Bill Fairchild: "In a noisy world he spoke quietly, and yet his voice will be remembered by millions who never knew him." "How do I wish to be remembered, if at all? I think perhaps just as a fairly desirable sort of character actor." "I'm a character actor: the public never knows what it's getting by way of a Mason performance from one film to the next. I therefore represent thoroughly insecure investment." [On not showing up at the 27th Academy Awards, even though he had been nominated as Best Actor for "A Star is Born" and had agreed to go] "The Oscar show is always a little better when things go wrong, so I had no need to feel guilty about letting them down."