Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we have another encore edition with guest Ron DeFore, whose father Don DeFore was known to classic TV fans as Thorny on the show The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet. It’s a nice bookend with the recent interview we did with Sam Nelson, Rick Nelson’s son a few months back talking about that iconic 50s show. What’s more, Ron’s mother was singer Marion Holmes and we hear from Ron about how his parents met as well as her career as well which has a fun bit of trivia in there you won’t want to miss.

Disneyland fans will especially love this episode as we discuss how Don Defore was the only celebrity to have a branded store in Disneyland which happened only because of his friendship with Walt Disney himself. We hear about the Don DeFore Silver Banjo Barbeque, how the recipe came about and where the signage ended up. Disneyana buffs will be in hog heaven on this one….BBQ hog heaven that is.

What’s more we discuss the book Ron wrote about literally growing up in Disneyland which you can still purchase as an autographed copy at (get this) www.growingupindisneyland.com. It’s quite the story about literally growing up in the “Happiest Place on Earth” that we touch on quite a bit on this episode. Along the way we hear stories about President Ronald Reagan, John Lennon, a DJ stint as Captain Disco, the T.V. show The Odd Couple, long lost LA restaurant favorites & much more. So take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are again speaking to David Jolliffe for part two of our conversation that began on last week’s episode. On this episode, we dig a little deeper into some of the stories David told us last week and I ask you, what other podcast gives you first hand stories about the legendary Hollywood Vampires AND Jose Ferrer in the same episode? I’ll give you a moment to think. You are correct, only the Rarified Heir Podcast.

Once more, we connect with David about his actress mother Glorya Lord whose credits include Mannix and The Doris Day Show among others as well as his television exec. father Richard Jolliffe. We also talk to David about his voice-over work on 70s and 80s animation, his trip to the Indianapolis 500 with Emergency!’s Kent McCord, a ridiculous and very funny story about an incident with Bruce Dern, making music with Toto’s Steve Lukather and Shaun Cassidy and a whole lot more. All you need to do now is absolutely nothing but sit back, relax and hear another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, it’s actually more than just another episode. Why? This is episode number 200 of the podcast. If you had asked us when we started if we had thought we would get to 200 episodes, we might have thought that was impossible. But here we are. We owe a great deal of thanks to all of you, our listeners for hanging in through all these years. We appreciate you, your enthusiasm on social media, your support on Patreon and all your emails and DMs for guest suggestions. You’d be surprised how often that works, so keep the suggestions and the downloads coming as we head to the next milestone.

And with that out of the way, we bring you another encore episode, a two-parter in fact, with actor David Jolliffe whose stories about growing up in Hollywood as an actor really boggle the mind. You likely know David from his amazing red afro on Room 222. Or maybe you know David from his countless television commercials, or maybe you know his voice from countless animated shows? Perhaps you know some of his music he made with his actor/musician friends or maybe if you are in the industry, it’s from his advocating for actors as a VP of the Screen Actors Guild & AFTRA. However you know him, you wont forget some of his remarkable tales after listening to this episode. Along the way we learn about growing up as the child of his actress mother Glorya Lord and his father, TV executive Richard Jolliffe.

So buckle your seatbelts for part one of our conversation that touches on everyone from Alice Cooper, Michael Constantine, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bruno Kirby, Billy Mumy & composer Jerry Goildsmith to name just a few. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and this is part one of our interview with David Jolliffe. Everyone has a story.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Jennifer Pentland, daughter to comedian and actress Roseanne Barr. Or just Roseanne. We are not exactly sure in 2024. Regardless, we spoke to Jennifer around the release of her memoir, This Will Be Funny Later which frankly, leaves no stone unturned. It’s full of the good, the band and the ugly of growing up the child of a celebrity. With a mother who was a lightning rod of controversy for tabloids, gossip columnists and the general public all thought Jennifer’s teenage years, Jennifer is brutally honest which is to be commended.

What was most refreshing about talking to Jennifer was that she tells her story with humor with only the mildest hint of resentment or anger about how she grew up. And when you hear her story involving everything from weight issues, self-harm and being institutionalized, it’s a wonder there was anything but rancor discussing these issues. But there isn’t. Jennifer was a remarkable person if for no other reason than the can recall the clear headed and stark reality of why she was institutionalized which had almost nothing to do with why she thought she was there. It’s a fascinating story and really tells you just how strong she is.

We spoke to Jennifer in the midst of a family trip when she pulled over at a rest stop to talk to us and that’s just the kind of person she is. So get ready for a conversation involving personal chefs, Rodney Dangerfield, being a goth kid, cult and water balloons that almost is too much to believe. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to actor David Deluise, son of comedian/actors Dom Deluise & Carol Arthur. Ok, sure, we talk about the 80s cable TV classic film Hot Stuff a little bit too much on this episode but it’s one of the few films Dom directed and also featured his wife and family. And like the film, we hear from David that in many ways that film mirrored their life off camera. There was lots of food, laughter and spending time with friends and family when the camera’s weren’t rolling.

