Rarified Heir Podcast
Host Josh Mills brings together a wide variety of adult children of celebrities for a fun, funny, bizarre, jaw-dropping, strange and wonderful look behind celebrity, by the people that know them best: their very own children.
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Episode #270: Nabil Ayers (Roy Ayers)
01/13/2026
Episode #270: Nabil Ayers (Roy Ayers)
Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Nabil Ayers, son of musician Roy Ayers, a jazz/funk/soul giant most famous for his song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” and is likely one of the most sampled artists of all time. A vibraphonist, singer and composer, Ayers songs have been sampled by everyone from Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg as well as had collaborations with Alicia Keyes, The Roots and Tyler, The Creator among others. As you will soon hear, Nabil’s story is unlike anything we have heard before on the podcast. Imagine growing up knowing who your father was but only meeting him occasionally. By design. Sometimes it was a planned meeting that lasted just long enough to ask, “Do you want some Tempura?” and others were times that were literally a chance meeting on the street at a music store. As you will soon hear, we discuss this and much more around his book, 2022’s My Life in the Sunshine that explains all this and much more. Nabil himself was open, engaging, honest and ready to discuss everything. What it was like growing up with a Jewish/Baha’i Faith mother who really only wanted a child at the age of 20, his relationship with his uncle Alan, a jazz musician himself who really was the masculine figure Nabil looked up to the most and how he finally had lunch with his dad well into his 30s when things seemed to not be making as much sense as they did earlier in his life. Currently a record executive, he’s the President of the Beggars Group of labels, a group of well respected, independent US and UK labels, Nabil has also played in bands, owned his own record store, has his own podcast on both family and identity, called Identified, has written articles for The Guardian, the New York Times and others, has his own Substack page and much more. Accomplished, talented and versatile, Nabil opened up to us about pretty much everything we asked about. His story is about as unique take on celebrity and growing up the child of a celebrity as we could imagine. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. But none of them are like the one you are going to hear, right now.
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Episode #269: Anne Serling (Rod Serling)
01/06/2026
Episode #269: Anne Serling (Rod Serling)
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Anne Serling, daughter of the great writer and as we learn, practical joker and pop culture figure Rod Serling. Of course we talk to Anne about beloved anthology shows her father created like The Twilight Zone as well as The Night Gallery but we also talk to Anne about her father’s humanity, his years growing up in upstate New York, his religious beliefs and traditions, his career in radio, the films he wrote and much more. But we also hear from Anne about why she wrote a book about her father, As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling but also what it was like being the daughter of entertainment industry legend,…at home. We learned that Rod was a lover of animals and their home was filled with dogs, parakeets and even some very unconventional animals. We learn her father splurged only on two things which we will get to, his favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, the music her father sang to and even some of the inside jokes they shared together. This episode is literally years in the making and we couldn’t have been more thankful to Anne for taking the time to sit down with us to talk about someone we all know and love as a creator of two massively influential television shows but also about the humanity, humor and kindness of her father as only she would know. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Or is it?
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Episode #268: Fred Armisen (Ernie Kovacs Award, VideoFest)
12/30/2025
Episode #268: Fred Armisen (Ernie Kovacs Award, VideoFest)
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Today, we are doing something different but not totally unprecedented. Last year in 2024, we presented a bonus episode, recorded live at the Texas Theater in Dallas, Texas with Ernie Kovacs award winner, Gerald Casale from Devo at VideoFest. This year, we’d like to present this year’s VideoFest’s Ernie Kovacs Award recipient, comedian Fred Armisen. This is just one of the ways we keep the legacy of both Ernie and Edie Adams going and frankly, it’s really a major impetus for this podcast itself. How better to keep someone’s legacy alive than via the children of those who knew them best, their children? Recorded on November 23, in the very same theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, exactly 62 years prior, this episode exists only because of one person and we wanted to thank Dev Shapiro of Selig News for his recording. You see, we recorded this directly from the sound board for ideal sound quality but when we got the digital files, they were corrupted and unusable. Thankfully, it was Dev to the rescue and while Dev was not recording directly from the sound board, I think we can all forgive the minor audio issues because well, he saved our bacon by just being there. Preservation is key and we thank Dev for making that happen. And thank you to yours truly for some of the audio fidelity we goosed up for this episode too. Big thanks to VideoFest’s Founder Bart Weiss, the VideoFest team including Kelly Kitchens (who is also a Patreon supporter), Reid Robinson, Elijah Cruz Barron, Janeth Farnsworth, Jessica Spawn, Andy Streitfeld and Mark Wickersham as well as Barak Epstein of the Texas Theatre and Erin Barros of Concord Hospitality. More big thanks to Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams archivist Ben Model for the tip to bring up the Ernie in Kovacsland book on stage prior to the interview as well. And now, here’s Fred Armisen. Take a listen. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #267: Tamar Springer (Philip Springer)
12/23/2025
Episode #267: Tamar Springer (Philip Springer)
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to guest Tamar Springer about her composer/songwriter father Philip Springer. Now, unless you are in music publishing or a collector of film soundtracks or possibly a musical academic, the name Philip Springer might not seem like a name you would know. A ha, but if I told you he was the composer & co-writer of the hit Eartha Kitt, Christmas song “Santa Baby” then would you know? Or perhaps you’d know some of his other work which has been sung by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald, from Dusty Springfield to Elvis Presley. In all, Philip Springer has composed more than 500 songs and he’s still writing songs today at age 99. Our conversation with Tamar centers around a documentary she made about her father that is Academy Award eligible and has screened at film festivals around the country. Her film about her father, More Than Santa Baby is Tamar’s film about her father’s career that spans performing classical music, writing some of the earliest electronic music, scoring film and television shows, writing for songwriters at the famed Brill Building and much much more. What’s more, there is a familiar connection between Tamar and host Josh Mills family that even he didn’t realize when they started the conversation. It’s more than incredible, it’s downright cosmic. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a has a story. But not like this. Not like the one guest Tamar Springer tells on this episode. She really lived up to her name!
