Podcast
Rarified Heir Podcast
Hosted by Joshua Mills · EN
Host Josh Mills brings together a wide variety of adult children of celebrities for a fun, funny, bizarre, jaw-dropping, strange and wonderful look behind celebrity, by the people that know them best: their very own children.
11episodes
Episodes
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Episode #290: Carrie Mitchum (Robert Mitchum, Christopher Mitchum)
4d ago01:50:41Tap to summarizeToday on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are continuing a theme from last week's episode (and the week prior) with guest Carrie Mithchum, daughter of actor Christopher Mitchum and granddaughter of the towering figure Robert Mithcum. So what's the theme? Well, Carrie is related to guest Suzanne Lloyd and right after our conversation with Suzanne, she asked us if we wanted to talk to Carrie and welp, here we are. So thanks Suzanne. Like her father and grandfather (as well as her son, her uncle, brother) Carrie Mitchum began her career as an actress and as we learn, she pivoted to a career as a chef after a stint at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. She's also a philanthropist since our last chat launched a website, Mitchums Kitchen with recipes, merch, a blog and much more. Carrie talks to us about growing up around acting with her dad Christopher as they travelled around the world as he tool parts that took him to foreign countries like Thailand and Hong Kong for films like H-Bomb and Spain for a film called Nightmare City. Her story about her youth on sets in the middle of nowhere are fascinating. We also speak to Carrie about what it was like spending time with her grandfather on the set of the film, That Championship Season as well as discussing his time as riding the rails before he became an actor, his poetry, his music career with albums like Calypso – Is Like So and That Man Robert Mitchum…Sings. We discuss Mitchum's favorite food, the dreaded tabloids, the Harold Lloyd collection and her love of animals. Take a listen to this encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast.
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Episode #289: Suzanne Lloyd (Harold Lloyd) (Part Two)
2w ago01:21:30Tap to summarizeToday on part two of another brand new encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter to silent film comedy icon, Harold Lloyd. Suzanne, as you heard in last week's episode is quite the steward for her grandfather's work and his legacy. She's the one who controls it entirely and she's done a tremendous job keeping it all alive, nearly a century after his career was at the very top of young Hollywood. Aside from the creative genius of the comedy of Harold Lloyd in films like Safety Last, which has the famous scene of his dangling from a clock, Suzanne tells us about the almost fairytale existence her fun loving grandfather provided in their estate known as Green Acres. We hear about all his passions – including Christmas, bowling which he did with Howard Hughes, the Shriner's hospital, early hi-fi audio and a very specific type of photography. 3-D photography. Did you even know that existed? Harold Lloyd sure did. This episode should come with a pop culture handbook of a who's who in the entertainment industry from the last century. We hear first-hand stories about the Rolling Stones, Debbie Reynolds, Disneyland, Roddy McDowell, Rick Nelson, Paul McCartney, Marilyn Monroe and many more. Much of it revolves around the Green Acres estate and an almost Barnum-like extravaganza for bringing the circus to your front door. The conversation begins mid-stream (which we salute Suzanne for btw) comparing her grandfather, the silent film star with early television icon Ernie Kovacs, Television's Original Genius. The parallel universe of these two comedic giants begins now, on the Rarified Heir Podcast with Suzanne Llloyd. Take a listen.
