Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Charlie Matthau, son of actor Walter Matthau. We spoke to Charlie about his amazing father & their special relationship but also his incredible mother, actor/author Carol Matthau. We quickly learn that she was (wait for it), the basis for Truman Capote’s Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There is one small difference between the character and the person however and we discuss that too. We also discuss Carol’s first husband, author William Saroyan and Charlie’s grandfather Charles Marcus of Bendix Aviation – which are both bigger-than-life stories unto themselves. Somehow we were able to parse all this out and discuss what it was like growing up the son of one of the most beloved actors of his generation. Be it comedy or drama, we get into Walter Matthau’s career on stage & film as well as the weird and wonderful curios of his career. An uncredited cameo in Earthquake? We discuss it. His viewing habits of the television version of The Odd Couple? We discuss that too. Along the way we discuss the Malibu beach house Charlie inhabited when host Josh Mills & family along with Walter’s best pal Jack Lemmon took to Broad Beach road in the 1970s. Plus, we get to hear about Walter’s penchant for card tricks, Christmas’ spent at the Lemmon’s house as well as what it was like for Charlie to direct his father in a film, The Glass Harp. Along the way we discuss Gloria Vanderbilt and Oona O’Neill, Howard Hughes, the unsung film Mikey and Nicky his mom starred in and much more. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.

Today on part two of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we continue our conversation with Patti Weidenfeld, daughter of stand-up comedian Pat Cooper. If you heard part one of our conversation last week, prepare yourself for part two because the second half of Patti’s story is unlike anything you have ever heard before. An idyllic life as the only child of Pat Cooper and her mother Patti Prince, comes to a screeching halt after seeing Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in Sugar Babies on Broadway at age 8. We learned in the first episode Pat Cooper wasn’t entirely truthful with his daughter about his first family and on this episode, for the first time ever, Patti tells us her remarkable story about how an idyllic life was pulled out from under her.  How family secrets her parents have kept rearing their ugly heads in the most intense way possible. It’s a story Patti’s never told anyone and we were honored she felt comfortable enough to share it with us. Thought it all, Patti maintains a grace and an understanding that are hard to believe. Ultimately, Patti’s story is one that could have made her bitter and angry and no one would have blamed her. Yet as you will hear, she is thoughtful, forgiving, contemplative and loving in ways we only wish we could be. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Another child of a celebrity interviewed by the child of a celebrity. And this is the first time, anyone has heard this story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Patti Weidenfeld, daughter of comedian/actor Pat Cooper. An entertainer for more than 50 years, Pat Cooper was known as a ‘comedians comedian’, someone who other comedians look up to as a genuine talent and a show business icon. Born in Coney Island Brooklyn, Pat Cooper embodied the Mad Men era comedy scene up until last year when he passed away at age 93. What Jackie Mason was for Jewish comedians, Pat Cooper did for Italian comedians. And believe me he wore his Italian heritage proudly. One of his comedy album Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights featured Pat posing in spaghetti sauce a la Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream and Other Delights. Many comedy fans today know Pat Cooper from his guest spots on Seinfeld and films like Analyze This and Analyze That. Unfortunately he’s also remembered for his many appearances on The Howard Stern Show where he became famous as an outrage comic who told tough, real family stories on air airing his dirty laundry for all to hear. Patti on the other hand, talks to us about growing up in 70s Las Vegas and travelling with her father and mother to casinos on the strip and on the Atlantic City boardwalk opening for entertainers such as Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Tony Bennett, Liza Minelli, Sammy Davis Jr. and more. When he wasn’t doing club dates, he was doing guest hosting slots on The Merv Griffin Show and The Mike Douglas Show upwards of 60 times…each. His infamous 1981 spot on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show interview revealed too much about headliners demands that he felt were ridiculous and got him blackballed from working in his adopted home town Las Vegas for years. Once again, Pat aired too much dirty laundry. Still, Patti had an idyllic life with her father and mother until one day when Patti realized that some things she heard from her parents just didn’t add up. We discuss this with at length with Patti on part one of our interview which you are about to hear right now. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast, everyone has a story. This one, you haven’t heard before.