Relatively Famous with Chip White

Nelco Media

Welcome to “Relatively Famous with Chip White,” the podcast that offers an insider’s perspective on life alongside fame. Join host Chip White as he sits down with individuals who share their unique experiences of growing up in the orbit of celebrity.

  1. MAY 11

    Peter Ackerman, Son of Elinor Donahue

    https://youtu.be/_syzlkyvXr8 Peter has double Hollywood Royalty in my book. First, I became a fan of Peter’s mom, Elinor Donahue, from The Andy Griffith Show and then through reruns of Father Knows Best. Second, I love so many of the classic sitcoms that his father Harry Akerman produced. As Pater and I talked on the phone he said let me just send you some background info for quick references. So here are Peter’s notes… Background: Dad – Harry Ackerman was an Executive at CBS back in the day. He did a lot there, including help develop for production, “I Love Lucy,” and helped create an early draft of what became radio’s “Gunsmoke.” Later he became a producer – Executive Producer of “Bewitched,” “Hazel,” “Dennis the Menace,” “Gidget,” “The Flying Nun,” and more. Mom is actress Elinor Donahue. She performed in vaudeville and on radio at a young age, got a contract at MGM where she was in some movies, and later became known to households as “Betty (nicknamed ‘Princess’)” in “Father Knows Best.” After that series, she went onto “The Andy Griffith Show” for a season but left it to marry my dad and begin a family. I was the first of their three boys together. Me – I got the acting bug, and more than my brothers, I fell in love with the business. I went whenever I could to a set where she (or my dad’s shows) were filming. For while I became an actor (nothing of note), and later got into the production side of the business, spending five years working freelance, mostly as a production assistant, on a lot of tv commercials and a lot of music videos, where I worked with many famous people (and once even stood in for Stephen Tyler of Aerosmith), with the rest of the band, during a song run through on a music video. Later worked in television, on shows and in the main tv department at Warner Bros, where I served as an office assistant. My final job was “Assistant to the Line Producer on “Friends” for two early seasons. Married and with children I felt another calling which years later had me serving as an Episcopal Priest, which is what I do now, choosing to live and work on the east coast. It was fun to hear stories of his life as a kid on so many of his parents’ tv sets. He even wrote a book “Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV”. But he had to use his middle initial because there is another Peter Ackerman out there in the biz. So if you’re looking for Peter’s book on the internet, Google Peter K. Ackerman! https://www.facebook.com/peterack1962

    41 min

  2. MAY 4

    Lilly Hiatt, Daughter of John Hiatt

    https://youtu.be/LlG6RZOSKyc On Jan 25, 2007 at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, NC my wife had the opportunity to see Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Joe Ely and Guy Clark perform. It was an amazing evening of music from four awesome singer / songwriters. I start this introduction of this episode with that tidbit of information, because our guest is Lilly Hiatt, daughter of John Hiatt. I have been a fan of her father John Hiatt’s music since the mid 80s and seeing him at that show was a highlight of concert experiences for me. Lilly is a touring musician, singer / songwriter who I had tried to book as a guest back in 2025, but could never make it work out. When I saw Lilly would be playing at Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio in Feb of 2026, I reached back out to her manager suggesting an in-studio episode since Lilly would be in town. Needless to say I was thrilled when she said yes! And yes I did actually purchase tickets for the show that night. Lilly was grateful and had said she would have happily put my name on the list. I thought that was super nice of her, but we wanted to support her tour. Another note about that night, I have had a lot of musicians on the podcast and I remember Langdon and Wil Reid telling our listeners that merchandise sales is bread & butter to touring musicians, so I also bought a signed vinyl LP from Lilly. Remember folks buy the merch from the smaller acts on the road. Lilly chats about touring, growing up in Tennessee, her mom Nancy, sobriety, tattoos, songwriting and Elvis. Elvis came to Lilly during Covid and has been a loving member of Lilly’s family ever since that day he arrived. Okay, Elvis is her dog and the story of how she got Elvis is hoot. Lilly, thank you for coming to Nelco Comics for an awesome conversation! Be safe on the road, and keep the songs alive. https://www.lillyhiatt.com/ https://www.facebook.com/LillyHiatt https://www.instagram.com/lillyahiatt/

