Episode #185: Ike Eisenmann (Albert Eisenmann)

Explicit content warning

06/04/24 • 81 min

2 Listeners

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to the son of actor Albert Eisenmann. While that name might be unfamiliar to some, if you grew up in Houston in the 1960s, you KNEW Albert Eisenmann. This episode is about local television stars and as we hear from guest Ike Eisenmann, the show Cadet Don was a massively popular children’s program when he was a boy in the NASA obsessed hometown of Houston.

Ironically, Ike decided to try acting when the family moved to Los Angeles where the plan was to have Albert’s acting career take off on a larger scale. However, it was Ike whose career took off in Los Angeles in fact, not his father’s. As you will hear, you all know Ike from films like Escape from Witch Mountain & Fantastic Journey as well as multiple television series and commercials from the 1970s onward. He was THE go-to child and young adult actor.

Ike spoke with us about the good stuff and the not so great stuff of growing up with a celebrity father whose career he eclipsed before he was even 10 years old. It’s a bit of a rough go hearing Ike’s story and we appreciated him talking so frankly about his father as well as his own career. Today, Ike co-hosts his own podcast, Pop Culture Retro with Jonathan Rosen. It’s a good one. Be sure and check it out after this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Everyone has a story.

Previous Episode

Episode #184: Keaton Talmadge (Buster Keaton & Natalie Talmadge)

Today on another encore episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Keaton Talmadge, great-granddaughter of silent film comedic genius Buster Keaton and silent film star Natalie Talmadge. It’s a good thing we love silent film as well as talkies because talkies we did with Keaton. What about you ask? Some things you might expect and some you might not. For instance, how at one time in her life, Keaton would mention the name Buster Keaton and get a blank stare. Was there ever such a time? We also talk about Buster’s legacy in the ‘20s......of the 21st century, not 20th.

We also learn about the outrageously famous and somewhat wacky Talmadge sisters. Los Angelenos today would know them from apartment buildings and street names in and around Hollywood. But their legacy, and that of their mother is not so much a lost story but one that isn’t frequently told. It’s a good one, especially if you like the ‘golden age of Hollywood.’ We discussed at length on this episode

We also hear about Keaton carrying on the acting tradition, when so many family members prior did not. Her voice-over work you have surely heard. We learn about her time learning acting in college, auditions and a strange but not so strange new company she started recently that isn’t just for kids. This was a very fun episode and we learned a lot. And of course, this is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story. This one goes back to the silent era.

Next Episode

Episode #186: Hugo Morley (Robert Morley)

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to Hugo Morley, grandson of actor Robert Morley. Depending on what age you are and what country you grew up in, you might know Robert Morley for different things. If you are an American, you know him from his stint as the spokesman for British Airways or possibly the film Who Is Killing The Great Chef’s of Europe with George Segal and Jacqueline Bisset. It was fascinating to find out from Hugo, that Robert actually had a lot of leeway in the BA commercials direction. But if you grew up in England or Australia, you might know Robert Morley from the stage where he performed in about 100 films and starred in/wrote many plays. His career spanned more than sixty years and in fact, his first film role garnered an Academy Award nomination in 1939 as King Louis XVI in Marie Antoinette, starring Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power. That’s one hell of a debut.

Hugo was open with us and told us about (free) trips he took with his grandfather and family thanks to British Airways, of meals he shared with him and time spent in Robert Morley’s back garden. There was swimming and cigars....for Robert, not Hugo. We also learn about Hugo’s theater critic/actor father, Sheridan Morley who was quite well known in England. We learn about his influence on the musical Les Miserables, how an interview with Carol Channing led to Hugo becoming her Godmother and how Yul Brenner played a part in their relationship. Along the way we talk about everyone from Eli Wallach to David Tomlinson, Griff Rhys Jones, to Joanna Lumley and more.

This is the Rarified Heir Podcast and everyone has a story.