Alexander Morgan Mason (born June 26, 1955) is an American film producer, actor, and political operative. He was born to actors
Pamela Mason
Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason.
Early life and personal life
Born ...
and
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...
, and he is married to singer
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
.
Early life
Mason was born June 26, 1955, in Los Angeles, California,
the son of English parents, actor
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...
and actress and commentator
Pamela Mason
Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason.
Early life and personal life
Born ...
. His maternal grandfather, the financier and film producer
Isidore Ostrer, was head of the
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation.
As a child, Mason appeared in the films ''
Hero's Island'' (1962), along with his father, and ''
The Sandpiper
''The Sandpiper'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the third of eleven films starring the power couple.
Plot
Laura Reynolds is a free-spirited, unwed single mother liv ...
'' (1965), with
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
and
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor.
Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...
.
Business career
When his grandfather Isidore Ostrer died, Mason inherited his seat on the board of Illingworth, Morris, Ltd., then the world's largest woolen textile company. Mason served as executive director and three years later sold the firm.
Political career
After moving to the U.S., Mason worked for
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's 1980 presidential campaign. He served as assistant finance director, then as major events director, and served as a member of the campaign's executive advisory committee. Reagan selected him as a delegate-at-large from California to the 1980
Republican national convention. After the election, Mason was named special assistant to the co-chairmen of the presidential inaugural committee. After the inauguration, Mason was appointed deputy
chief of protocol at the State Department. He was then named special assistant to the president for political affairs. During his tenure he was chosen to attend the funeral services of Egyptian president
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
as a member of the official United States delegation along with former U.S. presidents
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
,
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
and
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
.
PR, film and television
After Mason left the White House in 1982, he became the vice president of Rogers and Cowan Public Relations. In 1984, he joined promoter
Don King
Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups.
King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...
to promote
the Jacksons
The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
'
Victory Tour. Mason was an executive producer of ''
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (often written in all lowercase as ''sex, lies, and videotape'') is a 1989 American Independent film, independent Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The plot tells the ...
'' (1989), which won the
Palme d'Or
The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
and the Audience Award at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
. In 1986, Reagan appointed him to The Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and made him a special advisor to the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is a Federal Advisory Committee Act, federal advisory committee that aims to promote "programs and initiatives that motivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to le ...
. In 1990, Mason became vice president and head of the independent film division of the
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best-known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ...
in Beverly Hills. He left to become chief executive of
London Films
London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...
in 1996. In 1999 Mason founded the European television channel Innergy in partnership with musician
Dave Stewart of
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...
, who was introduced to Mason by
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author, New Age, new age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthi ...
. It was "the first channel of its kind in the world with programmes offering viewers help and guidance for self-empowerment."
Personal life
Mason married singer
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
in 1986,
eloping to Lake Tahoe.
They have a son, James Duke Mason. In 2017, he and Carlisle moved to Bangkok, Thailand. , they reside in Mexico City.
References
*
The Reagan Diaries, p. 109
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Morgan
1955 births
Living people
American male film actors
Film producers from California
California Republicans
American people of English descent
Male actors from Beverly Hills, California
American expatriates in Thailand
Chiefs of protocol of the United States
James Mason family