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Ed Eckstine, son of singer Billy Eckstine and actress/model Carolle Drake. Our conversation with Ed was fun, fascinating, edifying and above all, full of stories of his life as the child of a celebrity but also his own career in the music industry. Our only regret was not keeping Ed for another 90 minutes because he has stories for days. We barely scratched the surface. Part two is a must. Many of us only know Billy Eckstine as a jazz & pop singer whose baritone voice and smooth delivery made him one of the most in-demand singers from the 1930s well into the 1950s. But he also was a guitar player, trumpet player and this Billy Eckstine & his Orchestra was the first Bebop Big Band and his players and vocalists were a who’s who of Jazz -  Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey,  Sarah Vaughan, Pearl Bailey, and Lena Horne all were part of the band in the 1950s. By 1950, his popularity rivaled Sinatra - which as you will hear wasn’t a rivalry at all between these two friends. It was Eckstine’s talent as well as his good looks and dapper attire that made him perhaps the first black entertainer to become a crossover star in the segregated 1950s America. But as we learn from our conversation with Ed, one photo in a major American magazine essentially put an end to all that in the must ugly and vile way possible. But to hear Ed tell it, this terrible incident was a blessing in disguise as it opened up doors for him outside America and made him an international star, touring well into the 1980s in Europe, Australia and Japan. Our conversation with Ed also focused on his own career in the music industry that took him from journalist to publicist to head of Quincy Jones Qwest Productions to stints at Polygram,  Arista and as the President of Mercury Records. As Nabil Ayers in the New York Times said, “Eckstine’s story is unique because he was the first black person to be let in — to be allowed by the predominantly white music industry to helm one of its largest entities.” This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Ed Eckstine’s is like none other.

Today on part two of our encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we again talk to Alison Martino, daughter of singer Al Martino and guardian of her beloved LA and her Vintage Los Angeles social media properties. And because both Alison and host josh Mills are die hard denizens of the city of angels, there is a lot (and we mean a lot) of hand wringing over the changes that have happened to the city over the last few decades. Of course we continue our conversation about what it was like growing up as the daughter of her popular singer pop as we again delve into Paramount+’s The Offer about the making of The Godfather. Or maybe it was the maiming of The Godfather. Well, it depends on the viewer of course. We also get into old  schoolLas Vegas and how it worked when it was run by ‘the outfit’ rather than corporations, why Vegas wasn’t on the Martino touring circuit and more. So sit back and take a second listen to the second part of our interview with Alison Martino. Another child of a celebrity, interviewed by the child of a celebrity. Take a listen.

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Alison Martino for the second time about growing up the daughter of singer/actor Al Martino. As the founder of Vintage LA, Alison has created an online juggernaut that has hundreds of thousands of fans wanting to know more about significant current landmarks as well as lost LA as well. We spoke to Alison in part one of this conversation on the heels of the Paramount+ series The Offer, which is based on the alleged story behind bringing The Godfather to the big screen. Of course, Al Martino plays the role of Johnny Fontaine in Part One and sings “I Have But One Heart” in the film. We also delve into her founding VLA and how it started almost as a lark. We also speak to Alison about her other gig, on Spectrum TV, bringing television viewers a slice of Los Angeles on the small screen in addition to devices of all kinds. It was great to talk to Alison, someone whose passion for LA is found in her collection of menu’s, matchbooks, ephemera and other collections she passionately collects. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Here’s part one of our Alison Martino interview, now.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Katharine “Kat” Kramer, daughter of producer/director Stanley Kramer. Now, you might have heard of a few films Stanley directed like The Defiant Ones, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Judgement at Nuremberg, On the Beach and a comedy called It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. So it’s appropriate that this episode is airing two days after the Academy Awards. Why? Because Stanley Kramer’s films have received more than 80 Academy Award nominations, have received 16 Academy Awards and Kramer was given an Academy Award, the Irving Thalberg Award, in 1961. To say the man directed (and produced) some groundbreaking films with actors like Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier would mean you are just scratching the surface of his illustrious career.   