Oct 31 2008
Popcultured Blast from the Past: Mikey
Who doesn’t remember the Life Cereal commercials from the early 1970’s? The cherubic young star of the commercials, Mikey, didn’t like to eat anything- but he chowed down on that Life cereal! He became a pop culture icon, especially in the late 70’s when a rumor spread that he died (the rumor was that his stomach exploded after eating Pop Rocks, a popular candy, and drinking soda).
The child actor who played Mikey was named John Gilchrist. The “Mikey” Life cereal commercials aired for 12 years- an unprecedented amount of time for a TV commercial. Oh, one other fun fact. Gilchrist’s 2 brothers played his brothers in the commercial. Remember them?
“He likes it, hey Mikey!”
Youtube it if you’re too young to remember this classic commercial.
