Mason Adams

Mason Adams (born Mason Abrams;[2] February 26, 1919 – April 26, 2005) was an American actor.[3] From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, the latter of which he resumed in the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1970s, he moved into acting and from 1977 to 1983 held perhaps his best-known role, that of Managing Editor Charlie Hume on Lou Grant. He also acted in numerous other television and movie roles, most prominently Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and F/X (1986).
== Early life[edit] ==
Adams was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Sheepshead Bay.[4][5] His father, Morris, was an immigrant from Russia and the owner of a company that made machinery and factory tools. His mother, the former Freda Sugarman, was also an immigrant from Russia.[5] He studied at the University of Wisconsin, earning a bachelor’s degree in theater and speech in 1940, and a master’s degree in theater arts in 1941. He later studied acting at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where he also taught speech.[3][6] He made his stage debut in 1940, appearing in summer stock at Baltimore's Hilltop Theater.[7]
== Career[edit] ==
Adams was heard on many radio programs during Radio's Golden Age. A notable recurring role of his was that of Pepper Young in Pepper Young's Family,[8] which aired from 1947 to 1959. He also portrayed the deadly Nazi Atom Man in a classic 1945 serial on the radio version of The Adventures of Superman.
During the '60s, Adams was ubiquitous as a voiceover actor in television commercials for foods and household products, most notably for Chiffon margarine, Crest toothpaste ("Helps stop cavities before they start") and French's food products (French's Mustard was "the best thing that happened since man first bit dog"). He also did the vocal part of the television commercials for Smucker's preserves ("With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good!"), a role he resumed in his later years.
His voiceover work resumed in the '80s when he began providing the voiceover for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, which were advertised on television with Adams' catchy slogan, "Nobunny knows Easter better than him [the Cadbury Bunny]." Also in the '80s, Adams did voiceover TV commercials for Sherwin-Williams Paints, and radio commercials for the Salvation Army. In addition, Adams was the narrator for Kix commercials in the '90s and a few Dentyne and Swanson commercials. He was also the announcer for a 1992 WCBS-TV news promotion and a 1986 Lysol commercial. In the early '90s, he narrated Frontiers of Flight, a Discovery Channel series on milestones of aviation.
During the 1970s, Adams was a co-star of the NBC soap opera Another World, and in 1976, he was in the original 1976 Broadway cast for Checking Out. Following that, he landed perhaps his most famous role, Managing Editor Charlie Hume in the television series Lou Grant, which aired from 1977 to 1982. Appearing in the show for its entire run, he landed three straight Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in 1979, 1980, and 1981, each year alongside his Lou Grant co-star Robert Walden, who played reporter Joe Rossi. During his run on Lou Grant, Adams performed perhaps his most often-seen role, as the US president in Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981). He also appeared in popular TV movies, such as The Deadliest Season (1977), Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980), and The Kid with the Broken Halo (1982).
In 1983, Adams joined The Mirror Theater Ltd's repertory company for their first season, appearing in Paradise Lost, Rain, Inheritors, and The Hasty Heart.[9] This season was presented initially off-off-Broadway at the Real Stage Acting School, and was moved off-Broadway to the Theatre at St. Peter's Church. In 1986, he starred as Col. Edward Mason, one of his most famous feature-film roles, in the movie F/X starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy, and in 1991, he appeared in the action movie Toy Soldiers.
In 1993, Adams starred as Walter Warner Sr., in the movie Son in Law starring Pauly Shore, and then had roles in Houseguest (1995), Touch (1997), and The Lesser Evil (1998). In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, he played Senator Clinton P. Anderson. His final role was in the series finale of Oz.
In the 1990s, Adams narrated several of the Lilian Jackson Braun audiobook mysteries and a Mary Higgins Clark audiobook.[10]
=== Radio career[edit] ===
Mason Adams played many characters in Old-Time Radio programs, among them:
* The Adventures of Ellery Queen
* The Adventures of Superman
* Big Sister[11]
* Big Town
* CBS Radio Mystery Theater
* The Crime Club
* Exploring Tomorrow
* Gasoline Alley
* Grand Central Station
* Inner Sanctum
* The Mysterious Traveler
* The NBC Radio Theatre
* Nick Carter, Master Detective
* Pepper Young's Family[11]
* Proudly We Hail
* Suspense
* The Chase
* This Is My Story
* X Minus One
* Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
* Corporal Eddie on a series of public-announcement shows for the U.S. Army
== Christmas recording[edit] ==
Adams played Mack in the episode "Miracle for Christmas" of the Grand Central Station radio series. In the story, Mack is an ambulance driver in a poor neighborhood, who drives an intern who turns out to be more than a doctor. It was repeated for six years out of popularity, and is still considered a classic from the Radio Golden Era.
Adams achieved a bit of holiday immortality by taking part in a comedy spoof of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", called "The Chickens Are in the Chimes" (RCA Victor 74-8277, 1963). Recorded by Sascha Burland and the Skipjack Choir, with Adams as the lead voice, this recording was issued in 1963 on a 45 rpm record, but has never been released on compact disc. The recording for the "B" side was "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". "The Chickens Are in the Chimes" has often been played over radio stations at Christmas, and became a holiday favorite ever since.