We talk to Katharine about everything about the themes of her father’s films and somehow, because host Josh Mills’ mum starred in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, we end up talking about that film - a lot. We also talk about Phil Spector – who would have thunk? – Katherine’s one woman show, a Mick Jagger tribute album she recorded with many Stones alumni, her career as an actorvist, singing Judy Garland songs to Liza Minelli as a kid backstage, her haunted house growing up, the Kennedy assassination and much more. Katharine is absolutely the most motivated person we’ve had on this podcast as her career in TV, stage, music, charity and as a member of too many boards to count, will attest. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Matt Axton, son of singer, songwriter, commercial pitchman and actor Hoyt Axton. If you’re first thought is that Hoyt Axton was the dad in the film Gremlins, you’d be correct but you’d only be scratching the surface of this well rounded entertainer. We learn from Matt how his father wrote the smash hit “Joy To The World” made popular by Three Dog Night, how he became the house performer in the 1960s at the world famous Doug Weston’s The Troubadour for close to a decade and how bands like Steppenwolf & The Kingston Trio recorded his songs before the general public ever really heard of the name Hoyt Axton. Matt also tells us about his grandmother Mae Boren Axton aka the “Queen Mother of Nashville” who was one of only two (yes you heard that right) in the music business in Nashville in the 1950s. She also penned more than 200 songs, got her undergraduate degree in journalism when most women simply did not go to college and she happened to be the person who introduced Colonel Tom Parker to Elvis Presley. Yes, you heard us correctly. But that’s not even half of it. She wrote Elvis’ first #1 hit song. Can you guess what that song was? Because you definitely have heard it. And that’s still not even the whole story. It was great to talk to Matt, the third in his family to go into the entertainment business, as he also is a singer/songwriter and performer who talks to us about his own career on stage, the difference between how he, his father and grandmother toured and made records and how he’s bringing his own “Joy To The World” by practicing what his dad preached. That was:  “Be a conduit for good music and hopefully you can also be the satellite dish that pulls in the songs as they come in.” This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Denise Gautier, daughter of singer, comedian and painter Dick Gautier. As we discuss, many folks remember Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot from the 60s sitcom Get Smart but as you will find out Dick Gautier was no one trick pony. He was a Tony award nominee for his role as Conrad Birdie in the original cast of the Broadway hit Bye, Bye Birdie, he wrote several books and several volumes of books on painting and caricature and he was a ground breaking stand-up comedian who got his start in show business at the Hungry-I in San Francisco in the 1950s. Denise was happy to talk about her liberal and free spirited father who suntanned by the pool, was friends with fellow actors Dave Madden and Kenneth Mars, spent holiday parties at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles and made a life with his second wife, actress Barbara Stuart. But Denise also recalled a dad who often tried to show his daughter that there was another life away from her Jehovah’s Witness Mother where she could receive birthday cards and Christmas presents along with a more “worldly’ lifestyle as we discuss. We talk to Denise about everything from her father’s frequent game show appearances on shows like Tattle Tales & Win, Lose or Draw, his two film scripts he wrote for AIP with Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, his infamous Cadillac, being on the set of his short-lived Mel Brooks sitcom When Things Were Rotten and even his comedic take on Quasimodo in a one man show that we need to know more about. Phew that was a mouthful. We even speak a bit about the recent Hulu film Pam & Tommy that directly talks about her life and that of her family. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on part two of our encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we continue our conversation with guests Daisy Torme and James Torme. And that can only mean one thing: more great stories about growing up the children of The Velvet Fog, Mel Torme, one of the greatest voices in all Jazz history. We speak to Daisy and James not only about their father but also their mother, actress Janette Scott. Terrific stories abound. We hear about spending the Summer in Los Angeles with their dad, a bonkers story about how their parents met and there’s a heart-warming/hear breaking story about leaving their dad at the airport and returning home to England. Speaking of England, we learn more about their childhood as both their mother and grandmother Dame Thora Hild were nothing short of national figures in the U.K. I mean really, doesn’t everyone’s mother have an annual film festival in their honor or is namedropped in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Isn’t everyone’s grandmother a three-time BAFTA winner? But what makes this episode so terrific in our view is how enthusiastic Daisy and James were to talk about their parents and how much love and affection they exuded in doing so. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. Take a listen.