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Episode #266: Ed Eckstine (Billy Eckstine)
12/16/2025
Episode #266: Ed Eckstine (Billy Eckstine)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Ed Eckstine, son of smooth as silk singer & bandleader Billy Eckstine. Our chat with Ed was funny, educational, occasionally jaw dropping and always engaging. Now, before we even started our chat with Ed, upon his agreeing to be a part of the podcast, we got a list of topics from Ed that he thought we might want to discuss. Effectively, he sent us a cheat sheet that they didn’t get to on his appearance on the Questlove Supreme podcast prior to our chat. Who were we to say no? There were like 60 totally engaging topics Ed had written out and we get to some of them here. Jazz fans and pop fans will know Billy Eckstine for his deep baritone voice that singers of the era loved and the ladies swooned for. Sinatra was a fan and a friend. As was Ella and a host of others. Dapper, good looking, classy, entrepreneurial and courageous, we discuss with Ed all of those qualities his father had that made him a star. It also made him a target as you will hear, surrounding an article in Life Magazine that exposed America’s racists past that frankly, doesn’t seem too far removed from where we are today. We also talk to Ed about his own career as a journalist and music executive who recounts his obsessive love of rock music, his time working for the one and only Q, Quincy Jones and some of the most insane and jaw dropping interviews he conducted with the likes of Issac Hayes. We also get into his years as his father’s helper before he went on stage at Jewish and Italian resorts in the 1960s and as Nabil Ayers said in a 2020 New York Times piece, what it “was like to be the first black person to be let in — to be allowed by the predominantly white music industry to helm one of its largest entities,”when he was the president of Mercury Records. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #265: Kat Kramer (Stanley Kramer)
12/08/2025
Episode #265: Kat Kramer (Stanley Kramer)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Katherine Kramer, daughter of producer/director Stanley Kramer. Our chat with Katherine or Kat was both edifying and easy as we had familial connections and we learned a few things in the process. Such as? Well how about what famous actress was she named after, where in the Western United States did her family move to once they left Hollywood and what films made her father a bankable director while he was still producing. We also spoke about some of his films, many of them ‘message’ films such as Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Judgement at Nuremberg, The Defiant Ones and a small, off-beat comedy called It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World which co-starred Edie Adams, our host’s Josh Mills’s mother. In all, Stanley Kramer’s films garnered 80 Academy Awards and starred everyone from Spencer Tracy to Sidney Pointier, Marlon Brando and so many, many more. Kat talked to us about her work as well – in terms of both her charity events and her film festivals, her one woman show about Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, her creepy house growing up, The Kennedy Assassination and much more. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Kat Kramer’s is coming right up!
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Episode #264: Matt Axton (Hoyt Axton)
12/02/2025
Episode #264: Matt Axton (Hoyt Axton)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are speaking to musician Matt Axton about his larger-than-life actor, musician, spokesman and songwriter dad, Hoyt Axton. Now if you grew up in the eighties, you would know Hoyt from Gremlins. If you grew up in the 70s, you’d know him as the songwriter to the smash hit “Joy To The World” made popular by Three Dog Night and in the sixties perhaps the hit show Bonanza. As Matt explains to us, his dad was many things to many people, a shit kicking psychedelic cowboy, a Busch beer pitchman and even Mogwai’s dad. Everyone could relate to Hoyt. We also talk about the fact that Matt is a third generation musician, as his grandmother was known as the Queen of Nashville. Mae Boren Axton, was a well-known songwriter of more than 200 songs including – get this – “Heartbreak Hotel”. Now that’s some serious lineage. To know that your grandmother introduced Elvis Presley to his manager, Colonel Tom Parker is just a bit of a mind fuck. Our conversation with Matt was both melancholy and prideful. Matt was fiercely proud of his dad’s legacy in country music and in film and television but he also let us know that for reasons you will hear, he has almost nothing of his father’s possessions but his own memories. But he’s not bitter. In fact, he’s got a terrific outlook and draws on his dad’s legacy to push him in his own career. Matt loves the one nighters, the travel, the live music and the recording. After all, it’s in his blood. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #263: Denise Gautier (Dick Gautier)
11/04/2025
Episode #263: Denise Gautier (Dick Gautier)
Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Denise Gautier, daughter of actor, painter, artist and raconteur Dick Gautier. Perhaps best known for his role of Hymie in the TV series Get Smart even though he was only on a limited number of episodes, we delve into the wonderful and sometimes difficult world of what it was like to grow up the daughter of a delightful but often too casual father. Ahem. The idea of looking into connecting with Denise came entirely from our interview with Susannah Mars, daughter of comedian Kenneth Mars. Susannah told us a very funny, if entirely inappropriate story, about meeting up with her dad and his actor friends at lunch and receiving a drawing from Gautier. While that drawing simply would not fly in 2025, it’s what made us laugh and frankly, some of us also had dad’s like that too. Ahem. Anyway, Denise gives us the lowdown on what it was like being with the very funny, exceedingly talented artist father as well as his unconventional ways. Along the way we discuss Dick’s connections to Broadway, the beatnik coffee culture of San Francisco in the sixties, the famed Magic Castle, fellow actors and friends Dave Madden, Mel Brooks, his second wife actress Barbara Stuart, his various game show appearances on shows like Tattle Tales and much more. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #262 Sam Nelson (Rick Nelson, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson) (Part Two)
11/18/2025
Episode #262 Sam Nelson (Rick Nelson, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson) (Part Two)
Sam Nelson (Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson) (Part Two) Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we present for you part two of our interview with Sam Nelson, son of Rick Nelson and grandson of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson. In the 1950s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was a massive hit television show and ran for 14 years that made both Rick, then known as Ricky and brother David Nelson major, major stars. But this episode takes a very intense turn from the first episode as we move from one type of a family legacy to quite another. If you recall, in the 1980s Sam was at the center of a very public custody fight between his mother Kristin Nelson and her brother, actor Mark Harmon and his wife actress Pam Dawber. Imagine heading to the supermarket and seeing your own face on the cover of the National Enquirer and People magazine while still in elementary school? And this after the tragic and speculated up death of his father, Ricky Nelson in a plane crash not too long before that. Ooof, this one is doozy. We do manage to get into a few things outside of the more sensational aspects of Sam’s life including the very real ghost stories from his childhood home, his father’s favorite flavor of ice cream and the famous beach house his grandparents owned that was part of the Nelson family lore. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #261: Sam Nelson (Rick Nelson, Kristin Nelson) (Part One)
11/11/2025
Episode #261: Sam Nelson (Rick Nelson, Kristin Nelson) (Part One)
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, encore edition, we are talking to Sam Nelson, the son of actor/musician Rick Nelson aka Ricky Nelson and actress mother Kristin Nelson). He also has some pretty famous grandparents, an uncle, brothers, a sister and likely more relatives who spent some time in front of the camera and the microphone we discuss as well. Sam spoke to us about so many things on part one of this interview including, what it’s like to run a television archive which is right up host Josh Mills’ alley, the challenges in keeping an archive relevant in 2025 and how to best honor your family legacy. We dig into how Sam became the one to control his family legacy via his uncle David who passed it on to him after some time and frankly, a bit of neglect as well. We talk about The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet being the second longest running sitcom on television in its history, the legacy of his father Rick whose good looks and talent almost took him away from the show much to his parents chagrin and how he’s bringing it back in the 20s. There is lots to dig into including a 435 episode DVD box set Sam shepherded to market, how he’s looking to expand the brand outside of the small screen as well as the complexity of being the son of one the great entertainers of 1950s well into the 1980s. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #260: Radames Pera (Lisa Pera) (Part Two)
11/04/2025
Episode #260: Radames Pera (Lisa Pera) (Part Two)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to guest Radames Pera on part two of our conversation about growing up a child actor to actress Lisa Pera. Like episode one of our conversation last week, we dig into some really intense and really dark places that have to be heard to be believed. As the young Grasshopper on the 70s TV show Kung Fu to an eventual, genuine teen heartthrob thanks to his role as John Jr. on Little House on the Prairie, we learn on this episode that all that glitters is not gold. On this episode we get a deep dive into the aforementioned Coogan’s Law that was put on the books in 1939 so that child actors were protected by law from parents benefiting financially from their career. Or so we are told. Laws are only good when enforced and Radames lays out the intense, jaw-dropping details of how the law failed him by his very own mother. We also learn of Radames’ mother, actress Lisa Pera hoarding disorder in her later years that was so bad, Radames felt the need to document it on YouTube. And while we discuss this in depth, the videos are hard to watch. Moreover, the home in the videos is the one Radamas grew up in. It’s a tough watch. This episode has layers upon layers of really difficult emotions that we tackle only through the honesty and genuine candor of our guest. This one is a rough one and one for the ages. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #259: Radames Pera (Lisa Pera) (Part One)
10/28/2025
Episode #259: Radames Pera (Lisa Pera) (Part One)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are bringing you part one of our conversation with former child actor Radames Pera, best known for his roles on shows like Kung-Fu and Little House on the Prairie. We had to split this episode into two episodes because there as so much more than we bargained for when we sat down to record this episode. Somehow in addition to covering Radames’ career, we got into spin art, the Coogan Law, punk rock, fitting in at school and so much more. Part of that so much more involved his mother Lisa Pera whose acting career involved TV shows like Get Smart, Perry Mason, Hawaii 5-0 and many, many more. We discuss what it was like being raised in a Hollywood apartment by a young, single mother who was too emotionally mixed up from her own time as one of the many victims of being a Ukrainian – Russian in Nazi Germany during WWII. It’s so unreal, it’s hard to believe it’s not more well known or talked about 70+ years later. And somehow, this is just the beginning of Radames tale because there is an entirely different story in part two of the podcast as well. What starts as a story about seemingly idyllic roles as John Jr. and a young Caine that found Pera on the cover of teen magazines as a heartthrob for years turns very dark, very fast. It’s emotionally honest and brutally so. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. But not like this one.
