Adams, Mason

Biography

Mason Adams was born in Brooklyn on February 26, 1919. He received his master's degree from the University of Wisconsin in the early 1940s before returning to New York, where he taught speech for several years at the Neighborhood Playhouse on East 54th Street. It was in the 1940s that he also started his acting career.

He appeared on many major radio programs including Inner Sanctum, Theatre Guild of the Air, as Atom Man on Superman and the title role of Pepper Young in Pepper Young's Family . He has numerous stage credits including his Broadway debut as Joe Rigga in Get Away Old Man (1943) and his last play, The Man Who Had All the Luck (2002). Among his film credits are Mr. Bell (1947), The Happy Hooker (1975), and Son-In-Law (1993).

Adams made the transition to television and was featured or appeared in a number of projects including television movies, miniseries, specials, and episodic series. Among his credits are Love of Life (1951), Another World (1976-1977), Adam (1983), appearances on Family Ties, Matlock, and Murder, She Wrote (all during the 1980s), Knight and Daye (1989) From the Earth to the Moon (1998), and the West Wing (1999). Of his television work he may be best remembered for his Emmy-nominated role as Charlie Hume on the television series Lou Grant (1977-1982).

He also lent his voice to documentaries and commercials. His distinctive voice became synonymous with the J.M. Smucker Company, which featured him in its jam and jelly commercials for more than 30 years. Adams died on April 28, 2005, in New York City

From the guide to the Mason Adams scripts, 1978-1995, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Performing Arts Special Collections.)