== Personal life and death[edit] ==
Adams was the older brother of Dr. Herbert L. Abrams, a radiologist who helped to found International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.[5]
Adams married Margot Fineberg in 1958. The couple had a daughter, Betsy, and a son, Bill. Adams died on April 26, 2005, from natural causes.[3]
== Filmography[edit] ==
=== Film[edit] ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1947	Mr. Bell 	Thomas Watson 	Short Film
1975	The Happy Hooker 	The Banker with Chris	
1976	God Told Me To 	Obstetrician 	
1977	Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure	Grandpa (voice) 	
1981	Omen III: The Final Conflict 	President 	
1986	F/X 	Colonel Mason 	
1991	Toy Soldiers 	Deputy Director Brown	
1993	Son in Law 	Walter Warner Sr. 	
1995	Houseguest 	Mr. Pike 	
1995	Not of This Earth 	Dr. Rochelle 	
1997	Touch 	Father Nestor 	
1997	Hudson River Blues 	Grandpa 	
1998	The Lesser Evil 	Derek's Father 	
1999	Life Among the Cannibals 	Francis 	
=== Television[edit] ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1951 	Love of Life 	Dr. Carl Westheimer 	
1954 	The Man Behind the Badge 	Conrad 	Episode: "The Case of the Phantom Fire"
1955 	Robert Montgomery Presents 	Mr. Watkins 	Episode: "A Matter of Dignity"
1955 	Armstrong Circle Theatre 	 	Episode: "TV or Not TV"
1958 	Decoy 	Bill Wendover 	Episode: "Odds Against the Jockey"
1958 	The Phil Silvers Show 	GI Engineer Walter Maxwell 	Episode: "Bilko the Genius"; uncredited
1959 	Startime 	Radio Actor 	Episode: "The Wonderful World of Entertainment"
1959 	Deadline 	Rossoff 	Episode: "The Blue Dahlia"
1964 	Another World 	Dr. Frank Prescott 	
1969 	Where the Heart Is 	Judge Halstad 	
1977 	The Deadliest Season 	Bill Cavins 	TV movie
1977—1982	Lou Grant 	Charlie Hume 	114 episodes
1979 	And Baby Makes Six 	Dr. Eliot Losen 	TV movie
1979 	A Shining Season 	Dr. Ed Johnson 	TV movie
1980 	The Last Resort 	Dr. Sternhagen 	Episode: "Is There a Doctor in the House?"
1980 	Flamingo Road 	Elmo Tyson 	Episode: "Pilot"
1980 	Murder Can Hurt You! 	Willie the Wino 	TV movie
1980 	Revenge of the Stepford Wives 	Wally 	TV movie
1981 	Rise and Shine 	 	Episode: "Pilot"
1981 	The Love Boat 	Richard Simmons 	Episode: "Country Blues / Daddy's Little Girl / Jackpot"
1981 	Peking Encounter 	Clyde 	TV movie
1982 	The Kid with the Broken Halo 	Harry Tannenbaum 	TV movie
1982 	The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat 	The Cat in the Hat / Narrator (voice)	TV Short
1983 	Freedom to Speak 	 	7 episodes
1983 	Adam 	Ray Mellette 	TV movie
1983 	Great Day 	Narrator (voice) 	TV movie
1984 	Passions 	Ron Sandler 	TV movie
1984 	American Playhouse 	Ford 	Episode: "Solomon Northup's Odyssey"
1984 	The Night They Saved Christmas 	Sumner Murdock 	TV movie
1985 	CBS Storybreak 	Narrator (voice) 	Episode: "Arnold of the Ducks"
1986 	Under Siege 	Geoffrey Wiggins 	TV movie
1986 	Morningstar/Eveningstar 	Gordon Blair 	7 episodes
1986 	Walt Disney World: A Dream Come True 	Narrator 	TV special
1986 	You Are the Jury 	Dr. Parke 	Episode: "The State of Arizona vs. Dr. Evan Blake"
1986 	Northstar 	Dr. Karl Janss 	TV movie
1986 	Who Is Julia? 	Dr. Gordon 	TV movie
1986 	Rage of Angels: The Story Continues 	Father Francis Ryan 	TV movie
1986 	Family Ties 	Professor Lloyd Rhodes 	Episode: "Paper Lion"
1987 	The Hope Division 	Peter Braden 	TV movie
1988 	Matlock 	Bob Ranier 	Episode: "The Heiress"
1989 	Murder, She Wrote 	Roger Philby 	Episode: "The Search for Peter Kerry"
1989 	A Quiet Conspiracy 	General Luther B. Novak 	Episode: "Episode #1.1"
1989 	Knight & Daye 	Everett Daye 	7 episodes
1989 	It All Started with a Mouse: The Disney Story 	Narrator (voice) 	TV movie
1990 	Whip Valentine 	 	TV movie
1990 	WIOU 	Hal Krasner 	Episode: "Do the Wrong Thing"
1990 	Monsters 	Doctor 	Episode: "A New Woman"
1991 	Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster 	Frank Halloran 	TV movie
1991 	Family Matters 	Judge Vance 	Episode: "Citizen's Court"
1991 	Rockenwagner 	Rory Carmichael 	TV movie
1992 	Civil Wars 	Judge Toffinetti 	Episode: "Chute First, Ask Questions Later"
1992 	Screenplay 	Bob Rutherford 	Episode: "Buying a Landslide"
1992 	Jonathan: The Boy Nobody Wanted 	Judge Colbert 	TV movie
1993 	Class of '96 	President Harris 	Episode: "Pilot"
1994 	Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker	Henry D. Hyde 	TV movie
1997 	Murder One 	Sidney Pomerantz 	Episode: "Chapter Thirteen, Year Two"
1997 	Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer 	Sidney Pomerantz 	6 episodes; Mini series
1997 	Metropolitan Hospital 	 	TV movie
1998 	From the Earth to the Moon 	Clinton Anderson 	Episode: "Apollo One"
1998 	Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction 	Mr. Trapwell 	2 episodes
1999 	The West Wing 	Justice Joseph Crouch 	Episode: "The Short List"
2003 	Oz 	Mr. Hoyt 	Episode: "Exeunt Omnes"; final role
Category:1919 births
Category:2005 deaths
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male radio actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:Male actors from Brooklyn
Category:Townsend Harris High School alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors