Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we talk to Joe Gilford, son of the fantastic character actor Jack Gilford and his equally amazing mother, Madeline Lee Gilford. Of course we talk about Jack’s 50+ decade career in show business in everything from films like Cocoon to Caveman, his Oscar nominated performance in Save the Tiger as well as his comeback film, A Funny Thing Happened on The Way To The Forum along with guest starring roles in Taxi and Get Smart…and a whole lot more. But we really get a history lesson from Joe about his father’s almost decade long stint on The Blacklist. You see both Jack and his wife were called to testify before The House of Un-American Activities before Congress in the 1950s. Joe’s recollections and research of HUAC, the history of The Blacklist in Hollywood and his father’s decade inability to make films, television or radio resulted in a play called Finks. Thankfully, Jack was able to make a living on Broadway where there was no blacklist and we find out why. There is a lot of laughter on the episode, because after all, Jack Gilford was a funny guy. But we also dig deep into how one of America’s darkest hours almost completely derailed the career of a truly gifted actor and comedian. Next on Rarified Heir.
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