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking with Daisy Torme and James Torme, the children of singer/musician Mel Torme actress Janette Scott. This episode was a true pleasure to record as not only were there terrific Mel & Janette stories but also some great stories about out host, Josh’s dad as well. You see Mel and Martin Mills were buddies from as far back as the fifties who were runnin’ young guns in the entertainment business in New York during the Eisenhower administration. They formed strong bonds in their youth and it extended into old age…with some more-than-occasional bouts of silence for some misperceived slight or two. In a sense, our conversation was a familial one as it felt like the next generation was reliving their parents together with stories about everything from photography to chocolate, from childish pranks to hanging with Buddy Rich and Sammy Davis Jr and much more. We talk “The Christmas Song”, Mountain Dew, Night Court & even a little known movie of Mel’s “Challenge to Survive” with William Shatner. What began as a Twitter message to Daisy became a lunch, then another lunch and soon it became a full-blown Rarified Heir Podcast episode. So take a moment, set your internal clock back and let’s take listen to Daisy and James Torme talk about their father, The Velvet Fog, Mel Torme. Lucky for you that this is only part one! Part two is next week! Everyone has a story.

Today on Part two of our interview with Sam Nelson on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk about what it was like being the son of Rick Nelson and grandson of Ozzie & Harriet Nelson about growing up, well, Nelson. On part one we discussed with Sam how he became the keeper of the flame for the family business as the archivist & producer for the TV show & new DVD box set The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. But on this episode, Sam opens up to us about all sorts of things. From the wonderful and exciting to the tragic and the spooky. Sam grew up very much the stuff of tabloid fodder while just in elementary school. Imagine going to the supermarket and seeing your picture on the cover of People magazine or the National Enquirer. We get into it. We also get into some really terrific stuff as well. What was Rick Nelson favorite hobby? What was his favorite ice cream shop? A-ha…you are going to have to listen to part two for details on this hard hitting topic. Plus, we learn about the history and the ghostly stories surrounding the Nelson household that are the stuff of legend. Once owned by another very famous Hollywood actor, Sam tells us some truly bizarre and hair (not heir) raising tales of this haunted house in the Hollywood Hills. Evidently, a famous pop star owns it now. Again, you are going to have to take a listen to this second episode of our interview with Sam Nelson on the Rarified Heir Podcast to learn more. We promise, it’s another all-encompassing, honest, raw and intense episode. Take a listen.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, it’s part one of our interview with Sam Nelson, son of the great Rick Nelson, nephew to David Nelson and grandchild of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson  If you grew up in America in the 1950s The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet defined post War America. It was a massive hit and ran for 14 years. We take a deep dive into the restoration and recent release of the complete, 435 episode DVD box set of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Beginning as a radio show in the 1940s (I betcha didn’t know that!) & coming to television in the early 1950s. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was the longest running, live action sitcom on American television until 2021 when It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia celebrated it’s 15th year. To say that this show was part of the fabric of American life in the 1950s and today is part of it’s lexicon would be an understatement. Perhaps no other show from that era is as well-known or beloved that didn’t feature Lucy or The Beaver as this show. On this first of two episodes, we spoke with Sam about the interest and hard work in being the sole heir of the Nelson clan that not only wanted to make something of this show after decades of semi-neglect but put in the time, the effort and the sweat equity to bring it back. It’s no small effort as Sam tells us how, why and what obstacles he had in making sure that people not only knew the name Ozzie & Harriet but knew the show again in 2024. Of course we speak about his father, entertainer & rock star Rick Nelson & uncle David Nelson who starred on The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet and how Rick, then known as Ricky, single handedly brought rock and roll into America’s homes. It was Rick, with his matinee idol good looks and spot on singing voice that perhaps kept this show on the air long after it likely should have petered out. And this is a topic that particularly interested host Josh Mills as legacies and archives are something he has been dealing with every day of his life for the past decade and a half. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and this is Part One of our interview with Sam Nelson. Take a listen.

