossip/adult-model-sarah-russi-and-child-star-mason-reese-split-as-russi-moves-on-with-onlyfans-influencer-three6live-c-7434995}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Douglas, Mike (1978). ''My Story''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. [https://archive.org/details/mikedouglasmysto00doug/page/118/mode/1up 108], [https://archive.org/details/mikedouglasmysto00doug/page/131/mode/1up 131], [https://archive.org/details/mikedouglasmysto00doug/page/278/mode/2up 278-279], [https://archive.org/details/mikedouglasmysto00doug/page/280/mode/2up 280-281]. {{ISBN|0399119639}}.
==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMasonReese YouTube channel] *{{IMDb name|0716046}} *Jonathan Goldstein, [https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/j4hljb "Why is Mason Reese Crying?"]. ''Reply All''.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Mason}} Category:Living people Category:American male child actors Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American restaurateurs Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Jewish American male actors Category:Male actors from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American male actors Category:Paskowitz family Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Year of birth missing (living people)