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Episode #258: Luke Yankee (Eileen Heckart)
10/21/2025
Episode #258: Luke Yankee (Eileen Heckart)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to playwright, author and educator Luke Yankee, son of Oscar-winning actress Eileen Heckart. Luke spoke to us about his biography about his mother, Just Outside the Spotlight, his then upcoming play about his mother and the many, many tales he witnessed growing up the son of his actor/mother who was anything but a wilting flower. Eileen was a pistol and o’re to be the subject of one of her pointed barbs! We also talk about host Josh Mills’ mother Edie Adams who Luke had a first person connection to as well as some of Luke’s mother’s best known films, The Bad Seed, Barefoot in the Park, Butterflies Are Free and more. Along with that comes great tales about Goldie Hawn, George Segal, Soupy Sales, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe and many more. While all of these amazing stories are told with a fun and mirth, there was one moment that genuinely choked us up in it’s beautiful humanity that we just loved hearing. It was a pure and honest moment that gave us a truly well rounded picture of the complex woman that was Eileen Heckert. Broadway, the big screen and even a pivotal role on the small screen on The Mary Tyler Moore Show are all part of this episode with Luke Yankee. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #257: Carnie Wilson, Shawn Kay, Jenny Brill (Brian Wilson, John Kay, Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill)
10/14/2025
Episode #257: Carnie Wilson, Shawn Kay, Jenny Brill (Brian Wilson, John Kay, Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to three prior guests of the podcast who are talking to us in the boldest experiment in Rarified Heir Podcast history! How so? We are talking to them all at once. Something we had never done before. But don’t fret, Carnie Wilson, Jenny Brill and Shawn Kay have been friends for quite a long time and, in fact, they know each other and host Josh Mills from as far back as elementary school. There are laughs and some tears on this one. Since the time of this recording, sadly we have lost two of the celebrity parents of our guests, as both Mitzi McCall, mother of Jenny Brill and Brian Wilson, father of Carnie Wilson have both passed away as of this encore episode. While it puts things in perspective rather quickly, it also helps us to realize that the entire point of this podcast is to make sure that in this fast paced world, we don’t forget the names and stories about some of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th century. And with that in mind, this episode is a rollicking one, a bit experimental as we said but also fast paced, filled with childhood memories and what it was like not only growing up the child of a celebrity but also with friends whose parents were also celebrities. We get into some ridiculous tales about the Oakwood school where they all met, insane stories about album jackets as modes of transportation and a nostalgic trip down a very 1970s memory lane. Which begs the question, just how did the children of Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill, John Kay, Brian Wilson and Marilyn Wilson get along? In a word? Famously. Take a listen.
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Episode #256: Nikki Nash (Dick Nash)
10/07/2025
Episode #256: Nikki Nash (Dick Nash)
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Nikki Nash, daughter of musician, trombonist Dick Nash. Now, you may not know the face or the name, Dick Nash but you certainly know his work with Henry Mancini, or should we say Hank Mancini with some of his best known work. Before the Wrecking Crew, Dick and a small group of side-men WERE the Wrecking Crew, playing on hundreds of studio dates for film, TV and major label albums in the 50s and 60s. But as we learn, Dick Nash didn’t take every date offered for a very specific reason. Our conversation with Nikki centered around her new book, Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things, an autobiography about her life in and around show business that is one hell of a read. Some of the things we talk about in our conversation with Nikki include notable run-ins with everyone from the aforementioned Warren Beatty, as well as Dennis Miller, Louise Lasser, Don Cornelius, Robert Hays, the Black Panthers, Robert Altman and many others. We also discuss long-lost LA restaurants like The Old World and The Luau, the best toast, the job of an A.D. behind the camera, addiction, painting, depression, growing up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and much more. Nikki was open, honest, funny, matter-of-fact, attentive and gave us all we could handle in discussing her life and her book. And like her book, our interview was breezy and also had a lot of depth below the surface. But don’t take my word for it, take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast and see for yourself. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #255: Donavan Freberg (Stan Freberg)
09/30/2025
Episode #255: Donavan Freberg (Stan Freberg)
Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are speaking to Donavan Freberg, son of the genius humorist, comedian, advertising executive and writer Stan Freberg. Donavan was a guest we had tried to get on the podcast for quite some time and thankfully he finally agreed to be in the hot seat and we can’t thank him enough. Our conversation with Donavan was frank and not always easy but at other times wonderful and whimsical. You’ll see what we mean after you take a listen. Our chat with Donavan often started with the almost Wonka-like existence of growing up with a dad who had a fondness for Christmas, often took his son out on adventures late at night and sometimes not requiring him to go to school was part of his daily existence. It was more like a movie or an adventure that most of us ever get to experience in our own childhood When you mom breaks you out of school, you know you are living in rarified heir. We get into that hilarious story and a lot more on this episode. We learn from Donavan that his father was a genius ad man who created some of the funniest, most memorable commercials of the 60s and 70s which garnered him 21 Clio awards, the ad biz’s equivalent of the Academy Awards for commercials. We also talk about our Frank Sinatra connection that likely brought us to this interview in some ways. We also learn from Donavan that a very, very rough change took place in his father’s life after his mother passed away which is both heartbreaking and remarkable at the same time. Heartbreaking for the loss Donavan felt with his father and remarkable that he still has such affinity for his dad. This episode is all about duality. Take a listen. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #254: Pamela Dillman (Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker)