We discuss with David many of his father’s friends including Mel Brooks, Burt Reynolds, Dean Martin and more. When you have prominent roles in everything from Blazing Saddles to The Muppet Movie, there is a lot to talk about. Of course we talk about Dom’s other passion: food. Cooking, eating and procuring free food as well. Clearly the man lived to eat and that’s a man after our own hear.

We also talk about David’s acting and directing career on television shows like The Thunderman’s, Lab Rats and more. We also learn how the show Felicity got its name, the family’s favorite restaurants, being too nervous to meet Robert De Niro, dining with Martin Sheen & sending Anthony Hopkins a pizza as an introduction. You know, the typical things most kids grow up doing all over this great land of ours. So sit back, maybe order Chinese food for 50 people as the Deluise’s did and take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Colin Cosell, grandson of legendary broadcaster and American cultural icon, Howard Cosell. Now, if you are born in the United States, you will definitely know Howard Cosell. But for those outside the US, that name night not be as well known. But in the 1970s and 80s, Cosell was at the Zenith of where celebrity, sports and pop culture mixed.

Famous for his “Tell it like it is” manner on air, Howard Cosell was as famous for his calls of the boxing, football, baseball & the Olympics while also being remembered for his voice, his wit and his sometimes prickly manner. He got as much hate mail as he got praise and he was often at the center of controversy for his comments on air as well as his opinions off air. For many of us, Howard Cosell will be remembered as the man who broke the news to America that John Lennon was shot and killed which we watched Monday Night Football. For others he will be remembered for as the butt playful jokes from one of his best friends Muhammad Ali. This was a man who famously parlayed his fame as a sportscaster to television, film and the larger pop culture zeitgeist of the latter half of the 20th Century as you will soon hear.

Talking to Colin, we get to see another side of Howard, a grandfather who doted on his family and young Colin. We discuss how the family all played board games together, the many dogs they grew up with and how he would see his grandfather every week or two growing up. Howard was a very present grandfather who could also pull some strings and arrange a meeting with a world famous athlete one day and hang with you eating bagels the next. Colin was a jovial guest who told stories about the other Saturday Night Live Starring Howard Coselland how Cosell impacted the late night comedy juggernaut SNL we know today. We talk Monday Night Football with Frank Gifford and ‘Dandy’ Don Meredith as well as the time Jon Bon Jovi came over to talk. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Brad James, son of game show host and television icon, Dennis James. We loved talking to Brad because of all the many connections his dad had to early – and we mean early – television that connected with host Josh Mills own family in early television. Fans of classic television should appreciate this episode as we talk about televisions earliest beginning when there were literally just a few hundred sets in the New York metropolitan area.

From there we discuss all the many game shows Dennis James was a part of including landmark shows like: The New Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal and Name That Tune as well as obscure shows like Haggis Baggis, Cash and Carry and Name’s The Same. It’s why he was known as the “Dean of Game Shows.” We are just scratching the surface here as James worked on commercials, radio, movies and became a philanthropic juggernaut when he hosted the first-ever telethon for united Cerebral Palsy Associations as emcee that continued well into the 1990s. In fact, after his father passed away in 1997, Brad took over that role as host to help keep his father’s life work alive.

Along the way, we talk golf & Kevin Costner, a skinny kid from New Jersey like James named Sinatra who came up through the ranks together and how his father raised – get this $750 million dollars in his five decades of work for United Cerebral Palsy. There is also a story about Foster Brooks and a gun that entertained us to no end. So please, take a listen to the Rarified Heir Podcast with guest Brad James. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to journalist Claudia Cowan who grew up the daughter of actress Barbara Rush and pioneering A-list publicist Warren Cowan. Claudia spoke with us about growing up with a mother co-starred with Paul Newman in The Young Philadelphians and whose father was Paul Newmand’s press agent. It was a difficult task to focus on both her mother and father because they both did so much personally and professionally – including marrying and divorcing – twice.

Along the way we hear about Claudia’s favorite LA restaurants, her mother’s disappointment at not singing a duet with Frank Sinatra in Robin and the Seven Hoods, how her father invented the “Top Ten list,” what it was like being on tour with her mother while she was starring in regional theater in Chicago and how her parents met The Beatles at a garden party the night after their famed Hollywood Bowl performance that her father was publicizing and so much more.

So what is it like to have a father who represented Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, George Burns, Ronald Reagan and others while her mom was starring in movies with Rock Hudson, Dean Martin Marlon Brando, Hope Lange and Ernie Kovacs? You’ll just have to listen to this episode and find out. And let us say this, in honor of her father, when asked, who his favorite client was said “The next one,” let us just say that our favorite episode is the next one, which in this case is THIS one with Claudia Cowan. Another child of a celebrity interviewed by a child of a celebrity. Everyone has a story.