John Gilchrist (actor)
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John Gilchrist (born 1968 [1]) is the name of a former child actor who appeared in an iconic and hugely popular television commercial advertisement for Life cereal in 1972. The commercial, often referred to as Little Mikey after the character Gilchrist plays, would run for more than twelve years, and would be remade several times.[2][3] In 1999, it was voted as one of the top ten commercials of all time by TV Guide.[4]
Beginning in 1975, a bizarre rumor turned into a full fledged urban legend. The myth stated that the otherwise unknown actor who played Mikey (Gilchrist) had died from consuming a lethal combination of Pop Rocks and soda.[5] The myth has long since been debunked multiple times in many media including on Snopes[5] and on the first episode of the television series Mythbusters.[6] Part of the explanation is that it is scientifically improbable to die from such a combination, with the main aspect being that Gilchrist is alive and well as of 2007.[7]
Gilchrist stopped acting after the Little Mikey commercial. He currently resides in New York where he is an advertising account manager for a radio station.[5]
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- ^ http://members.tripod.com/~former_child_star/gilchrist_john.html
- ^ "Mikey: An Investigation" by Eric Spitznagel from Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.
- ^ January 2000 press release from Quaker Oats
- ^ "The 50 Greatest Commercials of All Time," TV Guide magazine, July 3, 1999.
- ^ a b c "Pop Rocks" from the Urban Legends Reference Pages.
- ^ Episode Guide from the Mythbusters website on Discovery.com.
- ^ Noted from the Mythbusters episode noted above.
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