Rarified Heir Podcast

Today on part two of another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast with guest Howard Murray, son of comedian Jan Murray and former dancer Toni Murray, we delve into more of the good times Howard had with his parents like we heard on part one as well as some of the more difficult times that happened late in life. Get ready, there is a doozy of a story coming. We delve into Jan's film career on this episode in films like Who Killed Teddy Bear, History of the World Part One, Which Way to the Front as well as what made Jan laugh. And what didn't. We discuss food, lost LA restaurants and more of the terrific comedians that visited the Murray home on for Jewish and secular holidays. Now, something a little more sobering to discuss. We started this podcast in 2020 during Covid and as this is the 300th episode, we felt it was time to take a break once we hit a nice round number. So with this episode, we are officially going on hiatus. We didn't take this decision lightly. This podcast has been a constant in our lives for the past six years. We haven't missed one week of a new or encore episode of the podcast in six years. Honestly, it's just time for a break. With that, we are pushing pause on the podcast. What are our plans moving forward? Frankly, we don't have anything. Nothing has been determined or figured out yet. No decisions have been made. But from the bottom of our hearts, we wanted to thank you so much for being fans of the podcast. We had no idea what kind of reaction we'd have when we launched in 2020 and we have to thank original producer Erik Paparazzi and co-host Jason Klamm for launching this podcast from the get -go. We also have to thank Jamie Harley (that's me) who has been the backbone of this podcast for perhaps 200+ episodes and  counting. Literally, there would not have been a podcast without you Jamie - so take a bow. We thank you Jamie! We also want to thank all our Patreon subscribers for being so passionate and so into the podcast that they donated to us for all the hard work we do and for asking some seriously great questions along the way. If we could take out all out to a meal at Chasen's, we'd do it. Moreover, we wanted to thank all our listeners fo the kind words – the comments you shared, the emails we got, the thumbs up on our social media posts – everything pushed us to continue because we felt like someone loved this concept as much as we did. Thank you listeners. And so, as we go gently into that good night, we need to thank every one of our guests for making this podcast so special. Without your help, we'd have had no one to talk to so thank you for sharing and trusting us. Your honesty and openness was what makes this podcast special. That and all the laughs. Well, without further adieu, take a listen to part two of our interview with Howard Murray on – for now – the last Rarified Heir Podcast for a while. Everyone has a story. Thank you for listening to ours all these years.

