I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers the “Borgasmord Kid,” right? Because of his freckles and blazing red hair, he became a household celebrity in the 1970s after appearing in numerous television commercials.
I couldn’t help but be happy and startled when I saw how this former Hollywood icon looks now in 2022. Mason Reese is now a fully grown adult.
We’d love for you to join us as we take a more in-depth look at Mason Reese’s journey and how his life turned out after all of those amazing advertisements…
Mason Reese was born in 1965, and one could say that acting was in his blood from birth. William “Bill” Reese, his father, worked in the entertainment industry as a marketing service director and set designer.
Mason’s mother was the well-known actress Sonia Darrin, best known for her role in The Big Sleep with Humphrey Bogart (1946).
Given Mason’s parents’ past, it’s hardly unexpected that he found himself in front of the camera at such a young age. He was born and reared in New York City, where he attended school throughout his childhood. He received his schooling on the Upper West Side at the Saint Michael’s Montessori School, which is housed in the St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.
Mason made his first television appearance in a commercial when he was only four years old. Mason was chosen from a group of 600 other children who auditioned for a job with Ivory Snow, a detergent manufacturer. This was Mason’s very first job.
Mason told The Sacramento Bee in 1978, “they needed a kid that looked like he was only diapers and who was old enough to communicate eloquently, and tra-la-la – that was me.”
As a result of the advertising campaign’s enormous success, Mason became known as “the Ivory Snow Boy” in Philadelphia and New Jersey. At the CLIO awards, he garnered recognition for both his commercial acting and his entire performance.
“Mason can’t do every kind of advertisement. He isn’t an ideal white Protestant lad, nor is he a plastic person. He has fans who think he’s gorgeous and detractors who think he’s not. Mason’s father, Bill, told The Boston Globe in 1973 that his son is a “very sensual and tactile child,” which means he likes to be hugged and kissed.
According to Mason, the years between 1970 and 1973 were marked by a dearth of commercial successes. However, near the end of 1973, a canned ham brand made contact with the youngster, changing the trajectory of his life.
Mason rose to prominence in the United States after Underwood Deviled Ham chose him to feature on the cover of their legendary “Borgasmord” ad campaigns. Mason was once asked how many times he had to rehearse saying “borgasmord” correctly. According to The Boston Globe, the youngster with the distinctive voice and red hair simply grinned and said, “I didn’t. “I did it correctly the first time.”
There are numerous theories and explanations about how the term “borgasmord” came to be, and some claim that Mason coined the term himself; however, this is not the case. Mason attempted to clarify matters in an interview with Chris Yandek:
“It should come as no surprise to anyone that the correct word is smorgasbord. That is something we are all aware of. I also recall Andy Doyle, the director who collaborated with the ad agency. Andy’s task was to take control of me and force me to do what they wanted.
“So I didn’t want to mispronounce smorgasbord because I knew the word and I wanted America to know that I was an intelligent child who knew what the proper word was,” he explained. “That’s why I didn’t want to pronounce smorgasbord incorrectly.” As a result, Andy was certain that I mispronounce it. He was going to get me to do it by hook or by crook.”
So, on a yellow sheet of paper, he jotted down 20 or 30 different terms that sounded like a smorgasbord. And as I looked through them, I thought, “That’s a good one,” when I saw the word “borgasmord.” ‘ Mason, you’re not going to believe this,’ Andy replied, his eyes wide with wisdom. ‘What is that?’ I inquired. Borgasmord is Swedish for smorgasbord,’ he explained. It was all a lie. It was a complete lie.”
“And I looked up at him and because I felt smarter than I really was, that’s the word we went with. So, the idea for it actually didn’t come from me, my imagination, or my intelligence. It was really this man named Andy Doyle, a director who worked for the advertising business,” Mason said.
As a result of the renowned TV commercial, many chances opened up for the great Mason, and he once again received the CLIO award for Best Male Performance in a Commercial Television. Mason is still known as the “Borgasmord Kid” to most of us who grew up watching television in the 1970s, but he also appeared in other memorable ads.
Mason and his parents’ lives grew more difficult to handle as a result of his notoriety and the money that began to pour into his bank account. The Mason, on the other hand, seemed to relish acting; he simply performed what he wanted.
“We’d quit if we discovered that acting was turning him into a smart-ass youngster and making his life worse. “We want to make sure he doesn’t lose sight of the principles we hold dear.” It’s also difficult because, as Mason’s parents, we become engrossed in it,” Mason’s father told The Boston Globe.
When we look back at his previous interviews, Mason comes off as a wonderfully mature and humble young man. People enjoyed his television advertisements, and he was well-known and had won accolades. Despite this, he kept both feet on the ground. Read what Mason had to say to those who thought he was a megastar:
”What? Who? I’m not a celebrity. No, they’re well-known actors such as Sammy Davis, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Dustin Hoffman. Not me. I’m just a guy trying to do his part on TV, and I make this sound like a tragic soap opera.” “I’ve been quite successful so far, but I’m not a superstar,” he told The Orlando Sentinel in 1978.
Mason was a frequent guest on The Mike Douglas Show during his pinnacle of success. In fact, Mason was on the verge of starting his own show. Mason featured in a pilot that ABC aired on July 4th, 1977, however ABC decided not to continue with it for a variety of reasons. Mason then met with famed TV executive and producer Fred Silverman, but he was never offered a script that suited him and his goals.
“We received a lot of extremely awful parts,” he explained.
Later, as Mason approached his adolescence, his career opportunities began to dwindle.
Mason left acting to seek a completely different career. He launched his own restaurant company and opened locations in New York City.
But that doesn’t mean Mason never appeared on television again. No, he had a number of brief comebacks. He played himself in the 1990 short film Whatever Happened to Mason Reese. In 2017, he made a web TV series featuring well-known actors such as Dawn Wells and Alison Arngrim. Mason has his first acting job in 31 years in the Life Interrupted television series.
Mason has since retired from the restaurant industry, and all of his establishments have closed. Mason, a former actor, is supposedly 56 years old and still resides in New York!
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, the former actor has a net worth of one million dollars. His personal life and the persons he has been in relationships with are generally unknown, but one of his partnerships received a lot of media attention in 2018. Mason Reese was in a romantic relationship with an Instagram model who had 174 thousand followers at the time.
Mason, who is just 4 feet 10 inches tall, appears to be living a happy and healthy life now, unlike many other past child stars.
“I just want people to know that in the end, I’m a fairly regular man—not necessarily living a normal life, but you know, I’m probably the average guy. Yeah. That, I believe, is all. “I’m pleased with my work.” “You know, I’m delighted with what I’ve done, and I definitely want to leave my mark again,” he told Chris Yandek in 2015.
Mason, thank you for all of the beautiful memories over the years!
We wish you a lifetime of pleasure and hope that others will acknowledge your ability and contribution to television history.
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