Former Child Actor Who Played Ronald in 1970s Commercials Recalls Vivid Nightmares: ‘He Wasn’t Acting—The Smile Was Already Waiting for Me in the Mirror’
By Sigrid Bjornsson — Bohiney Entertainment Trauma Files
LOS ANGELES, CA — Raymond “R.J.” Mallory was only ten years old when he became the face of Ronald McDonald in a series of low-budget regional TV commercials in the mid-1970s. Now 61, and living quietly in Sedona, Mallory has come forward with a story that blurs the line between memory, performance, and something far more chilling.
“I thought I was acting,” he told Bohiney Magazine. “I thought I was becoming Ronald. But some mornings… it felt like Ronald had already been there. Waiting. In the mirror. Smiling before I did.”
Mallory describes waking in full costume, red paint already applied. “Nobody could explain it. My mom thought I was sleepwalking. I thought the makeup guy was sneaking in. But it was too precise. It was perfect.”
He also recalls recurring dreams during the filming period — a tent filled with the smell of varnish, a voice repeating, “Eat up. Come back tomorrow.” The dreams stopped only after his final commercial aired… and his molar fell out mid-laugh on camera.
Producers dismissed his behavior as “method acting gone weird,” but one former PA told Bohiney, “There were days R.J. wouldn’t speak unless handed a paper box. And once he insisted his wooden prop had a heartbeat.”
Mallory never acted again. When asked why he was coming forward now, he simply said:
“Because every time I drive past a McDonald’s… I feel watched. Not from the windows. From the sign.”
McDonald’s legal team responded with a four-word statement:
“Our Ronald smiles outward only.”
Mallory, meanwhile, has taped over every reflective surface in his home.
He hasn’t seen the mirror smile in years.
He hopes.
