Mason Adams Dies

Longtime Westport resident Mason Adams, the actor best known for his role as the easygoing managing editor on television’s “Lou Grant” show, died of natural causes Tuesday at 86 in his Upper East Side home, The New York Times reported today.

Mason, who had received three Emmy nominations for his TV role, was also the voice over pitchman for the J. M. Smucker Company with his signature line, “With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.” His warm, grandfatherly, Rockwellian voice and screen presence, won the actor recognition as an embodiment of Americana.

Adams, who began his career in radio, was also a stage actor. The Times reports his last play was the Roundabout Theater’s production of Arthur Miller’s “The Man Who Had All the Luck” in 2002.

Adams moved to Westport in 1957 when he married Margot Fineberg, and they also maintained a home in Manhattan. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter Betsy, and son, Bill.

Rest In Peace, Mason.