Today on part two of our interview with Radames Pera, we continue our conversation with the former actor known best as Grasshopper from the TV-series Kung-Fu. Believe us when we say, we wish we had another hour or two with Radames to get to all the stories that make up his own story, that of his mother’s story and that of his absentee father whose invention became a worldwide success that he unfortunately didn’t patent it. On this episode, we discuss the Coogan law, a law that if you don’t know about you will get a crash course in this episode. Radames, like all child actors was protected under this law that was enacted in 1939 but was never totally enforced. We also learn through a YouTube video Radames posted about his mother actress Lisa Para whose addiction disorder became so acute, it had to be documented. Why? We discuss that on the episode and really we don’t even scratch the surface due to time constraints. All we can tell you is, Radames has a healthy and wonderfully openness to plainly discuss some of the most personal stories from his life. And for that, we thank him. Take a listen to part two of our interview with Radames Pera on the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the first part of a two part episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are speaking to Radames Pera whose name you might know as well as that of his mother actor Lisa Pera. Because this episode is so jam packed – and we honestly didn’t even get to half of the stuff we wanted to talk about- so we split this episode into two parts. On this episode, we discuss Radames’ being a child actor in not one but two of the 70s most beloved television series. He is best known as young Caine or Grasshopper, if you like, in the series Kung Fu, a show that not only launched the martial arts craze but also a film that launched a global phenomenon that still resonates to this day. Radames also starred in Little House on the Prairie in a recurring role as John Jr. Lisa Pera on the other hand, got her start in film and television as well, beginning in 1965 on the show Combat! in an episode directed by Vic Morrow. From there, she starred in films like The Hindenburg as well as shows like Perry Mason, Get Smart Man from Atlantis and even Hawaii 5-0 where she starred with Radames as his mother. Novel casting, that. Radames pulls no punches (no pun intended) on this episode as we explore his life being raised by a mother too young and emotionally unequipped to deal with raising a child after a horrific childhood of her own. Being a Ukrainian -Russian finding herself in Nazi Germany and eventually the United States after WWII is jaw dropping stuff that doesn’t seem real. Suffices to say, this Part one is a ‘buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride’ episode. But it’s frankly just a palette cleanser for episode #2, coming next week. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on this encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Nicky Trebek, daughter of Alex Trebek. Our conversation with Nicky was a fun one as host Josh Mills grew up on the same street as Nicky in the freewheelin’ 1970s San Fernando Valley and as we discuss those years as a starting point and off we went. Along the way we had many wonderful tangents including what famous director and his actress wife lived on that street, the personal connection their parents had with the Italian Stallion – Sylvester Stallone & his first wife Sasha, the NHL hockey connection that Alex had when the Los Angeles Kings played their games at the Fabulous Forum, the allure of Leif Garrett*, what it was like working on & with her dad on the game show Jeopardy!, Nicky’s mother Elaine who was a CBC broadcaster and even a discussion about fellow Canuck, comedian Eugene Levy whose impression of her dad on SCTV was letter perfect. It was terrific to reconnect with Nicky as we learned so much about the icon as well as the father that was Nicky’s dad. We learned what times were best for taping Jeopardy! if you wanted to eat dinner at home and the personal battle Alex Trebek fought after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis that took his life only a year and a few months after his very public announcement. It’s one thing to be a fan pulling for Alex to get well, but it’s quite another to hear about his private battle behind the scenes. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we’d like to wish you a Happy New Year 2024 with this encore episode for first episode of our third season. Our guest today is talking to musician Rachel Haden about her father, influential jazz bassist Charlie Haden. Rachel was kind enough to talk to us about so many things including her memories of growing up as a triplets and going for walks with jazz trumpeter Don Cherry when the Haden’s lived in New York. This led us down the path of many other genres of music including country, punk, jazz, indie rock and much.more as the Haden’s all sang and played instruments growing up. Thanks dad. We learn about the Rachel’s time on the road with Todd Rundgren, her band That Dog, Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance as well as Beck, Jimmy Eat World, Neil Hamburger and more. While we were at it we also discuss jaco Pastorius, Ornette Coleman, Ry Cooder, Jack White, Mike Watt and others. It’s a very fertile musical well we draw from when talking to a Haden family member like Rachel as there are so many avenues and styles of music she and her family are connected to. The story spans 1930s Iowa where Charlie was part of The Haden Family Band, who rivaled the Carter Family in popularity in the Midwest and runs all the way to the 2020’s with the release of Rachel’s solo albums including making music with Charlie’s son-in-law, comedian Jack Black of Tenacious D. If you are a fan of music, this episode is the one for you. Take a listen, on the Rarified Heir Podcast encore edition with Rachel Haden, coming up here.