09/23/2025
Episode #254: Pamela Dillman (Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker)
Today on another bonus episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to a lost, family friend. Our guest today is actress and voice over actress extraordinaire, Pamela Dillman. How we connected to Pamela actually thanks to one of you, our listeners, Barbara Bassett, who alerted us to an interview with Pamela on another site and mentioned she was friends with Mia Kovacs, sister to host Josh Mills. What? Yes really. So we reached out and lo and behold, Pamela could not have been nicer, more kind, more loving in her effusive answer to, did she want to be a guest on our podcast. An emphatic yes! Pamela spoke to us about growing up the daughter of actor Bradford Dillman and the step daughter of one of the world’s most famous models, Suzy Parker. Our conversation with Pamela involved everything from growing up with Mia and attending the very proper John Thomas Dye school in Los Angeles, to remembering going to Las Vegas and being in the wings when Mia’s & Josh’s mother Edie Adams was performing her cabaret act at Caesar’s Palace on the strip and much more in between.. We also discuss Pam’s working actor dad (her words, not ours) who is known for roles in everything from Escape From Planet of the Apes, The Enforcer, his breakout role in the film Compulsion and much, much more. And of course, how could we forget about Suzy Parker, a woman so famous, none other than The Beatles wrote a song about her? We seemingly split our time talking as if we were in group therapy or the grousing about the ridiculousness of Hollywood acting auditions, how her dad became a scout for the San Francisco 49ers football team as well as a truly harrowing story involving her sibling that you won’t soon forget. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Get ready for an emotional one.
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Episode #253: Karen Crane (Bob Crane)
09/16/2025
Episode #253: Karen Crane (Bob Crane)
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we have a first! Our guest today is a sibling of a prior guest from just a few weeks back. Our guest today is Karen Crane, the sister of Robert Crane and the daughter of Hogan’s Heroes star actor Bob Crane. While you may have thought we hit all the high notes on being the child of Bob Crane in our prior episode, well, guess again. Karen has her own, very unique story to tell. Born a decade after brother Robert, Karen spoke to us about her story from her own perspective including the details of her parents’ divorce, her father’s ‘wandering eye’ as she puts it, as well as his obsession with photography and cameras that ultimately led to his murder in 1978 when she was just 17 years old. We also spoke to Karen about what it was like dealing with her father’s second family and the difficulties that entailed both while he was living and well after his death. What’s more, Karen spoke to us about a book she is writing on her own life. She’s one chapter away from finishing her autobiography, some ten years in the making. What once was a nice story about family life and the best things about being Bob Crane’s daughter has gone to a much darker place. What started out as one thing became entirely something else once she started to examine her own emotions and the events surrounding her father’s murder. Along the way we did manage to squeak in some light moments including what kind of car her dad drove, his favorite ice cream and the one thing that she and her father did together that made her feel closest to him. We also learned quite a bit about things in her life that were difficult fifty years ago and are still difficult to this day. Karen held very little back in this episode and we appreciated her honesty and trust in sharing some truly difficult moments so we could share them with all of you. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. However, none are like this one you are about to hear. Take a listen.
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Episode #252: Phil Crosby Jr. (Bing Crosby)
09/08/2025
Episode #252: Phil Crosby Jr. (Bing Crosby)
Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Phil Crosby Jr., son of actor/singer Phil Crosby and grandson of Der Bingle himself, Bing Crosby. And if that isn’t enough, he’s the nephew of Gary Crosby, the stepson of Jack Klugman, the grandson of 1920’s and 30s film star Dixie Lee and we haven’t even told you all of his familial connections. Gee, ya think he was born into this? Phil spoke to us about his family but also his career as an in demand singer of jazz and songs from the Great American Songbook. As you will soon hear, we learn how he went from a blues, prog band 11:11 playing at spots like the much beloved The Palamino Club to in Los Angeles to a jazz club in Borneo, We get into it. Not one to pull punches, Phil also spoke to us about the troubled family history that has made the rounds over the years. He’s quite open about it in fact and is fine talking about some of the claims his uncle Gary Crosby made in his tell-all book years ago. We also hear the flip side of that as he later found peace at the end of his life when he got sober. Along the way we hear about how his mother, actress Peggy Crosby Klugman, dated Dean Martin, how a trip to McDonald’s turned Dino’s car into a sardine can, how he and his father were estranged for much of his life until the birth of his first child, why he never met Bing, the two Christmas songs he’s currently working on with another guest of the podcast and much more. This is the Rarified heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Take a listen.
