Rarified Heir Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode #140: Kristi Callan (K Callan) Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Kristi Callan, daughter of actress and author K Callen. That's K as in the letter, no period.

We talk to Kristi about her mother's 50+ year career in stage, film, television and commercials in everything from an iconic All in The Family episode to the recent Knives Outbuzzed about film. Along the way we talk about Sanka commercials, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Carnivale, American Gigolo, Deep Space Nine, A Touch of Class, The Onion Field and much more. We even discuss a long lost Benson & Hedges cigarette commercial. You remember the 'healthy' cigarette!

We also take time to discuss Kristi's musical career in bands like Wednesday Week, The Roswell Sisters, Goat Deity, Dime Box Band and even aCheap Trick cover band, Cheap Chick. We hit upon everything from Hootenanny's, several cross country moves, a great Norman Lear story, the LA punk rock scene of the late seventies, early eighties, The Ramones recognizing her mother on a flight, seeing Eddie Van Halen on the set of One Day at a Time, meeting The Brady Bunch's Christopher Knight, long lost LA venues like The Starwood and the Music Machine and much more.

It's evident from this interview just how much Kristi loves her mother who is going strong and sill acting at age 87. So much so, Kristi barely wanted to talk about her own career and wanted to focus almost exclusively on her mother alone. But we persevered and got her to talk about it all on this brand new episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode 139: "Ernie in Kovacsland" Josh Mills, Ben Model & Pat Thomas (Bonus Episode) Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Rarified Hair Podcast we are sending you across the orthicon tube with a special edition bonus episode in celebration of the upcoming Fantagraphics book, "Ernie in Kovacsland: Writings, Drawings and Photographs from Television's Original Genius". Our host today is co-author Pat Thomas (although left to Pat, you'd never know that as you will soon hear), co-author Ben Model and our Rarified Heir Podcast host & co-author Joshua Mills is talking about the in's and out's of creating this new book, coming July 25.

It's a deep dive today with details about the genesis of the book, why the book was even created and some great stories about how this book came to be. We talk Ernie. We talk Edie Adams. We talk Mia Kovacs and we talk about Josh's dad, photographer Marty Mills. This time the child of a celebrity is interviewed not by the child of a celebrity but co-authors Pat Thomas and Ben Model. Everyone has a story. Here's one about Ernie in Kovacsland. Take a listen.

Episode #138 : Precious Chong (Tommy Chong) Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Precious Chong, daughter of Tommy Chong, aka The Man, aka THE Chong in the comedy team Cheech and Chong. It was a real thrill to talk to Precious as she is someone Josh had never met before but was part of his peripheral circle as she was friends with a few of his childhood friends while we were growing up. Oh and Josh's mom, Edie Adams, co-starred in Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke as Chong's mother, Mrs. Stoner. Talk about connections!

We spoke to Precious about her very lean years growing up as Tommy Chong's daughter which suddenly became very different with the success of the Cheech & Chong comedy albums, live shows and films in the mid 1970s and ballooned into superstardom in the 1980s. We also spoke to Precious about her years as an assistant in Hollywood (listen for the Val Kilmer story), her own career in comedy as well as her directing debut which was quite the buzzworthy indie film.

Along the way, we talk about long lost shooting scripts, lost LA restaurants, the comedy scene in Toronto, her dads incarceration on debatable charges, his status as a the elder statesmen of pot and much more. Precious had such a viv and verve talking to us that it was a real pleasure to have that energy at the other end of North America. So sit back and take a listen, to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast with Precious Chong. Another child of a celebrity interviewed by the child of a celebrity.

Episode # 137: Jazmin Erving (Julius Erving) Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

Today on the 4th of July edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Jazmin Erving, daughter of Julius Erving or as we all know him, Dr. J. To say Josh was psyched to talk to Jazmin would be an understatement. To those of us who grew up sports in the United States in the 1970s and 80s (ahem), Dr. J was an almost mythical figure who transcended basketball and the NBA to become some sort of cultural icon. Muhammad Ali, Evil Knievel, Reggie Jackson and Dr. J dominated the cultural sports landscape with their extraordinary skills that made them icons in during the time of America's bicentennial year in 1976. They were the 'must see' TV before there was such a thing. Let's just say, if you haven't seen the film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, you really don't know Dr. J.

We talked to Jasmin about growing up in Philadelphia and what it was like having a dad who was the biggest star in the city and also the entire basketball landscape. For trainspotters, we talk old school restaurants like Bookbinders and random Philadelphia 76er players like Mark Iavaroni and for a more macro view we talk about Julius days wowing them at the Harlem courts of Rucker Park, THE place to be seen one-on-one playing basketball and Jazmin having the run of The Spectrum, home to the 76ers when she was a girl.

We also talk about Jazmin's crystal business and perhaps one of the most remarkable stories to come out of the pandemic that we can think of. It's one of warmth, love and humanity that somehow led her to a new business that keeps on growing. So let's hear it, it's Jazmine Erving on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode # 136 : Innis Casey (J. Rickley Dumm) Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast encore edition, we are talking to Innis Casey, son of writer/producer J. Rickey Dumm who worked with friend, classmate and iconic TV show hitmaker Stephen J. Cannell on many of his hit shows including Magnum PI, Silk Stalkings, Renegade and Rockford Files among others. Innis is brutally honest about his writer/producer father and his years growing up which was both fantastic and downright scary. This episode pulls no punches and I don't' think Innis would have had it any other way.

Aside from his years growing up with trips to Hawaii for Magnum, we learn that for a good period of time in the early 2000s, Innis made quite a name for himself in Latin music, becoming the much sought after star, Innis (like Charo, no last name) touring Mexico, Spain and both South America and Central America as a Latin pop star. Really, how many among our guests did a photo shoot for a magazine cover with Christina Aguilera? And believe me, we've seen it when someone gets all aflutter seeing Innis out and about in public in Los Angeles.