Today on part one of another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Howard Murray, son of comedian Jan Murray and former dancer Toni Murray. While most of everyone listening to this podcast knows Jan, Toni actually plays a rather large role in the life of our host Josh Mills. Josh's father, photographer Martin Mills was good friends with the Murray's and as you will soon hear, Toni was instrumental in Marty's life for one specific act that we get into. Toni will always have a special place in our heart for being such a terrific friend. Clearly Howard was over-the-moon about his parents – the love was palpable. From funny stories to family stories to poignant stories and beyond, it's clear Howard's connection to his parents runs deep. Frankly, it's a delight to hear him talk about his up brining in New York, his shock to the system move to Los Angeles as a kid & some of the many shows his father hosted and guest starred on in television in the 1950s and 60s. Moreover we hear stories about Jan's start in radio, his time learning comedy at the famed Jewish resorts in the Catskills and some great stories about everyone from Jerry Lewis and Milton Berle to Shecky Green, Harry Ritz and Buddy Hackett. And best of all, this is only part one. Part two is next week. And as we close in on episode number 300 next week, we will also have some news for you next about the podcast. Stay tuned. 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 Michael Rivers, son of rocker and raconteur Johnny Rivers. We dig deep into rock n roll lore as Michael gives us his take on growing up with an iconoclastic musician for a father and how it shaped him. Perhaps known for the song "Secret Agent Man", which topped the charts in the 1960s, Michael gives us his impression of his dad's career – from session man to Monterey Pop, label owner, owning his own publishing and much more. Like what you ask? Well, get ready for a great story about how "Secret Agent Man" as we know it, came to be. This episode takes place – virtually of course – on the Sunset Strip where Michael spent his time with his dad at Tower Records and iconic venues like The Roxy's exclusive club, On The Rox. We discuss recording sessions, long lost LA restaurants, famed studios where major hits were being made and how Michael barely stayed awake for it all. We hear about Michael's time as an editor at CNN as well as his years touring with his father as his father's drummer. Or how about the time he spent as his dad's tour manager on the road? It's quite the bonding moment with dad when you are sharing a meal at the local diner at midnight before hitting the hay for an early morning flight back home. So let's take an ride with Michael as we discuss his dad's cars, his intense love of the telephone at his home/office and what it was like growing up with an eligible LA entertainment icon bachelor dad. It's all happening on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Jason Everly, son of Phil, nephew of Don. Yes, we are talking about The Everly Brothers and all things Everly. Our conversation with Jason happened after a chance listen to Sirius XM satellite radio where we came across Jason's DJ stint on Fifties Gold talking about, what else, his connection to his family's music. That's when it hit us – Jason went to middle school with our host, Josh Mills and more than likely was in our carpool at one point too. We had photographic evidence too – from the Oakwood School yearbook. This conversation had to happen. Thankfully when we reached out to Jason, he was not only receptive to being a guest on the podcast but he was kinda psyched as well. Our chat was a little bit memory lane, a little bit nostalgia and a lot of fun. We learned about the bond Phil and Jason had – playing made up games together and how his Phil let his kids do their thing in the back yard, much to the chagrin of his neighbors. We also learned how his dad was a bit of a taskmaster as well as some insane stories involving Paul Simon, Warren Zevon, Graham Nash, Billy Joel and Paul McCartney who all adored The Everly Brothers. But perhaps our favorite part of the podcast was talking with Jason about his role in a little known Filipino film back in the 90s that he couldn't believe we dug up. Let's just say, it holds a 'special' place in his heart. Moreover, after our episode, we connected a few dots and Jason started his own podcast, Vinyl History which you can check out on YouTube. It's quite the sensation. But before you head over there, check out this episode with Jason Everly. Everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we bring you our another interview with a sibling of a former guest. Dinah Dillman Kaufman is our guest this week and she is the sister of guest Pam Dillman from episode number 254. She's also the daughter of actor/writer Bradford Dillman and model/actress Suzy Parker. Dinah was connected to the podcast via a Patreon member just recently and her enthusiasm to talk about her parents was so infectious we had to have her on immediately because it's clear just how much she still connects to her parents even today. Dinah spoke to us about everything from the personal to the pedestrian, the intense to the positively necromantic. Literally. Dinah indulged us gladly in telling us everything about her parents that was fit to print. We spoke about everything from the estate her father grew up on that became a University of California campus as well her mother's life as a stay-at-home mom after becoming one of the best known, most famous and biggest money earners of her era. We spoke about how her mom was a breadwinner in the late fifties which we identified with, we spoke about how Shirley Temple helped get her dad back to the United States after making The Bridge at Remagen in Czechoslovakia & a harrowing story of her own as a little girl that has to be heard to be believed. We also spoke about the station wagon her mother drove the kids in carpool, how her parents met and the first words they said to each other, how she kept her father's diaries after he passed, the actor most fans mistakenly referred to him as and a literal ghost story that somehow connected us. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. Take it away Dinah.  

Today on another episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to professor Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, daughter of the great comedian, writer, director Richard Pryor. Elizabeth was terrific to talk to as recently we had the great pleasure to see a book reading & conversation with her at Book Soup in Los Angeles for her new book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word and Me. Part memoir as well as a historical look at one very difficult word, the book meshes together how that notorious word connects to her personally and American landscape as well. Recently covered in NPR, the New York Times and Forbes, the book is getting much attention for its deeply personal autobiographical look from Elizabeth's first hand recollections of one of the greatest comedians this country has ever produced, her own story of connecting with her father as well as deep dive into America's deeply troubled use and context of THAT notorious word. Now if you remember, we actually spoke to Elizabeth's sister Rain Pryor in a previous episode and one of the things we love on this podcast is speaking to more than one sibling of celebrities because it's a fascinating look at how two people intimately remember the same person. Elizabeth spoke to us about everything from her time growing up in Massachusetts with her Jewish mother and family and moving to Los Angeles to be closer to her father when her mother sensed she needed her father. Moreover we get a look at what it was like in the Pryor household, the cars he drove (you will never guess which was his favorite) as well as the foods he loved. We also dig into the Elizabeth's life as a professor at Smith College and how an incident with a student in her classroom, quoting a line from the film Blazing Saddles that included that notorious word in her book title  begat her journey in trying to understand how that incident led to the writing of this book. While likely a line her father wrote for the movie, the question in her classroom, none the less set up a sort of crisis for Elizabeth that we discuss in the upcoming episode. Our conversation jumps around from light to intense as we discuss race, family trauma and the understanding that Richard Pryor was more than a comedian. He was a seeker, a thinker, a regular person thought it all and also a father who was there when it counted. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Today on part two of an encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to returning guest, voice actor Cam Clarke, who we know from last week's episode is perhaps 1/37th of the massive "First Family of Song", the King Family. We recorded this episode just before Cam's massive coffee table book, Not Their All Here: the King Family: Over 100 years of Entertainment from America's First Family of Song was released in 2025. It's one heck of a book that covers a century of music and performance from literally generations of this family who started in vaudeville and somehow goes all the way though to video games. It's a wild and often untold story. We spent some time on King family / Cam Clarke specific projects like his main gig as the voice actor behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character Leonardo for more than 30+ years, performing in the Mormon/Christian rock opera Saturday's Child, written by his brother Lex de Azevedo at 16 years old, his father, actor Robert Clarke who is star of an iconic B-movie, his bizarrely hilarious interaction with Jeff Goldblum, a surreal and wonderful meeting with a cast member of One Day at a Time and stalkers. Ooooooo, scary. So take a listen to part two of our conversation with guest Cam Clarke on his return visit to the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. Ah, but do you have 37 of them? Now therein lies the rub.