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Episode #251: Sharyn Felder (Doc Pomus) (Part Two)
09/02/2025
Episode #251: Sharyn Felder (Doc Pomus) (Part Two)
Today on part two the Rarified Heir Podcast, we continue our conversation with Sharyn Felder, daughter of the late, great songwriter Doc Pomus and trust us, this episode is as jam packed and fun-filled as part one from last week. Last week we spoke to Sharyn on the release day of a new box set of her father’s music, You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos on Omnivore Recordings, a six-CD set of lost, archival tracks. We continue that conversation today and learn that there just may be more tracks in her father’s archive that have never been released co-written by a very famous musician from New Orleans. We also hear more about her father’s second career as a card player when the royalty money dried up in the 1970s and the characters who inhabited that word – the mobsters, the octogenarians, the hypochondriacs, the gun-toting security and more. We also learned why the games stopped (take a guess) and how Doc began the second phase of his songwriting career, years after his career started. Sharyn’s colorful stories on this episode include two very popular music business folks who absolutely hated each other, Doc Pomus’ connection to a massive film in the 1970s that launched a comedy duo and became part of pop culture icons, how a bathhouse singer gained massive fame via Doc’s help but never acknowledged it publicly and much more. Part two is every bit as good as part one as you will hear right now on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #250: Sharyn Felder (Doc Pomus) (Part One)
08/26/2025
Episode #250: Sharyn Felder (Doc Pomus) (Part One)
Today on part one the Rarified Heir Podcast, we speak to Sharyn Felder, daughter of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, Doc Pomus. While you may not know the name Doc Pomus, you absolutely know his songs. Everyone from Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Dr. John, B.B. King have all recorded Doc Pomus songs…the list goes on and on. And we’ll get to those songs he wrote shortly. On the day we spoke to Sharyn, it was release day of a new box set of her father’s music, You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos on Omnivore Recordings, a six-CD set of lost, archival tracks that are a fascinating look into Doc’s music and his voice. We also get to hear the back story of how the music survived, the family archive as well as some famous people who also sang on the demos as well as the famous names whose sides didn’t survive. Along the way we discuss more famous and infamous characters who were part of Doc’s inner circle and those who sought out his help when the ships were down. And let us tell you, it’s one hell of a list. Like who? Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm when they were in Ronnie Hawkins band, Bob Dylan at a creative low point , Dr. John when he was struggling to quit heroin, Phil Spector, Bobby Darin, Otis Blackwell and many more. Somehow we concluded part one with a tale about the Runyon-esque existence her father lived to the fullest and the literal death of a clown. It’s funny/not funny. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast.
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Episode #249: Eric Bonerz (Peter Bonerz) (The Return)
08/19/2025
Episode #249: Eric Bonerz (Peter Bonerz) (The Return)
Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to returning (or is it returning, returning, oh well, whatever, never mind), guest Eric Bonerz, son of actor/director Peter Bonerz. We had such a good time talking to Eric in our first conversation, we brought him back to discuss more of the wild and the wacky things we connected on the first time around. Of course, like many of our guests, we discussed the weird and wonderful connection we have to the Oakwood School like so many of our past guests. Be it Peter Rafelson, Carnie Wilson, Jason Everly or many others nothing bonds us closer than Gorilla Glue like Oakwood. But this time around we delve deep into more on his dinner with cartoonist Chuck Jones as a small kid, what it was like mixing a track with Trent Reznor at the infamous house where Sharon Tate was murdered (really), befriending director Harmony Korine while running the X-Large store in New York for The Beastie Boys, and drumming for Free Kitten from then Sonic Youth’s co-hort Kim Gordon & much much more. This is the Rarified Heir podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #248: Noopy Rodrigues (Rose Marie, Bobby Guy)
08/12/2025
Episode #248: Noopy Rodrigues (Rose Marie, Bobby Guy)
Today on another encore episode of Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Noopy Rodriguez, daughter of comedian, actor and singer Rose Marie & musician Bobby Guy. Noopy (not her real name as we find out on this episode), let’s us in on the lives of her larger than life parents. When your father is the first trumpet player with The Tonight Show band and your mother is a comedy icon for her role as Sally onThe Dick Van Dyke Show, there is a whole lot to dig into. Noopy was incredible generous with her time and her stories as many veered from nostalgic to downright difficult in talking about her father. But somehow through it all, we learned quite a bit about her parents and what it’s like keeping a legacy alive as we dig into her efforts to bring us the CD Rose Marie Sings: The Complete Mercury Recordings & More which was from found recordings in her mother’s possession for years. Along the way, we hear about her time on The Tomorrow Show with Ton Snyder, haunted cars, Rosalind Russell, Phil Silvers, Morey Amsterdam, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and a guy named Popcorn who you have never heard of, unless of course you were connected….if you know what I mean. We get into Broadway, film, television recording, what it was like being raised by a single mother and much more. It’s incredibly familiar territory for host Josh Mills who connected with much of what was discussed. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #247: Robert Crane (Bob Crane)
08/05/2025
Episode #247: Robert Crane (Bob Crane)
Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Robert Crane, son of actor Bob Crane. Sadly, more has been spoken about the unsolved murder and the details surrounding the life of Bob Crane, the star of the hit 1960s television show Hogan’s Heroes than about his actual career. Be it autobiographical movies like Auto Focus starring Greg Kinnear or books like My Unhollywood Family and Crane: Sex, Celebrity and My Father’s Unsolved Murder both written by his son, our guest, the mystery surrounding Bob Crane’s death somehow has eclipsed all else. Today, we spoke to Robert about not only the devastation of losing his father in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1978 but also spending time with at KNX radio where his dad’s massively popular radio show in the 1960s made him one of the most popular DJs in the country. We discuss what Bob was like as a father (both the good and the bad), the fractured family dynamic of Bob’s first marriage and the fractured relationship with Bob’s second family. We also change gears and discuss Robert’s connection to SCTV via a book with Dave Thomas and his professional relationship as John Candy’s publicist and assistant for more than half a decade. So yes, on this upcoming episode, we dig into the hard stuff as well as the personal stuff which made Bob Crane a fun loving dad as well as the tough stuff which never quite leaves you, even close to 50 years later. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and this is one interview, you wont forget. Take a listen.
