Sam Nelson (Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson) (Part Two)

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we present for you part two of our interview with Sam Nelson, son of Rick Nelson and grandson of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson. In the 1950s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was a massive hit television show and ran for 14 years that made both Rick, then known as Ricky and brother David Nelson major, major stars.

But this episode takes a very intense turn from the first episode as we move from one type of a family legacy to quite another. If you recall, in the 1980s Sam was at the center of a very public custody fight between his mother Kristin Nelson and her brother, actor Mark Harmon and his wife actress Pam Dawber. Imagine heading to the supermarket and seeing your own face on the cover of the National Enquirer and People magazine while still in elementary school? And this after the tragic and speculated up death of his father, Ricky Nelson in a plane crash not too long before that. Ooof, this one is doozy.

We do manage to get into a few things outside of the more sensational aspects of Sam's life including the very real ghost stories from his childhood home, his father's favorite flavor of ice cream and the famous beach house his grandparents owned that was part of the Nelson family lore. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, encore edition, we are talking to Sam Nelson, the son of actor/musician Rick Nelson aka Ricky Nelson and actress mother Kristin Nelson). He also has some pretty famous grandparents, an uncle, brothers, a sister and likely more relatives who spent some time in front of the camera and the microphone we discuss as well.

Sam spoke to us about so many things on part one of this interview including, what it's like to run a television archive which is right up host Josh Mills' alley, the challenges in keeping an archive relevant in 2025 and how to best honor your family legacy. We dig into how Sam became the one to control his family legacy via his uncle David who passed it on to him after some time and frankly, a bit of neglect as well. We talk about The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet being the second longest running sitcom on television in its history, the legacy of his father Rick whose good looks and talent almost took him away from the show much to his parents chagrin and how he's bringing it back in the 20s.

There is lots to dig into including a 435 episode DVD box set Sam shepherded to market, how he's looking to expand the brand outside of the small screen as well as the complexity of being the son of one the great entertainers of 1950s well into the 1980s. 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 guest Radames Pera on part two of our conversation about growing up a child actor to actress Lisa Pera. Like episode one of our conversation last week, we dig into some really intense and really dark places that have to be heard to be believed. As the young Grasshopper on the 70s TV show Kung Fu to an eventual, genuine teen heartthrob thanks to his role as John Jr. on Little House on the Prairie, we learn on this episode that all that glitters is not gold.

On this episode we get a deep dive into the aforementioned Coogan's Law that was put on the books in 1939 so that child actors were protected by law from parents benefiting financially from their career. Or so we are told. Laws are only good when enforced and Radames lays out the intense, jaw-dropping details of how the law failed him by his very own mother. We also learn of Radames' mother, actress Lisa Pera hoarding disorder in her later years that was so bad, Radames felt the need to document it on YouTube. And while we discuss this in depth, the videos are hard to watch. Moreover, the home in the videos is the one Radamas grew up in. It's a tough watch. This episode has layers upon layers of really difficult emotions that we tackle only through the honesty and genuine candor of our guest. This one is a rough one and one for the ages. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are bringing you part one of our conversation with former child actor Radames Pera, best known for his roles on shows like Kung-Fu and Little House on the Prairie. We had to split this episode into two episodes because there as so much more than we bargained for when we sat down to record this episode. Somehow in addition to covering Radames' career, we got into spin art, the Coogan Law, punk rock, fitting in at school and so much more.

Part of that so much more involved his mother Lisa Pera whose acting career involved TV shows like Get Smart, Perry Mason, Hawaii 5-0 and many, many more. We discuss what it was like being raised in a Hollywood apartment by a young, single mother who was too emotionally mixed up from her own time as one of the many victims of being a Ukrainian – Russian in Nazi Germany during WWII. It's so unreal, it's hard to believe it's not more well known or talked about 70+ years later.

