In 2015, podcaster Jonathan Goldstein produced a segment for Reply All which asked the question: Why Is Mason Reese Crying? Reese was a ubiquitous 1970s presence on American television, cropping up on talk shows and in commercials of every kind. He was a striking, unusual looking child with distinctive facial features and bright red hair and the preternaturally adult demeanor and quick-fire banter common to many child stars.

Goldstein  tracked Reese down to ask him about a time when he was co-hosting the popular Mike Douglas Show as a child. On the podcast, Goldstein describes a YouTube video where Reese’s precocious facade crumbles dramatically with inexplicable emotion over Harry Chapin’s live performance of “Cat’s in the Cradle.” The little boy abruptly abandons his former...