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Episode #288: Suzanne Lloyd (Harold Lloyd) (Part One)
3w ago01:29:47Tap to summarizeToday on part one of another brand new encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Suzanne Lloyd, the granddaughter who was raised like a daughter of iconic silent film star & business mogul Harold Lloyd. Suzanne is the steward of the Harold Lloyd estate and runs the archive of her grandfather's groundbreaking early Hollywood silent films which the creative genius and shrewd businessman almost single handedly owned throughout his career. Ah a preservationist in the mold of Edie Adams, host Josh Mills' mother who did the very same thing for the career of television's original genius, her first husband, Ernie Kovacs. Be still our hearts. Suzanne was incredibly gracious with her time when we talked to her and it was evident early on that she had so much to say about her years growing up, her grandfather's career, her parent's lives, the preservation of Lloyd's films as well as his opulent and ridiculously large house and grounds in Beverly Hills, we knew this conversation was a two parter. Suzanne was an eager guest who wanted to talk about her grandfather's work which ranks right up there with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Perhaps to the causal film fan, Harold Lloyd's name isn't as well-known some 90 years after the apex of his career simply because he owned his own films, not a film studio. So showings on television and screenings at film festivals were more sporadic through the years. But no doubt, with Suzanne's help, more fans than ever are able to see Harold Lloyd's comedy in 2026. This episode is a film lover's dream as we talk about early Hollywood icons like Mary Pickford, Daryl Zanuck, Hal Roach and many more – including her grandmother, Harold's wife, Mildred Davis. Davis gave up her own career once she married her comedic genius husband. Why? You'll hear about that shortly. Suzanne's ability to talk about the legacy of Harold Lloyd is only matched by her recall of facts, dates, productions, screenings, studios and more that it's almost uncanny how anyone could have total recall like that. So buckle up, this is only part one. Part two has stories about the famed Christmas tree that lived year round in the living room, the estate they lived on and the Paul McCartney party she attended after the estate was donated to the city. This episode spans decades. Take a listen.
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Episode #287: JD Lobue Jr. (JD Lobue Sr)
4w ago01:25:41Tap to summarizeToday on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are speaking to childhood friend from youth baseball, JD Lobue Jr. as our guest today. Back in the 1970s, host Josh Mills and JD played on the Little League Dodgers team at Studio City National Little League and became fast friends in elementary school. And while he'd known about his father, JD Lobue Sn., was a television director, it really wasn't something they talked about on the baseball diamond. Cut to, oh several years later, while reading issue #59 of the ultimate rock 'n roll magazine, Ugly Things, which bills itself as Wild Sounds from Past Dimensions, that an in-depth article on the 60s Mississippi garage band The Gordian Knot caught his eye. Turns out, JD Lobue Sr. was a band member of saif Knot and after making their way west to Hollywood in the last 1960s, the band got their big break. Signing to Verve Records and recording their only album, the band befriended Nancy Sinatra, Aside from their lone LP, The Gordian Knot also became THE band to have play your swanky Hollywood party. Or in some cases, join Nancy on USO tours in Asia during the Vietnam War. All of this later lead to stints for Lobue Sr., in television after the band broke up. Starting with black dance party juggernaut, Soul Train with host and creator Don Cornelius, JD became an in demand television director. We get into all of this as well as beloved television shows like Soap, Newhart, It's A Living, Dharma & Greg and Two and a Half Men with Jr. which were just a few of his credits. We discuss life growing up in Hollywood with JD as well as a rather unique love of a sport that flew under the radar – not pun intended - in ultimate frisbee which the younger JD excelled at. We can thank garage rock from a superior music magazine Ugly Things for this episode. All it took was a Google search to bring us this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.
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Episode #286: Patricia Weidenfeld (Pat Cooper) (Part Two - The Return)
May 501:01:06Tap to summarizeToday on part two of our return interview with Patricia Weidenfeld, daughter of comedian Pat Cooper, we wrap up another very, very intense conversation about the love and the heartache of being the daughter of "The Comedian of Outrage." On this episode, Patti goes into more of the family drama as well as the reconciliation of between two sides of Pat Cooper's family: his first and his second families to be exact. We hear about some of the dark, unnecessary communication with some of her extended family as well as the heartwarming and loving communication she heard and feels from others in her extended family as well. It's a ying and yang situation for sure. But what really comes across in this final episode is the humanity Patti extends to those who have seemingly wished her only bad feelings and pain. She credits her mother as well as her former profession as a special education teacher with the compassion and the forgiveness she extends here, that frankly, I doubt most of us could if we were faced in a similar situation. It frankly is a bit inspiring to see an everyday person faced with mountain of anger and hatred respond not with hate but with love. And in 2026, that humanity is in short supply. More please. Patti delves more into the psychology of her father and the decisions he made as well as her own reactions to those hurtful decisions. But what we also learn is that, ironically, just because one person is wishing you pain, it doesn't mean everyone in her father's first family is speaking from the same point of reference. Far from it. In fact, her simply being on the podcast for the first time in 2024 might have brought her closer to extended family members that she barely knew about and didn't know personally at all. And now, because of this podcast, she does. It did our hearts good knowing that our podcast could do anything remotely as wholesome and good as what we learn here. We couldn't have ever imagined that was even possible when we started in 2020. So take a listen to this episode, part two with Patricia Weidenfeld on her return to the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.
