Rarified Heir Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode #150: Eric Bonerz (The Return) (Peter Bonerz) Oct 03, 2023

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Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking, for a second time to Eric Bonerz, son of actor/director Peter Bonerz. We spoke to Eric a while back and what started out as a fun connection to our time together as kids at the Oakwood School became a pop culture potpourri of 1970s LA, celebrity, movies, film, trivia, television, music, weird video stores and more. In fact, there was so much to talk about, we didn't get to all of it so on this episode, we were able to go back to some of the things we missed. Like what you ask? How about dinner and a movie with cartoonist Chuck Jones at your house? Or being the drummer for Kim Gordon's band Free Kitten in 1993 as part of the Lalapalooza tour? Or how about the time Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor mixed a track for one of Eric's projects in the living room of that infamous house on Cielo Drive? Got your attention? We thought so.

We loved talking with Eric about car culture in LA, crowbar wielding truckers, the Wonderland Avenue murders, befriending a school librarian, driving Peter Bonerz AMC Eagle station wagon, befriending a young director Harmony Korine, interrupting De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest's pre-show doobie, an unmade version of Blade Runner starring his father and directed by Martin Scorsese and much more. So sit back, wind down and listen to our latest conversation with Eric Bonerz for this latest episode of the podcast. Somehow Bob Newhart and Friends never gets brought up…until Josh confuses the TV show with the movie Kids. It's all here on the today's episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode #: 149 : Rachel Pollack (Sydney Pollack) Sep 26, 2023

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Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to Rachel Pollack, daughter of actor/director Sydney Pollack. We talk to Rachel about some truly amazing experiences that only a child of a celebrity could tell you. Like what you ask? How about being on set of Out of Africa IN AFRICA with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and still wishing you were home in LA with your high school boyfriend? Or having to tell your dad who Dave Matthews was before a meeting? When your dad's films are nominated for 48 Academy Awards, those things do tend to happen.

We also talk about Ben Stiller's impression of her dad as Frankenstein on The Ben Stiller Show (which she didn't know about), how her father met her mother in a very famous acting class in New York and how her mother gave up her dream so that they could raise a family together and – get this – her dad's obsession with making BBQed ribs. I ask you, what other podcast can tell you that Sydney Pollack started making his ribs 24 hours in advance?

We hear stories about Tom Cruise, Tootsie, The Sopranos, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Burt Lancaster and much, much more. It was a truly fantastic discussion with Rachel and you get to hear about it right now, on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode #148: Cleto Escobedo III (Cleto Escobedo) Sep 19, 2023

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Today on another encore edition of The Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Cleto Escobedo III, who is the bandleader for late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! We talk to Cleto about his years growing up in Las Vegas with Jimmy when his pop, Cleto Jr. was head of a fantastic live band, Los Blues who performed for years in the lounge of the Sahara Hotel doing sets well into the early morning. A 4am slot might not seem ideal to you but both Jackie Wilson and Sammy Davis Jr. sat in with the band and none other than Elvis Presley watched from the audience.

The younger Cleto tells us stories about his years growing up in Vegas and haunts like Circus Circus, The Golden Steer, The Peppermill and Battista's Hole in the Wall as well as his dads commitment to his family. Moving from the lounge to backstage butler at Caesar's Palace, it was none other than Sammy Davis Jr. who took Cleto Jr. under his wing and took care of him. Today, both father and son play in the band Cleto and the Cletones, the house band on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the stories flow fast and furious about legends they now perform with. Along the way we also hear stories about Paula Abdul, Marc Anthony, Phillips Bailey & more.

It was great talking to Cleto about growing up the child of a celebrity on the Las Vegas Strip and hearing terrific stories about best friends Cleto and Jimmy who still hang together and their families camp together. Everyone has a story. Take a listen.

Episode #147: Noopy Rodrigues (Rose Marie, Bobby Guy) Sep 12, 2023

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Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Noopy Rodrigues, daughter of comedian and singer Rose Marie and trumpeter Bobby Guy. Talking to Noopy was a fun and lively experience because the thing that became clear from the word go was how many connections we had that we didn't even know about. From Broadway theaters our mom's performed in, being brought out on stage by famous entertainers when we were likely not even in Kindergarten, strong single mothers who raised their families after devastating losses, growing up in the San Fernando Valley and more.

Noopy also somehow connected the dots to other guests – as she was a segment producer on the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder, whose daughter Ann Marie Snyder was prior guest as well as how her mother saved all sorts of amazing things including the very recordings that make up the new CD Rose Marie Sings: The Complete Mercury Recordings & More. If that sounds amazingly familiar to what host Josh Mills is working on as well, don't worry, we made that connection already. Along the way we also talk Rosalind Russell, Phil Silvers, Morey Amsterdam, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and some guy named Popcorn who really will blow your mind.

Take a listen to our conversation with Noopy Rodrigues on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode # 146: Peter Knego (Peter Coe, Rosalee Calvert) Sep 05, 2023

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Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Peter Knego, whose parents actor Peter Coe and Model/Actress Rosalee Calvert really come alive in the conversation you are about to hear. What's our connection? Well Rosalee was in two films with Edie Adams, Josh's mother and both Peter and Josh both went to the same high school. But listening to Peter talk about everything from his firsthand accounts of Mel Brooks and Ed Wood to James Galanos and Sparks – herein lies the the story of his celebrity parents.

