Hi Kat, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
At twenty seven, the life experience can easily be doubled. From performing music with bands like Green Day, opening for Songwriter of Iconic hit “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” Alan Merrill, to acting on HBO’s ‘Perry Mason’, painting, producing, and more. So how did this multi-talented old soul land in Classic Hollywood? My adoration for Classic Hollywood and the city of Los Angeles began when I was a child.
I was raised by my Grandparents and was exposed to the classic films, music, and culture they grew up with. Last year I traveled to New York City while on tour. One afternoon I unintentionally found myself on the steps of James Dean’s former Manhattan apartment. In the months following, I spent a considerable amount of time in his old dwellings, learning about his life, and surrounded by inspiration and creativity related to the rebel.
This reignited my love of Classic Hollywood. Following an invitation to perform in Fairmount, Indiana (Hometown of James Dean) during the annual James Dean Festival, I was introduced to those alive who knew him and are related to him. Following the trip, I returned to Hollywood with an insatiable compulsion to keep the legacy and stories of Classic Hollywood and its stars alight. In December 2019, I created ‘Calling Old Hollywood’ a weekly podcast with a focus on seldom told stories from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Each week Actors, Comedians, Directors, Writers, Authors and Historians discuss their personal experiences during the era, careers, films, or how Classic Hollywood influenced their lives.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a passionate road. The decision to create ‘Calling Old Hollywood’ arrived at a time when I knew nothing about podcasts. I spent weeks researching what it entailed, certain that if I jumped off the cliff of uncertainty, I could build my wings on the way down. The first few months I was merely interviewing friends, though this quickly evolved into Actors, Directors, Screenwriters, Comedians and others I never would have dreamt would be on my show. It has been incredible.
As you know, we’re big fans of Calling Old Hollywood. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We live in a very fast world these days where technology is spewing content at us by the minute. Amidst new films, television shows and music we are immersed with— I find it imperative to journey back to the roots of where it all began. Without the pioneers of film, music, comedy, and the arts in general– where would we be? My goal in my podcast ‘Calling Old Hollywood’ is that younger generations will tune in and find something interesting, then research the films, or the records, or the books and find themselves immersed in the innovators who shaped entertainment and pop culture altogether. ‘Calling Old Hollywood’ is more than a podcast, it is a journey back to the beginning. James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Rudolph Valentino, Red Skelton, Natalie Wood, — they all had a dream. They were the first of their kind, and there is a reason they are remembered today. and should continue to be. My podcast serves to document how human these people were, how flawed yet fearless they chose to be despite their personal conflictions. I aim to strip them off from their mythical pedestal, the enigmatic folklore surrounding their lives and fame— and put them face to face with us as the humans they simply were, and yet how special and rare.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is unity and connection. Be it a podcast, music, film or an art piece — there is no greater feeling to me than bringing others together from all over the world to enjoy and share an experience. To inspire and bring hope, to leave the listener or viewer in a better headspace and heart space than before they listened or watched. Success is shining a light so bright that it cannot help but be noticed, internalized, then turned into a source of inspiration for someone else’s art, or film, or song, or book.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: callingoldhollywood.com
- Instagram: callingoldhollywood
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callingoldhollywood
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cohpod
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWxiL20ybtWH3TSFEBbvHvg?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Kat Lively