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Episode # 285 - Patricia Weidenfeld (Pat Cooper) (Part One - The Return)
Apr 2801:13:27Tap to summarizeToday on part one of our return conversation with Patricia Wedenfeld, daughter of comedian Pat Cooper, we catch up with Patti two years after our last conversation in 2024 to see how things are going at the behest of a listener who suggested we reached out to Patti to have her back on the podcast to find out more about her story which is one of the most difficult we've ever shared on the podcast in close to six years since we started. Once again, Patti is open, honest, raw and delves into some serious family drama that has taken place even since our first interview. The open wounds of our last episode haven't truly healed but in the midst of her journey, we learn that there is a silver lining in all the heartache she has had to endure What's that you ask? Ironically, it's family. A family she knew about but didn't know. A family that had their own issues with her father that very much mirror her own. And hopefully, it's a family that might find common ground underneath all the pain all of them have had to endure needlessly. The understatement of the year is that Pat Cooper was a complex individual who didn't hold back verbal punches in public or in private. He cut to the quick in a deeply funny way on stage and a staggeringly brutal way off it, no question. So on part one of this conversation, we delve into how Patti is dealing with all of the trauma a few years later and frankly, it's another deeply personal conversation. It's still raw, it's still tough to talk about and it's still hard to believe. But in 2026, with some distance, some help and some life lessons, things are just a bit better if not perfect for Patti and her family. It's another tough but hopeful conversation with Patti on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.
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Episode #284: Adam Nimoy (Leonard Nimoy)
Apr 2101:17:16Tap to summarizeToday on another brand new episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Adam Nimoy, son of actor, director, pilot, musician and much more, Leonard Nimoy. We spoke to Adam about growing up the child of one of the most beloved actors of his generation because he portrayed one of the most iconic characters of the 20th century, Spock from Star Trek in television and film. Of course, not too long ago we spoke to Adam's sister Julie Nimoy and brother-in-law David Knight and we learned a few things about Leonard. But this one is just a bit different. On this episode, we learn from Adam about the relationship, struggles and finally acceptance he had with his father which was outlined in two books, 2008's My Incredible, Wonderful, Miserable Life:An Anti Memoir and 2024's The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy. Among other things, it was with the help of getting sober and a 12-Step program that both father and son leaned on to connect after a period of estrangement and also how it helped to be open and honest and share – something that was in limited supply for most of Adam's life. Along the way, we take a deep dive in L.A. nostalgia including our shared education at University High School in West L.A, restaurants he and his family frequented, several of his father's automobiles, the Paisley Underground scene of the 1980s, how the band the Rain Parade were his first clients when he was becoming a lawyer via his relationship growing up with them as a kid, Leonard's TV movie Baffledwhich holds a special place in host Josh Mills's heart and how the last vestiges of the beloved Stan's Donuts in Westwood has finally closed shop. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. Live long and prosper friends. Take a listen.
