Today on Part Two of our conversation about silent film stars Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we continue our conversation with Suzanne Lloyd, their granddaughter who was raised as their daughter. Last week we laid the groundwork on the life and legacy of one of the silent era’s greatest comedians. This week, we discuss the life Suzanne led in the family’s Green Acres 16 acre estate in Benedict Canyon. Harold seemed to have a way with money and he indulged all his passions with abandon. Although retired when Suzanne was growing up, Harold remained very active in his passions. Be it photography, the Shriners hospital, the estate itself or even his passion for bowling with Howard Hughes, we get into it all.

Topics discussed in this episode include: Harold’s passion for Stereo, Rick Nelson, TV director Richard Correll, Debbie Reynolds, the Blacklist, Paul McCartney & Wings, Disneyland, the Rolling Stones, Marilyn Monroe, Roddy McDowell, Harmon Kardon audio and more. Along the way we discuss 3-D photography, pipe organs and an almost ridiculous obsession with Christmas and Christmas trees you have to hear to believe. But we get into it, oh yes we do!

We pick up our conversation with Suzanne mid-interview as we compare Ernie Kovacs to Harold Lloyd on this episode, of this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. Enjoy.

Today on another brand new episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we give you part one of our conversation with Suzanne Lloyd, the granddaughter of silent film comedy star & Christmas tree obsessive, Harold Lloyd. Now, if the name (or the image) of Harold Lloyd doesn’t immediately ring a bell like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, this is one of the reasons we do this podcast, to make sure the legacy of legendary (or sometimes just working actors) are not forgotten. And after you hear Suzanne’s lengthy and almost encyclopedic remembrances of the man who raised her and why his name isn’t always mentioned as one of the three silent film comedians, you will understand it after listening to part one and next week’s part two. There is a reason. One we know all too well ourselves with the Ernie Kovacs estate.

On today’s episode, we discuss the silent era of film and names like Hal Roach, Colleen Moore, Mary Pickford, Daryl Zanuck, Irving Thalberg, Snub Pollard and more are bandied about like so many of Suzanne’s colorful stories about Harold Lloyd. We also hearabout Suzanne’s grandmother, actress Mildred Davis who was a pretty huge silent film star in her own right. It’s a whirlwind of information that fans of silent films won’t get enough of and fans who love old Hollywood but maybe don’t know the silent era well will want to learn more about.

Suzanne was a marvelous guest – someone who knows dates, places, studios, names and more like these things happened just yesterday. It’s clear that because she now controlls the Harold Lloyd Estate and his production company that she learned all this while also genuinely loving her grandfather who raised her like a daughter. It’s terrific stuff. So now podcast listeners, we bring you the story of Speedy aka Harold Lloyd on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.

Welcome to another bonus edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Today we bring you something a little different. Just for fun. On Saturday September 28th and Sunday the 29th, 2024 the good folks at the VideoFest in Dallas presented Devo’s Gerald Casale with the Ernie Kovacs award. Since the 1997, Bart Weiss and the Video Association of Dallas has given out a (semi) annual Ernie Kovacs award with the help of Edie Adams and since her passing in 2009, her son, Rarified Heir Podcast host Josh Mills. Past recipients include Joel Hodgson, Paul Reubens, Amy Sedaris, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Mike Judge, George Schlatter, Kevin McDonald & Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall, Al Franken, Martin Mull, Michael Nesmith and more.

Thank you to Kyle Riche for recording the event, Bart Weiss and the VideoFest in Dallas Texas for holding an Ernie Kovacs award annually, Gerald Casale for being such an Ernie Kovacs fan, Jeff Winner for making this event happen, the good folks at the Texas Theater, DJ George Gimarc, all the VideoFest volunteers and everyone who has attended any of the Kovacs Awards through the years.

So Rarified Heir Podcast fans, this is not your typical episode, but we thought you all might want to hear some of what happened that weekend. And here it is.

Welcome to another bonus edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Today we bring you something a little different. Just for fun. On Saturday September 28th and Sunday the 29th, 2024 the good folks at the VideoFest in Dallas presented Devo’s Gerald Casale with the Ernie Kovacs award. Since the 1997, Bart Weiss and the Video Association of Dallas has given out a (semi) annual Ernie Kovacs award with the help of Edie Adams and since her passing in 2009, her son, Rarified Heir Podcast host Josh Mills. Past recipients include Joel Hodgson, Paul Reubens, Amy Sedaris, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Mike Judge, George Schlatter, Kevin McDonald & Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall, Al Franken, Martin Mull, Michael Nesmith and more.