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Episode # 246: Peter Knego (Peter Coe, Rosalee Calvert)
07/29/2025
Episode # 246: Peter Knego (Peter Coe, Rosalee Calvert)
Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Peter Knego, son of actor Peter Coe and model Rosalee Calvert. Peter doesn’t pull many punches on this episode as we discuss the mercurial character that was his father. Known for his roles in films from the 1940s onward, be it Gung Ho!, Gypsy Wildcat or Louisiana Hussy, Coe is best remembered for his for his wild offscreen ways, his dark good look, his many wives and more. In fact, many will remember Peter Coe best for his horror film career in films like House of Frankenstein & The Mummy’s Curse both which starred Lon Cheyney Jr. However it might be his lasting friendship at the very end of his life with b-movie director Ed Wood that piques the most interest with fans. In fact, Wood died in Coe’s apartment. And our guest Peter was there to witness it all believe it or not. We discuss this fascinating and disturbing story coming up. We also discuss Peter’s mother, model Rosalee Cavlert who might have been the most famous model of the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, while she did act, she often played a model in films like Made in Paris and The Oscar, both starring host Josh Mills’ mother, Edie Adams. We talk about Peter’s time with his mother growing up pretty much in poverty while somehow living in an exclusive enclave of Los Angeles. The story Peter weaves about how this happens is fascinating. Along the way we discuss couture designer James Galanos, Atlantic Records music mogul Ahmet Ertegun, how Coe escaped the Nazi’s, the cult rock band Sparks, Bela Lugosi, having dinner with Mel Brooks, grade Z actor Paul Marco & much more. Peter is nothing if not self-effacing, straight forward, funny, matter of fact and quite happy to tell us both the good and the bad of growing up the child of a celebrity. Take a listen. Everyone has a story. Rarely are they this unique.
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Episode #245: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part Three)
07/22/2025
Episode #245: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part Three)
Today on another brand new episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we have a first in our history. We bring you the first ever, three part episode. Our guest today is Peter Rafelson, son of director Bob Rafelson. Admittedly, we sort of lied to you on because there really wasn’t going to be a third episode. But after our chat with Peter on the first two episodes, we decided there was more to discuss and we bring you the result. It’s a fun one too. On this episode, we discuss Peter’s remembrances of his father’s favorite LA restaurants – from Dan Tana’s to The Cock and Bull, Hamburger Hamlet and a mob joint at the end of Sunset whose name is lost to the mists of time. Somehow this turns into a discussion about visiting the Playboy Mansion in elementary school, dressing in drag while dining for a very specific purpose and sneaking into a nude stage production at age nine. Clearly, the Wild Child we discussed in prior episodes still has stories to tell us that will delight and amaze you. From there we learn about what kind of car his father drove and why he (and his mom) got a new one every year. Thank you Colgems! We segue from here to Peter’s own career in music and a discussion about the most unlikely place he met a member of Fleetwood Mac who recorded a song of his, watching Madonna clear the hall of Teamsters before a surprise appearance on network television, meeting Prince in the rafters of a private home, playing piano alongside Burt Bacharach on a piano bench, driving Babs home after a one take recording and so much more. We really hope that our white lie was worth it and you enjoy the first ever three part interview on the Rarified Heir Podcast with Peter Rafelson. As you know, everyone has a story. This one just has three parts. Take a listen.