And somehow, this is just the beginning of Radames tale because there is an entirely different story in part two of the podcast as well. What starts as a story about seemingly idyllic roles as John Jr. and a young Caine that found Pera on the cover of teen magazines as a heartthrob for years turns very dark, very fast. It's emotionally honest and brutally so. Take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story. But not like this one.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to playwright, author and educator Luke Yankee, son of Oscar-winning actress Eileen Heckart. Luke spoke to us about his biography about his mother, Just Outside the Spotlight, his then upcoming play about his mother and the many, many tales he witnessed growing up the son of his actor/mother who was anything but a wilting flower. Eileen was a pistol and o're to be the subject of one of her pointed barbs!

We also talk about host Josh Mills' mother Edie Adams who Luke had a first person connection to as well as some of Luke's mother's best known films, The Bad Seed, Barefoot in the Park, Butterflies Are Free and more. Along with that comes great tales about Goldie Hawn, George Segal, Soupy Sales, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe and many more.

While all of these amazing stories are told with a fun and mirth, there was one moment that genuinely choked us up in it's beautiful humanity that we just loved hearing. It was a pure and honest moment that gave us a truly well rounded picture of the complex woman that was Eileen Heckert. Broadway, the big screen and even a pivotal role on the small screen on The Mary Tyler Moore Show are all part of this episode with Luke Yankee. Everyone has a story.

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to three prior guests of the podcast who are talking to us in the boldest experiment in Rarified Heir Podcast history! How so? We are talking to them all at once. Something we had never done before. But don't fret, Carnie Wilson, Jenny Brill and Shawn Kay have been friends for quite a long time and, in fact, they know each other and host Josh Mills from as far back as elementary school. There are laughs and some tears on this one.

Since the time of this recording, sadly we have lost two of the celebrity parents of our guests, as both Mitzi McCall, mother of Jenny Brill and Brian Wilson, father of Carnie Wilson have both passed away as of this encore episode. While it puts things in perspective rather quickly, it also helps us to realize that the entire point of this podcast is to make sure that in this fast paced world, we don't forget the names and stories about some of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th century.

And with that in mind, this episode is a rollicking one, a bit experimental as we said but also fast paced, filled with childhood memories and what it was like not only growing up the child of a celebrity but also with friends whose parents were also celebrities. We get into some ridiculous tales about the Oakwood school where they all met, insane stories about album jackets as modes of transportation and a nostalgic trip down a very 1970s memory lane. Which begs the question, just how did the children of Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill, John Kay, Brian Wilson and Marilyn Wilson get along? In a word? Famously. Take a listen.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Nikki Nash, daughter of musician, trombonist Dick Nash. Now, you may not know the face or the name, Dick Nash but you certainly know his work with Henry Mancini, or should we say Hank Mancini with some of his best known work. Before the Wrecking Crew, Dick and a small group of side-men WERE the Wrecking Crew, playing on hundreds of studio dates for film, TV and major label albums in the 50s and 60s. But as we learn, Dick Nash didn't take every date offered for a very specific reason.

Our conversation with Nikki centered around her new book, Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things, an autobiography about her life in and around show business that is one hell of a read. Some of the things we talk about in our conversation with Nikki include notable run-ins with everyone from the aforementioned Warren Beatty, as well as Dennis Miller, Louise Lasser, Don Cornelius, Robert Hays, the Black Panthers, Robert Altman and many others. We also discuss long-lost LA restaurants like The Old World and The Luau, the best toast, the job of an A.D. behind the camera, addiction, painting, depression, growing up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and much more.

Nikki was open, honest, funny, matter-of-fact, attentive and gave us all we could handle in discussing her life and her book. And like her book, our interview was breezy and also had a lot of depth below the surface. But don't take my word for it, take a listen to this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast and see for yourself. Everyone has a story.

Today on another encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are speaking to Donavan Freberg, son of the genius humorist, comedian, advertising executive and writer Stan Freberg. Donavan was a guest we had tried to get on the podcast for quite some time and thankfully he finally agreed to be in the hot seat and we can't thank him enough. Our conversation with Donavan was frank and not always easy but at other times wonderful and whimsical. You'll see what we mean after you take a listen.

