Editing James Mason (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:James Mason and Family 1957.JPG|thumb|Mason and his family in 1957 in the television programme ''Panic!''. From left: son Morgan, Mason's wife Pamela, daughter Portland and Mason.]]

Mason was a devoted lover of animals, particularly cats. He and his wife, [[Pamela Mason]], co-authored the book ''The Cats in Our Lives'', which was published in 1949. James wrote most of the book and also illustrated it. In ''The Cats in Our Lives'', he recounted humorous and sometimes touching tales of the cats (as well as a few dogs) he had known and loved.

In 1952, Mason purchased a house previously owned by [[Buster Keaton]]. There he discovered reels of [[Nitrocellulose#Nitrate film fires|nitrate film]] of some of Keaton's work that was considered [[Lost film|lost]], including ''[[The Boat (1921 film)|The Boat]]'' (1921). He arranged to have the decomposing films transferred to [[Cellulose acetate film|safety stock]], saving them from oblivion.<ref>{{cite web| last=Bailey| first=Steve| title=The Boat| url=https://www.angelfire.com/indie/busterkeaton/boat.html| work=The Love Nest| access-date=19 February 2013}}</ref>

In his youth, Mason was a keen fan of his local [[Rugby League]] team, [[Huddersfield Giants|Huddersfield]]. In later years he also followed the fortunes of [[Huddersfield Town]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/I4LsSlWzITA Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131110102541/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4LsSlWzITA&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4LsSlWzITA&t=1981| title = James Mason - Home James (1972) | date = 26 May 2013 | via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Mason was married twice:
* From 1941 to 1964 to British actress [[Pamela Mason]] (née Ostrer) (1916–1996). They had one daughter, [[Portland Mason|Portland Mason Schuyler]] (1948–2004), and one son, [[Morgan Mason|Morgan]] (who is married to [[Belinda Carlisle]], the lead singer of [[the Go-Go's]]). Pamela Mason filed suit for divorce in 1962 for lack of support, claiming adultery on his part with three Jane Does.<ref>{{cite news|title=Actress Charges Habitual Cruelty|newspaper=Morning World |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2540978/monroe_morning_world/|agency=Monroe Morning World|date=24 November 1962|page=8|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = 2 June 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref> According to their son Morgan and other sources, Pamela herself had had numerous affairs, but due to her attorney [[Marvin Mitchelson]]'s skill, she won a monetary settlement of at least $1&nbsp;million ($9.275&nbsp;million today) when the marriage was finally dissolved in 1964; it was reported as "America's first million-dollar divorce".<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |last= Smith |first= Dinitia |authorlink= Dinitia Smith |title= Pamela Mason, 80, An Author, Actress And Talk-Show Host |date= 2 July 1996 |accessdate= 22 June 2020 |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/02/nyregion/pamela-mason-80-an-author-actress-and-talk-show-host.html}}</ref><ref name=edge>{{cite news|last=Edge |first=Simon |title=James Mason: The Sad Cad |url=http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/96819/James-Mason-The-sad-cad |newspaper=[[Daily Express]]| location=United Kingdom|date=24 April 2009|accessdate = 23 October 2015}}</ref> As a result of this success, Mitchelson became a sought-after celebrity divorce attorney.<ref name=pleck>{{cite book |last=Pleck |first=Elizabeth H. |date=2012 |title=Not Just Roommates: Cohabitation After the Sexual Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aiva6zfP8iAC&pg=PA148 |location=Chicago |publisher=Univ. of Chicago Press |page=148 |isbn=978-0226671031}}</ref>
* Australian actress [[Clarissa Kaye]] (1971 – his death). Tobe Hooper's DVD commentary for ''[[Salem's Lot (1979 miniseries)|Salem's Lot]]'' reveals that Mason regularly included contractual clauses in his later work guaranteeing Kaye bit parts in his films.

Mason's autobiography, ''Before I Forget'', was published in 1981.