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to a Connecticut Yankee in Hal Prince’s Court. And while that might not make sense to you now, believe me, it will after you listen to this episode with guest Luke Yankee. Son of Oscar winning actress Eileen Heckart, Luke talked to us about his mother with great affection as well as great humor. You see Eileen didn’t suffer fools gladly and it made for some very pointed (but funny) asides which we read about in his book about his mother Just Outside the Spotlight and discuss here. I ask you, on what other podcast can you hear first-hand accounts of both Soupy Sales and Elizabeth Ashley, Sophia Loren and Bette Davis as well as Marilyn Monroe and, you guessed it, Edie Adams? While Eileen’s love was Broadway and she played roles in everything from Butterflies Are Free to Barefoot in the Park, it was her roles in films lie The Bad Seed and the film version of Butterflies that fans might know her best from After all, she did win an Oscar for the latter and was nominated for the former. Along the way we discuss roles as Aunt Flo on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, her drive for normalcy in New Canaan for her children and family while in show business and maybe one of the most poignant stories we’ve ever heard on this podcast that frankly, unexpectedly choked us up. Along the way we hear stories about the randy George Segal, the ‘bad boy’ Jack Cassidy and the play that Luke will have produced about his relationship with his mother in February 2024. So sit back and take a listen to this episode is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast…we bring you something very different. Today, we mixed up our format and decided to bring on three previous guests who have been on the podcast individually to see how it would work when we brought them all together. It was a bold experiment. Today we bring you Jenny Brill, Shawn Kay and Carnie Wilson, three friends who have known each other (and our host Josh Mills) since they were in pedal pushers. We really did try and get off on the right footing here and ask the pertinent questions but frankly, with this jovial bunch, it quickly evolved (or is it devolved?) into a nostalgic trip through memory lane of 1970s Los Angeles, swearing and grade school antics. As any listener to this podcast knows, we talk a lot about the Oakwood School in Los Angeles quite often and because that’s where our guests solidified their friendship during the Carter Administration, this episode is one that gleefully goes off the rails almost from the word go. We discuss everything from the time Carnie and Shawn rode album covers down the carpeted stairs in the Wilson family home in Bel-Air, Jenny’s ‘on brand’ observations about the opposite sex, long gone beloved pets, carpools, famous children we all went to school with and famous Oakwood parents and more. There was a lot of laughter, a few tears, a few a-ha moments and more twisted humor than you could find at one of our quarterly lunches. Ah the Rarified Heir Podcast, bringing people together. So how did the children of Mitzi McCall, John Kay, Brian Wilson & Merilyn Wilson get along? In a word? Famously. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to professional photographer Donavan Freberg, son of actor, musician, author, advertising executive, comedian, musician & radio personality Stan Freberg & mother Donna Freberg. On the first part of this episode, we learn from Donavan about his years growing up in a somewhat dysfunctional (his words) but very loving home (also his words). We learn that every day was Christmas in the Freberg home and that school was more of an suggestion than a firm commitment. We also learn how and where Stan Freberg literally (my words, not his) came up with the term “Grammy”.  On top of that we learn that mother Donna was Frank Sinatra’s assistant and likely was the person who booked both Stan and Josh’s mother Edie Adams on The Frank Sinatra Show in 1958. We also talk about Stan’s career in advertising where he won 21 Clio Awards, his puppet Orville the Moon Man and how his dad got into show business, when he literally (our words) got on a bus and said, “Take me to Hollywood,” and landed on the doorstep of a talent agent. In the second half of this episode, Donavan was brutally honest & raw and frankly it gets a bit dark. We’ve tackled this topic of aging parents on previous episodes and it’s always a bit gut wrenching. It also hits home with our host Josh Mills who has his own story on this very topic. When hangers-on latch on to the celebrity, and look to grab whatever  specialness and the fame they crave for themselves,  in order to get what they want well…. take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. And this one is all too familiar.