Thank you to Kyle Riche for recording the event, Bart Weiss and the VideoFest in Dallas Texas for holding an Ernie Kovacs award annually, Gerald Casale for being such an Ernie Kovacs fan, Jeff Winner for making this event happen, the good folks at the Texas Theater, DJ George Gimarc, all the VideoFest volunteers and everyone who has attended any of the Kovacs Awards through the years.

So Rarified Heir Podcast fans, this is not your typical episode, but we thought you all might want to hear some of what happened that weekend. And here it is.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to J.D. Lobue Jr., son of television director & at one time budding sunshine pop musician J.D. Lobue Sr. We reached out to J.D. Jr., after reading an article in a fantastic music magazine called Ugly Things about a band from the 1960s called The Gordian Knot. While reading the article, the name J.D. Lobue came up and host Josh Mills immediately thought, “That MUST be the father of my former little league baseball teammate!” After all, Lobue isn’t Smith, it’s a pretty unique name. With a little bit more research, we discovered our hunch was correct, it was the same person.

As we dug a little further, we realized that not only was Sr. a member of The Gordian Knot, but was also a well-known television director whose credits included multiple credits for iconic American shows like Soul Train, Soap, It’s A Living, Herman’s Head, Dharma and Greg and so many more. There were also credits for shows that didn’t make it like Norman Lear’s All’s Fair, Amanda’s By The Sea, Comedy Zone, You Take The Kids and more. So on this episode, we get into the weeds on what it was like in the booth watching your dad direct Soul Train and how your dad kept it together when things didn’t go right on the set of Soap.

We also discuss meeting the great Madeline Kahn, how he channeled The Bad News Bears Tanner as a member of the Dodgers at Studio City National Little League, iconic TV director Jay Sandrich, the jazz fusion band The Crusaders, sitting in Archie Bunker’s chair on the All in the Family set, playing tennis at Mel Torme’s house and much more. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Take a listen.

Today on Part Two of another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we continue our conversation with guest Peter Ackerman, son of actor Elinor Donahue & television executive Harry Ackerman. We covered a lot of ground on part one but on this episode, we dig deep into things like how insanely loyal Star Trek fans are as we discuss fan conventions and their lasting impact on both celebrities and attending fans. In fact, both Peter and host Josh Mills played the role of dutiful sons, chaperoning and being the ‘money person’ at celebrity conventions their mothers attended. It was a bonding moment.

We also discuss forgotten Los Angeles restaurants, the Los Angeles Rams and how they connect to Bewitched, music videos from Peter Frampton and Aerosmith, the soap opera Days of Our Lives, the film Pretty Woman & Peter’s current career which might surprise you. We jammed a lot into this episode and the last one as well and Peter was a lively and willing participant to discuss his life, growing up the child of a celebrity. In fact, you can read more about it in his new book, Mom, Dad, Me, and Classic TV - Growing Up with Classic Television's Harry Ackerman and Elinor Donahue – out now!

So get ready, here comes part two of our conversation with Peter Ackerman. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Peter Ackerman, son of actress Elinor Donahue and television executive Harry Ackerman. Ironic isn’t it that just recently we have spoken to David Pressman, son of actor Lawrence Pressman who starred with Elinor in the short-lived TV show Mulligan’s Stew on episode #194 and here we are again discussing lost classic TV. No matter, because on this episode we really lock in on some iconic classic television shows which Peter discusses at length. Like what shows you ask? Nothing much really – just shows like I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Batman, The Monkees, Bewitched and other shows that were part of our childhood.

What’s more, Peter tells us what it was like from both in front of the camera and behind as well. With both parents traversing show business from different careers, Peter gives us a peek into what it was like growing up the child of a celebrity and the child of a Hollywood power broker. A unique story that is.

We loved hearing about Peter’s first kiss – from a fellow child of a celebrity while in grade school as well as the behind-the-scenes story of how and why, “Bewitched” ended. We also learn about how and why his mother left The Andy Griffith Show and much more. In fact, we got the story before his recent book, Mom, Dad, Me, and Classic TV - Growing Up with Classic Television's Harry Ackerman and Elinor Donahue was published earlier this year. So we consider this interview quite a scoop! If it sounds like a fun episode – it was. And this is only part one!

This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.

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.