Peter and Josh barely scratched the surface but somehow we cover everything from growing up on food stamps in the Hollywood Hills to his difficult relationship with his eight-time married father who over time becomes a friend. We hear about real life actual Nazis, the 20thCentury train, Elektra Records mogul Ahmet Ertrgun, c-level actor Paul Marco, Cecil B. Demille, an unproduced Ed Wood musical, lunch at Pasta, Inc. on Sunset Plaza, the glory of Westwood in the 1980s as well as whaling songs from the 1930s. Actually that last part isn't true. But it's about the only thing Peter Knego didn't touch upon in our wide ranging conversation about being the child of a celebrity. Peter's story, is anything but normal. It's funny, tough to listen to at times, uplifting and sometimes too much to believe. So Kimono My House and take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story

Episode #145: Kathleen Marshall & Scott Marshall (Garry Marshall) (Part two) Aug 29, 2023

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Today on another encore bonus edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to last week's guests Kathleen Marshall and Scott Marshall, again this week. And again we learn first-hand what it was like to grow up the daughter and son of director Garry Marshall & the niece and nephew of actor director Penny Marshall.

This episode picks up where last week's episode ends with tales about school nap time and Lord of the Flies, growing up in Hollywood and the hermits of the Hollywood Hills and the importance of the next generation making their mark. Take a listen to the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode #144: Kathleen Marshall & Scott Marshall (Garry Marshall) (Part one) Aug 22, 2023

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Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to Kathleen Marshall and Scott Marshall, the daughter and son of director Garry Marshall & the niece and nephew of actor/director Penny Marshall. We loved talking to two fellow albums of the Oakwood School which host Josh Mills attended with them because it was a great chance to reconnect and talk about all things Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy and a few pilots that didn't really make the grade. We did get to talk about Garry's films like Pretty Womanand The Flamingo Kid as well as Penny's film A League of Their Own.

Kathleen and Scott give us first hand looks into what it was like being on set in the 70s and into the 90s, how they were not allowed on one set due to their age but another was pretty much a second home when growing up. What's more, we learned how their mother, Barbara kept the kids feet on the ground as she was not one who loved the limelight and wanted to make sure the kids had a regular, everyday family life. Of course we talk about Garry's passion for sports and why he pushed it on his kids, we hear Scott's spot on impression of his dad from Albert Brooks Lost in America, tales of Scott's post college indie band Chavez who once played the Hollywood Bowl & much more. It was a pleasure to reconnect with both Kathleen and Scott on this edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast Take a listen.

Episode #143 Sara Ballantine (Carl Ballantine) Aug 15, 2023

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Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Sara Ballantine, daughter of comedian and magician Carl Ballentine. Or how some of you may know him: The Amazing Ballantine. Or maybe it's The World's Greatest Magician. Whatever the case, you might also remember Carl from his "magic act" or stints on McHale's Navy, episodes of The Monkees, films like Speedway with Elvis Presley or via master magician David Copperfield who is a massive fan of Carl Ballentine.

We talk to Sara (or Saratoga – so named after the horse racing track her father liked to frequent) about her years with her dad and mother Ceil Cabot a New York actor who was every bit as wild and outrageous as her father – in the best says possible. Sara tells us about her growing up in Hollywood in the 1970s, her own voice over career in commercials and animated shows as well as stories about the famed Los Angeles venue, The Magic Castle, how her dad came up with the name Ballentine, his groundbreaking Las Vegas gig which purportedly was the first-ever magician to grace the stage on the Las Vegas Strip and much more. When both George Carlin and Steve Martin tell you how funny your dad was, you know just how funny Carl Ballentine was.

Take a listen on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode #142: Cory Tyler (Willie Tyler & Lester) Aug 08, 2023

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Today on the Rarefied Heir Podcast encore edition, we are talking to Cory Tyler, son of ventriloquist Willie Tyler & Lester. Taking to Cory was a great thrill as his dad was one of those celebrities you saw constantly when we were growing up - from successful runs on stage, to network television, on cable TV and even one place we did not know about - vinyl. Yes there is a fairly tough to find comedy album released when his dad was signed to Motown Records. In fact, we talk to Cory about this as we discuss the famed Motown Revue tours of the 1960s his dad was a part of during civil rights, that was famous not only for the performers but for the social progress they made at that time. We also talk to Cory about having an inanimate family member, a long lost favorite coffee shop he and his father frequented, his years growing up in the San Fernando Valley that sounds familiar to host Josh Mills and his parents unique living arrangement hat while certainly not the norm, worked well for Cory and his brother. Talking to Cory was easy, fun and educational. We learned a lot. So where does one get a passion for ventriloquism in America post WWII that spans through to today? You'll just have to listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast and find out. Everyone has a story.

Episode # 141: Dick Smothers Jr. (Dick Smothers / The Smothers Brothers) Aug 01, 2023

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Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Dick Smothers Jr, son of, yes, you guessed it, Dick Smothers of the famed Smothers Brothers comedy team. We spoke to Dick Jr. about growing up with one of the best straight men in the business – his father, how his father and uncle Tom Smothers founded their musical comedy act, how they launched their massive CBS show of the 1960s The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and much more. We talked about the dichotomy between the real life personality traits of both brothers offstage and what it was like growing up in Beverly Hills, Woodland Hills and Santa Cruz, California as a young adult with a dad who clearly loved attention.

We also talk about Dick's heavy metal band, Kamikaze of the 1980s who were part of the Northern California metal scene, how the band made their television debut on a Smothers Brothers special covering a track from the Great American Songbook and more. It was at about this point when our interview got very honest and while we don't want to give anything away, let's just say, if you know the names Ona Zee or Alister Crowley, you might have an idea where our interview headed. If not, well, all we can tell you is we've never broached either of these two topics on this podcast before. "Not that there's anything wrong with that" to quote Seinfeld, but, it does make for some very enlightening and honest conversation from Dick Jr. about his life and his beliefs and we certainly appreciate that.

This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

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