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Episode #244: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part Two)
07/15/2025
Episode #244: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part Two)
Today on part two of our conversation on the Rarified Heir Podcast, this episode continues our conversation with Peter Rafelson, son of director and producer Bob Rafelson. Recorded the week after part one, this episode delves into some pretty heavy as well as some pretty of the wall stuff. And as you have heard on part one, it seems like that was par for the course in the Rafelson household in the 1960s and 1970s. As one of the leading figures in the American New Wave filmmakers, Bob Rafelson was responsible for producing or directing some classic, seminal films that influenced generations of film makers. It’s quite a resume including films like The Postman Always Rings Twice, Head, The Last Picture Show, Easy Rider, The King of Marvin Gardens, Mountains of the Moon, a film we discuss at length, Stay Hungry as well as an unfortunately named anthology, Porn.com. Beginning with Davy Jones, we also discuss what each member of The Monkees was like off camera, how he spent the Summer of 1975 pumping iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Alabama, his role in the Alan Parker movie Fame, how the magazine Psychology Today saved his bacon growing up as a kid and everything in between. We discuss dyslexia, smoking pot with your teachers, trade school, working with his dad scoring a film and much more. So get ready for part two of our conversation with guest Peter Rafelson and learn what it was like having The Monkees instruments in his basement for years after the show ended its run. It’s up next on part two of our conversation with the son of an Easy Rider or a Raging Bull. We’re just not sure which one it was. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
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Episode #243: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part One)
07/08/2025
Episode #243: Peter Rafelson (Bob Rafelson) (Part One)
Today on part one of the latest episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are speaking with musician, producer, entrepreneur and much more Peter Rafelson. Son of director and producer Bob Rafelson & production designer Toby Carr, Peter spent this episode really digging deep and getting into some intense as well as humorous stuff about growing up the son of an easy rider. Or is that a member of The Monkees? No matter. We get into it all and then some on this episode. Fans of the sixties and seventies counterculture will know the work of Bob Rafelson for his associations with very specific touchstones of American film and television thar forever changed the course of the entertainment industry. From The Monkees to Easy Rider, from Five Easy Pieces to The Last Picture Show, Bob Rafelson along with partners Bert Schneider & Steve Blauner ushered in a new wave of independent film in Hollywood that smashed convention as well as the studio system. Along with writer, star and co-hort Jack Nicholson, Bob Rafelson directed films like The King of Marvin Gardens, Stay Hungry, The Postman Always Rings Twice and many more. Bob Rafelson was in the epicenter of films that brought an independent streak to a staid industry and never looked back. Our conversation with Peter centered around the growing up too fast where he learned about drugs, revolution and the FBI is one for the ages. Along the way we talk about Madonna, Abbie Hoffman, The Black Panthers, Dennis Hopper, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sally Field, how he ended up with the Monkees instruments in his bedroom and the death of his sister under troubling circumstances. Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you part one of the latest episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast with guest, Peter Rafelson. Take a listen.
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Episode #242: Dick Smothers Jr. (Dick Smothers)
07/01/2025
Episode #242: Dick Smothers Jr. (Dick Smothers)
Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Dick Smothers Jr., son of, who else, comedian & musician Dick Smothers, one half of the comedy team, The Smothers Brothers. On this episode, we explore some pretty intense stuff as we get into what it was like growing up with a famous father and a famous uncle whose comedy was a touchstone for comedians of the 1960s. And while Dick Smother’s was perhaps one of the best straight men in comedy, the story Dick Smothers Jr. tells us story is anything but rosey. We learn about the attention his dad craved and the strained relationship they have to this day. Moreover, we talk about heavy metal and Dick Jr’s 80s band Kamikaze, his fascination with Alister Crowley as well as black magic and his one-time career choice to become an adult actor. Yes, this episode delves into another kind of celebrity, pornography. One we haven’t spoken about this before or acter this episode first aired but we delve into it extensively here. We discuss why Dick Jr. chose to become a porn star, why Dick Jr. didn’t change his name because…well….he already had the best name in blue movies and what it was like talking to the press knowing his famous name would draw attention. And therein lies the rub. Pun intended. This episode is a frank and serious discussion and we learn a lot about why Dick Jr. chose that career path, his relationship with his father, the challenges of being in ‘the industry’ and much more. Puritans beware! So if black magic, pornography and heavy metal were on your Bingo card for this episode of the podcast, you are in luck! Because this is another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast where everyone has a story. This one is likely one you have never heard before. Take a listen. Yo-Yo Man fans, hang onto your hats!
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Episode #241: Kristi Callan (K Callan)
06/24/2025
Episode #241: Kristi Callan (K Callan)
Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to musician Kristi Callan, daughter of acting lifer, K Callan. Active since 1956, K has had many lives – in the theater, on television, in commercials and movies. In 2019, she co-starred in the hit film, Knives Out, in the 70s she was Cousin Liz in a famous episode of All in the Family, in the 90s she was Martha Kent on the beloved series, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, she’s pitched Sanka and Anacin and is also the author of several books on acting and the life of an actor that might be her most well-known endeavor. And she’s still going strong in 2025. Kristi talks to us about growing up with a very understanding mom who was nurtured her and her sister’s interest in music while growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s. In fact, music fans will know Kristi’s various music projects from hither and yon in bands like Wednesday Week, The Roswells Sisters, a Cheap Trick cover band, Cheap Chick and a newer project The Dime Box Band. In fact, her musical world and her mother’s acting career once intersected perfectly on a transatlantic flight involving The Ramones, who were fans of her mother’s. We also hear about long lost LA venues like The Starwood and the Music Machine as well as perhaps one band you have never heard of, Goat Deity with future member of Paisley Underground darlings, The Dream Syndicate. We go the extra mile for your muso’s on this episode. So if movies like Joe or The Onion Field or American Gigolo are your thing, or possibly TV shows like James at 16, St. Elsewhere or It’s a Living float your boat, get ready for a walk down memory lane on this episode. The Rarified Heir Podcast, everyone has a story. Kristi has several of her own and more of her mother as well.
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