So how does a white dude from LA become a Latin pop star? Ah-ha! That's the rub. You will have to listen to his story, right here, right now on this edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode #135 :Cathy Cole (King Family/King Cousins) Part Two Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

Today on the second part of another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast we again are talking to Cathy Cole, a member of both The first family of song, the King Family as well as the King Cousins. So if you didn't get enough of Cher, Ray Charles, Jonathan Winters and her amazing father Buddy Cole, we have much more to share with you.

It's all about reunion shows, recording new albums in Japan, surprise songwriters, LA restaurants, live dates at LA's premiere jazz club The Catalina and much more. So take a listen to part two of this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. And Cathy's involve John Davidson, Rosemary Clooney, Gil Evans and more! Hot diggity!

Episode #134: Cathy Cole (The King Cousins) Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Cathy Cole, who like a prior guest was born into the King Family, The First Family of Song. It's a fun and fascinating conversation with Cathy as she talks to us about her family (of course) but also of her own career in the King Cousins with fantastic stories about hanging with a new comic named Richard Pryor, guesting next to the Rolling Stones as well as hanging with Cher, Ray Charles and more.

Along the way we learn about her remarkable father, musician Buddy Cole and her stories about his home studio – maybe one of the first ever? – and his pipe organ in the garage blew us both away – for Cathy literally, for us figuratively. We also get to talk to Cathy about concerts in Tahiti, long lost LA restaurants, how Mad magazine parodied her and her family & a lot more. We end on Jonathan Winters and pick up on….well, you will have to tun in next week for that. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast….everyone has a story.

Encore #133: Hollye Dexter (Dan Haggerty) Jun 06, 2023

Show notes

Today on this encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to Hollye Dexter, who has an amazing and unusual story about growing up with actor Dan Haggerty. While we bend the rules slightly on this episode, we talk to her Uncle Dan, the man behind The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, a fuzzy family television show from the 70s that made him a star. Along the way, we discuss bikers, Battle of the Network Stars, the film Easy Rider, step-siblings Kristy McNichol and Jimmy McNichol, domesticated wolves, circus performers, a step-father named Bullet and much more.

We also learn about Dan's restaurants and fur/hide stores post Grizzly Adams, Hollye's years singing with Dionne Warwick, Don Felder & Stephen Bishop, her political activism and her book Fire Season based on a harrowing real life story that you won't believe. So while technically, Dan Haggerty wasn't Hollye's biological father, she grew up with Dan and was raised alongside his kids, her cousins, in very 70s LA, post hippie domesticity. As we like to say, take a listen to another child of a celebrity interviewed by the child of a celebrity. Everyone has a story. But this one has one about a lion named Samson that lived at home.

Episode #132: Chrissy Quinn (Louis Quinn, Christine Nelson) May 30, 2023

Show notes

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we speak with Chrissy Quinn, who has not one, but two famous parents. Her father, Louis Quinn is perhaps best remembered for his role on televisions 77 Sunset Strip where he played lovable Roscoe The Bookmaker. However his show business career goes back to radio when he wrote for Milton Berle and we discuss some legends Louis worked with like Ray Bolger and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes. We also talk about her mother, Christine Nelson, a funny lady who is deeply connected to Allan Sherman – she is in fact Sarah Jackman from his My Son The Folk Singer as well as her own comedy album Didj'a Come Here to Play Cards, Or to Talk? for all you deep dive comedy nerds. We say that with affection by the way.

We also hear about Chrissy's own comedy career, a bonkers story about befriending Robin Williams before he was a megastar on Mork & Mindy as well as stories about having the real Bozo-The Clown appear at her birthday, her Godfather Sammy Davis Jr. & her dad's role in the film: Vasectomy : A Delicate Matter. So join us won't you on this encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Episode # 131: Kiki Ebsen (Buddy Ebsen) May 23, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Kiki Ebsen, daughter of the great Buddy Ebsen. Now, originally, I was going to say the great actor Buddy Ebsen and he definitely was a great actor. But after talking to Kiki we learned that not only did her father act but he also danced, he sang, he wrote books, he was a master sailor of catamarans and he had great comic skills. Some of this we might have known from shows like The Beverly Hillbillies or Barnaby Jones but did you know Buddy Ebsen's career began when he was discovered by newsman Walter Winchell with his sister as part of a dancing team? Or he was cast in the original The Wizard of Oz but wasn't able to be on screen due to reasons we discuss with Kiki? Or that he was the test case for Walt Disney and modern animatronics? No? Well keep listening.

We spoke to Kiki about her upcoming June residency at the El Portal Theater in Los Angeles each Friday in June for her one woman show about her father, My Buddy, The Other Side of Oz. Part memoir, part cabaret and part tribute to her father, the show showcases Kiki's storytelling but her singing as well. It's a love of music that led her to Cal Arts which then led in quick succession a job on the road with the band Chicago and then gigs with Tracy Chapman, Boz Scaggs, Christopher Cross & Al Jarreau among others. Working as a professional musician for other people led Kiki to record nine of her own solo albums in the past decade or so and just recently licensing her songs from the 80s to a label who will release them later this year.

Along the way we talk about shows & movies like Matt Houston, Davy Crockett, Tom Sawyer, The Kent Chronicles as well as actors Lee Meriwether, Mike Connors, James Arness and more. It was a blast talking to Kiki for this episode and we certainly hope you will like it too. So take a listen to the Rarified Heir podcast with Kiki Ebsen, coming up right now. Everyone has a story.

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