Mikey likes it where is he now

John is smack in the middle. His parents owned a small bungalow in Long Beach , where one day the Gilchrists ran into children on the beach who had done modeling and thought their "freckly, All-American look" might be marketable. It was. Soon the oldest brother, Tommy, was working regularly, making "more money in the fee for a day than my father probably made in a week," and Pat was learning to get work for the others.

All seven acted at some point. It eventually helped the family move to Yonkers , buy real estate in East Hampton and pay for college educations. Five of the siblings still live in Yonkers. John, his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, ages 7 to 14, live nearby in Pelham. Unlike many child actors, Gilchrist has mostly positive memories of working the circuit with an eclectic group of contemporaries that included Rodney Allen Rippy, Mason Reese and Haywood Nelson "Dwayne" from " What's Happening!

He also knew Ricky Schroder , who edged him out for a plum role in the movie "The Champ. He believes the key to his comfort level was having his real family there. Gilchrist has appeared in a revival of the old campaign, and he regularly receives requests to sign memorabilia, which he happily does.

Mostly, the iconic commercial has faded into the background of his life. Gilchrist played the iconic role alongside his two real-life brothers — Tom and Mike. Filmed in , the commercial was aired nationally in and ran through The ad shows three young siblings having breakfast.

Before them sits a bowl of Life breakfast cereal. Two of the brothers wouldn't like to taste it, so they get their brother Mikey to do so. The little boy quickly gazes at the bowl.

After moments of contemplation, he starts to enthusiastically eat the cereal before him, resulting in his brothers eagerly yelling, "He likes it! Hey, Mikey! Clearly, this commercial was an outright hit. Everybody knew about it, both children and parents alike.

The children were entirely comfortable in the commercial since they were all real siblings. Or was it all just one of the greatest urban legends TV commercials have ever known? Source: youtube. John Gilchrist was cast as little Mikey in the Life cereal commercial with his two real-life brothers, Tom and Mike. The commercial was filmed in when he was just three and a half years old, and by it was being aired nationally and ran through Not too bad considering that little Mikey never uttered a single word in the commercial.

Gilchrist and his six siblings got into acting as children at the suggestion of a family friend. The family was at a Long Island beach for the day when they were told that their kids and their freckled faces were just the all-American look producers were looking for.

Eventually, all of the siblings ended up acting making more money in one day than their father made at his job all week. The money they brought in put the kids through college. It was just part of their lives. They thought all kids acted. The kids were not only comfortable acting, but they also had a natural dynamic being real-life brothers. It was a dream come true for producers. The commercial was a huge hit with kids and parents alike.

Not only did it help to sell a lot of Life Cereal, but it ended up being ranked as the No. Still today, little Mikey is brought up in conversation when someone is a picky eater. John Gilchrist as little Mikey. Source: mysanantonio. Pop Rocks is an effervescent candy containing pressurized carbon dioxide gas.

When it comes into contact with saliva, the solid candy dissolves and the gas is released, emitting a fun popping sound and causing a tactile sensation on the tongue. Pop Rocks were introduced in by General Foods, and were a hit with kids, though their signature trait dealt with chemistry your typical pre-teen could hardly understand. Rumors about Pop Rocks, and what they might do if combined with soda, and what they actually did to John Gilchrist, surfaced around , and eventually reached Gilchrist's family.

Gilchrist's mother had soothing news: John was just fine. John Gilchrist, Mikey from the Life cereal commercial, is alive and well. General Foods was so vexed by the rumors about its famous or infamous candy that the company issued statements to parents' groups and school and ran newspaper advertisements, that tried to assure the public that Pop Rocks were safe.

In , General Foods stopped making Pop Rocks, explaining that it just wasn't a successful product. For gullible kids, the disappearance of the product only confirmed the rumors about Mikey -- Pop Rocks had been taken off the market, they figured, because they had killed a kid.

John Gilchrist in an ad intended to reprise the role of Mikey in the Life Cereal commercial.