Today on part one of an encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to returning guest, voice actor Cam Clarke who is one part of "The First Family of Song", The King Family. We spoke to Cam once before but this time, we spoke to him on the eve of his book Not Their All Here: the King Family: Over 100 years of Entertainment from America's First Family of Song being released. At 312 pages, this coffee table book is a whopper of book, with tons of photos, antidotes, stories that span Vaudeville & radio in the early days to film & television in the 1960s as well as Broadway, cartoons, sci-fi B-movies and even video games. It's a fantastic book that Cam assembled himself with help from his famous family. Cam spoke to us about his own career as well as his family's which somewhat begins and ends with being one of the most iconic voice actors of the last 30 years or so. For now generations of fans, Cam is the voice of Leonardo, from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We spoke more about his time meeting his fans at ComiCon events and offshoots where kids and occasionally fans who are who are on the Autism Spectrum Disorder connect with meeting their favorite star in ways that are heart-warming and beautiful. We also spoke to Cam about his connections to other guests of the podcast (some family, some not) and learn the story of his famous family which numbered at one time well in the thirties. And how did they get paid? We discuss. Be it a Vegas showroom, the set of a television show or a soundstage, Cam gives us a first-hand look into what it was like being a child star within a family of stars. Take a listen to the Rarified Heir Podcast.

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to musician Jamie Perrett, son of Peter Perrett from the band The Only Ones, of the first wave of English punk rock circa 1976. To say Jamie was open and honest would be an understatement. He was brutally honest. Perhaps more so than any other guest we've had on the podcast. What's so amazing is that through all the stories of neglect, abuse and unbelievable circumstances with which he grew up, Jamie and his father, as well as his mother, have somehow managed to move forward in their relationship that frankly, few could. It's a remarkable story. It's raw, like an open wound and Jamie bares all. in fact, Jamie not only does discuss his upbringing but we also get into his own music as well as his time recording and touring with his father today. How he's been able to get to this point is a story you have to hear on this episode. We found Jamie to be a resilient and incredibly forgiving person who has clearly been through the worst of it and come out the other end a more empathetic person. Much more than we frankly could be. On this episode we discuss the single that made Peter Perrett famous, "Another Girl, Another Planet," as well as his latest album The Cleansing which Jamie is a major part of. We also speak about Jamie's work as a producer, his time in bands like the cause célèbres U.K. band Babyshambles as well as his latest single & much more. This episode is one you won't soon forget. The Rarified Heir Podcast, everyone has a story.

Episode #291: Valerie Long (Richard Long, Mara Corday)   Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Valerie Long, daughter of actors Richard Long and Mara Corday. It took some time for Valerie to come around to the idea of being on the podcast and frankly, we get it. As you will hear, her recollections about her father's passing at an early age and her difficulties with that loss play a part in this conversation.   For many of us, Richard Long is best known from either television shows The Big Valley or Nanny and the Professor. We discuss those shows as well as The Twilight Zone, 77 Sunset Strip, Maverick as well as his films – he made his debut on the silver screen with Orson Wells and Claudette Colbert, in Tomorrow is Forever. I mean….. We also discuss her actress, dancer, model mother Mara Corday who passed away after this episode was recorded. In fact, we got a call from the New York Times regarding her career when they wrote her obituary as they wanted to confirm a few things we discussed on the podcast with Valerie. It's almost unfathomable to know that the New York Times would site our podcast when talking about the life and career of Mara Corday. Thanks to Valerie for being so open and honest about everything and for being on the podcast to tell her story. Along the way, we discuss family friends like Clint Eastwood, Roddy McDowell, Dan Rowan, Peter Marshall and many others. Additionally we discuss a story we frankly never knew about prior to this episode. Prior to her parents' marriage, Richard was married to an up-and-coming actress named Suzan Ball who died shortly after their wedding at age 22, when Richard was only 23. It's a tragic story that we uncover talking to Valerie who gives us the details about how this likely affected her father. The Rarified Heir Podcast, everyone has a story.