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Episode #283: Leo Sidran (Ben Sidran) (Part Two)
Apr 1401:06:24Tap to summarizeToday on part two of the Rarified Heir Podcast with guest Leo Sidran, we focused on the career of Grammy winning (but not Oscar winning as we find out) musician Leo Sidran about growing up the son of jazzbo, Ben Sidran. On this episode we dig deep into Leo's career as an in demand musician for film and commercial scoring as well as his production work and his record label. We also get into discussing his podcast, The Third Story which has a lot in common with this one quite frankly – and it's terrific. Our conversation takes us from Wisconsin to Spain, where Leo spent quite a bit of his years in high school and in his twenties after a study abroad program kicked his love of the country into high gear. As we find out it was Ben who inadvertently made this all possible simply because he wanted his young son to speak Spanish as a kid. Somehow that leads to gigs in Spain, living in Seville, a very important tribute to Spanish poet Frederico Garcia Lorca and an Irish pub in Andalucía became a major part of his life and career. Moreover, we discuss how James Brown's 'Funky drummer' Clyde Stubblefield became a major part of Leo's life when he quit the JBs and moved to Madison Wisconsin. How we manage to weave all these disparate tendrils into a cohesive (ahem) podcast episode is beyond even me. But that's one of the things about the Rarified Heir Podcast, because everyone has a story. This is a Sidran story. Take a listen.
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Episode #282: Leo Sidran (Ben Sidran) (Part One)
Apr 701:06:59Tap to summarizeToday on part one of this interview on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Grammy-winning musician Leo Sidran, son of jazz musician, professor, radio host, VH1 TV host and author Ben Sidran. Now if you are a jazz fan, likely you know the name Ben Sidran. In a career that spans more than 50 years, Ben Sidran has had a truly remarkable career as a solo performer and has somehow performed with, recorded with or produced pretty much everyone in and out of jazz. Like who? How about Steve Miller, Diana Ross, Boz Scaggs, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Mose Allison and so many more. But as we learn from Leo on this episode, Ben's literate background, his poetic lyrics and his fantastic piano playing make him, we would argue, more than just a musician but more of a national treasure. There is just something about a world class jazz musician who can also write lyrics that make you think, and often times laugh, that just gives you pause. It's a rare talent and Ben Sidran has it. So on this episode we learn about Leo's entre into music. Yes of course it's via his dad but it also involves going on tour with The Steve Miller Band where technology plays a major part in his world on the tour bus. From there we learn how Leo became a songwriter before he could drive, how he was looked after by the Steve Miller Band band members and how it set him up for his first recording date not too long after. Along the way we discuss the importance of merch, Camus, Madison Wisconsin, the importance of having a mother who was a travel agent – and much more than that, why his parents left Los Angeles when Ben's solo career was just getting going and much more. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.
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Episode #281: Colin Cosell (Howard Cosell)
Mar 3101:44:47Tap to summarizeToday on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Colin Cosell, grandson of sports legend Howard Cosell. It's perfectly fitting as the baseball season just started and Colin is in full swing, pun intended. Now, if you lived in the United States in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s – you know who Howard Cosell was. The man was everywhere. Announcing Monday Night Football, Olympic boxing, pontificating on talk shows, hosting his own late night comedy show, announcing Frank Sinatra specials, doing his radio show and generally causing a stir. He not only interviewed John Lennon on Monday Night Football but he basically told the entire country that Lennon had been shot while live on television on the very same program. He's was and still is part of the cultural landscape of the last 50 years. Our chat with Colin was perhaps one of the funniest episodes we have ever done because Colin, aside from being a sports announcer himself & in game announcer for the New York Mets, is quite the comic. His impression of his grandfather is one for the ages. He not only extemporaneously handles it when we ask but he also recites some of Howard's great calls. There is much hilarity. Furthermore we get into some great memories of Colin growing up with his beloved grandfather and hear stories about meeting Michael Jordan at a Knicks game, Jon Bon Jovi while in the pool of his grandfather's house, the ubiquitous yellow Monday Night Football jacket and of course, Howard's often discussed toupee & cigars. We go quite deep on this one and there are some terrific belly laughs. This is one of our favorite Rarified Heir Podcast episodes. Take a listen.
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