Morgan Mason

Early life

Mason was born in Beverly Hills, California, the son of British parents, actor James Mason and actress and commentator Pamela Mason. His grandfather, the financier and film producer Isidore Ostrer, was head of the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation.

As a child, Mason appeared in the films The Sandpiper, with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Hero's Island, along with his father.

Political 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. Moving to the US, he worked for Ronald Reagan's 1979 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 Republican national convention in 1980. 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 as special assistant to the president for political affairs at the White House. During his tenure he was chosen to attend the funeral services of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat as a member of the official United States delegation along with former US presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

PR, film and television

On November 5, 1982, Mason resigned his White House position and became the vice president of Rogers and Cowan Public Relations. In 1984, he joined with promoter Don King to promote the Jackson's Victory Tour. Mason went on to become an executive producer of sex, lies, and videotape (1989), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. 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. In 1990, Mason became vice president and head of the independent film division of the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills. He left to become chief executive of London Films in 1996. Mason founded the European television channel Innergy in 1999. Formed in partnership with musician Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, who was introduced to Mason by Deepak Chopra, it was "the first channel of its kind in the world with programmes offering viewers help and guidance for self-empowerment."

Personal life

He married singer Belinda Carlisle in 1986, eloping to Lake Tahoe. They have a son, James.