Our chat with Donavan often started with the almost Wonka-like existence of growing up with a dad who had a fondness for Christmas, often took his son out on adventures late at night and sometimes not requiring him to go to school was part of his daily existence. It was more like a movie or an adventure that most of us ever get to experience in our own childhood When you mom breaks you out of school, you know you are living in rarified heir. We get into that hilarious story and a lot more on this episode.

We learn from Donavan that his father was a genius ad man who created some of the funniest, most memorable commercials of the 60s and 70s which garnered him 21 Clio awards, the ad biz's equivalent of the Academy Awards for commercials. We also talk about our Frank Sinatra connection that likely brought us to this interview in some ways. We also learn from Donavan that a very, very rough change took place in his father's life after his mother passed away which is both heartbreaking and remarkable at the same time. Heartbreaking for the loss Donavan felt with his father and remarkable that he still has such affinity for his dad. This episode is all about duality. Take a listen. Everyone has a story.

Today on another bonus episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to a lost, family friend. Our guest today is actress and voice over actress extraordinaire, Pamela Dillman. How we connected to Pamela actually thanks to one of you, our listeners, Barbara Bassett, who alerted us to an interview with Pamela on another site and mentioned she was friends with Mia Kovacs, sister to host Josh Mills. What? Yes really. So we reached out and lo and behold, Pamela could not have been nicer, more kind, more loving in her effusive answer to, did she want to be a guest on our podcast. An emphatic yes!

Pamela spoke to us about growing up the daughter of actor Bradford Dillman and the step daughter of one of the world's most famous models, Suzy Parker. Our conversation with Pamela involved everything from growing up with Mia and attending the very proper John Thomas Dye school in Los Angeles, to remembering going to Las Vegas and being in the wings when Mia's & Josh's mother Edie Adams was performing her cabaret act at Caesar's Palace on the strip and much more in between..

We also discuss Pam's working actor dad (her words, not ours) who is known for roles in everything from Escape From Planet of the Apes, The Enforcer, his breakout role in the film Compulsion and much, much more. And of course, how could we forget about Suzy Parker, a woman so famous, none other than The Beatles wrote a song about her? We seemingly split our time talking as if we were in group therapy or the grousing about the ridiculousness of Hollywood acting auditions, how her dad became a scout for the San Francisco 49ers football team as well as a truly harrowing story involving her sibling that you won't soon forget. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast. Get ready for an emotional one.

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we have a first! Our guest today is a sibling of a prior guest from just a few weeks back. Our guest today is Karen Crane, the sister of Robert Crane and the daughter of Hogan's Heroes star actor Bob Crane. While you may have thought we hit all the high notes on being the child of Bob Crane in our prior episode, well, guess again. Karen has her own, very unique story to tell. Born a decade after brother Robert, Karen spoke to us about her story from her own perspective including the details of her parents' divorce, her father's 'wandering eye' as she puts it, as well as his obsession with photography and cameras that ultimately led to his murder in 1978 when she was just 17 years old.

We also spoke to Karen about what it was like dealing with her father's second family and the difficulties that entailed both while he was living and well after his death. What's more, Karen spoke to us about a book she is writing on her own life. She's one chapter away from finishing her autobiography, some ten years in the making. What once was a nice story about family life and the best things about being Bob Crane's daughter has gone to a much darker place. What started out as one thing became entirely something else once she started to examine her own emotions and the events surrounding her father's murder.

Along the way we did manage to squeak in some light moments including what kind of car her dad drove, his favorite ice cream and the one thing that she and her father did together that made her feel closest to him. We also learned quite a bit about things in her life that were difficult fifty years ago and are still difficult to this day. Karen held very little back in this episode and we appreciated her honesty and trust in sharing some truly difficult moments so we could share them with all of you. This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. However, none are like this one you are about to hear. Take a listen.