In the 1970s, it was nearly impossible to go a day without seeing Mason Reese while watching television. The precocious and unusual looking child was in over 75 commercials and on many TV shows.
Mason was in over 75 television commercials for well-known products like Dunkin’ Donuts and Underwood Deviled Ham, and Post Raisin Bran. He was such a familiar face and had such an interesting personality for a youngster that he was a regular on the talk show circuit and variety shows that so many of us watched at the time.
Mason was a fan favorite on “The Mike Douglas Show.” Mike had him on the show over 25 times. Reese even co-hosted three weeks. That’s quite an accomplishment for a child! Douglas said that Mason earned the highest ratings in the show’s history.
In one of his original performances on the show, Mason sat next to Eva Gabor and charmed both her and Douglas just by being himself. His comedic timing and sense of humor were very adult for his age. Seven-year-old Reese wasn’t intimidated at all sitting next to such a glamorous star. Eva was quite impressed with the lovable little tyke as you can see in the video below.
Mason was such a favorite of Mike Douglas that his mom was invited onto the show when he was co-hosting. She shared a number of stories about the child actor that highlighted his advanced social skills that always delighted talk show audiences.
But, the real treat was when Mason introduced his dad. It was completely off the cuff and had the talk show host in tears because it was so hilariously adorable.
In the video clip below, Mason’s parents explained how his talents appeared almost in infancy and how the young child was reading at a high school level. He was cute, but he was also a very bright child who could charm the masses and sell lots of products.