    39 min

  3. MAY 4

    Ron DeFore, Don DeFore's Son

    https://youtu.be/EkNSYRnwgow People always ask how I find my guest? Well, sometime you get lucky and a champion of your podcast has great connections and suggestions. It was that way with Ron DeFore, son of Don DeFore. Because of Warren Croom, a devoted subscriber, I connected with Ron, Cindy Mitchum, Christopher Korman, Peter Ackerman and James Tomlinson among others. Warren, thank you for your suggestions, help finding and getting me connected with so many of our guests. I knew of Ron’s father Don from reruns of the tv show Hazel and from watching some great Hollywood films he stared in like ‘Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo’ with Spencer Tracy. I did not know of the huge Walt Disney and Disneyland connections. Ron tells us of his father’s restaurant in Disneyland, of his youth growing up in The Park, causing mischief and being bored of riding the rides and experiencing attractions over and over. He also has fun tales of the mysterious “Don DeFore BBQ” plague that has popped up at Disneyland off and on over the years. Ron reveals those and so many other stories in the book he wrote called “Growing up in Disneyland”. We share stories of living in places and in a time where we could ride mini-bikes and dirt bikes on trials and around the neighborhoods without getting harassed by the local busy body or arrested for no license. I say we because we experienced some of the same childhood joys just on different sides of the US. We were both DJs back in the disco days. Ron was more in the heydays of the 70s LA clubs where I was more late 70s – early 80s in the Myrtle Beach dance scene days. Ron was dubbed the flying DJ because he was wired to fly over the dance floor in a wild electric space suit. There is a photo on the website of Ron in costume. I love talking with the children and relatives of 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s Hollywood, as I’m sure you have gathered by some of our guest. To me, hearing of a time before everywhere in the Hollywood area was boxed in, before mega mansions, when there just seemed to be a little more decorum in being a Hollywood Celebrity just reminds of time spent watching old movies and tv with my mom and dad. Like our episode with Alison Martino, which is heavy with vintage LA tales, talking with Ron let’s me drift back to a special time in my life. Ron was a delight to chat with and I hope you enjoy our time together as much as I did. GrowingUpinDisneyland.com #disney #disneyland #disco #hazel

    35 min

  4. APR 1

    Michael Yonkura, Rocky Marciano 1st Cousin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KB_VjhtvTI Sometimes in life, I just happen to stumble across potential guests for the podcast at random places and times. And Podfest 2026 was just one of those times and places. I first spoke to Michael when a gentleman at the hotel was helping adjust one of Micheal’s legs. As I passed I made a joke that it looked like he had his own NASCAR pit crew. Thank goodness Michael has a good sense of humor because I could have been cancelled right then and there. See, Micheal is a double amputee and loves doing stand up comedy. That was why he was easy to remember when I actually had a chance for a long conversation with him. I had stepped outside of the hotel and Michael was sitting there getting some fresh air. Because it was a Podfest we naturally just started conversations with each other. He was telling me about why he was there, about how this was not his first Podfest and that he had signed up to do the comedy night again. Michael was there to learn more about podcasting, to promote his company DualAmp Media, LLC. and raise awareness for his podcast ‘The No Feet Survival Guide’ a podcast about how he got through health issues with humor and faith. He asked about why I was there and what Relatively Famous was? That led to him revealing that he was a distant relative of Rocky Marciano, the Heavyweight World Champion Boxer from 1952 – 1956. I knew who Rocky was but had to Google the correct terminology for his relationship to him. Marciano was Michael’s Great Grandfather’s 1st Cousin making him Michael’s 1st Cousin Twice Removed. For a moment I thought that could be a stretch for the Relatively Famous audience. But I discovered Micheal has a great story! So for me that is close enough. He does tell a few family stories about Rocky that have been passed down through the generations. But obviously never met him since Marciano died in 1969. Though Micheal didn’t follow his cousin’s path into the ring, he does have a flair for the spotlight. Not only does host his own podcast about his health (double amputee, kidney transplant and a tough bout of MRSA), he also does stand up comedy, acting and voiceover work. It was also during my Podfest conversation with Micheal that I met another Relatively Famous guest Will Neva – Randell Morris’ nephew. Yep, a shameless plug for another episode. Anyway, let’s give Michael a giant round of applause and welcome him to the show. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-michael-while-waiting-for-disability https://castro.fm/podcast/3b25903c-76f5-4a7a-b057-fa5088d5ec54 https://www.facebook.com/michael.yonkura/ #amputee #duelamputee #standup #comedy #standupcomedy #rockymarciano #boxing #worldchampion

    39 min

  5. MAR 21

    Michael Osborne, Great-Great-Great Grandson of Herman Melville

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AogoqO30plo&feature=youtu.be Herman Melville – “Call me Ishmael,” “It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation,” “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men”. Moby Dick used to be required reading in school back in the day. Is it still? The Great White Whale that haunted Captain Ahab, becoming a tale of obsession for revenge on his leg. Of course Moby Dick has a much deeper context than I am paraphrasing, so go read it. As you can surmise I am no Herman Melville, but I do get to have a conversation with his Great-great-great Grandson today. Meet Michael Osborne, a fellow podcaster and yep, the Gx3 grandson of Mr. Melville. While at Podfest Expo 2026 I happened to mistake Micheal for someone I had met Friday night out at the cigar get-together. When I approached and mentioned the Friday night cigar club he replied, sorry, no I’m some other bald guy. Yet somehow we started chatting about Podfest and podcasting. When I told him about Relatively Famous he shyly said he was related to Herman Melville, but due to the lineage he assumed I would not be interested. How could I not be interested? His great-great-great grandfather wrote Moby Dick and beside, Micheal hosts a podcast called Famous & Gravy that I find extremely interesting. Michael lives in Austin, TX and is a semi-OG in the podcasting world. He’s been at it for a while and has had several successful podcasts. He still hosts a couple besides Famous & Gravy. Oh yeah, that’s gravy as in “They’re dead”. Heck, I’m just going to give you the bio he provided… Michael Osborne is the award-winning host of Famous & Gravy, and a veteran podcast producer and consultant based in Austin, Texas. He’s created three independent shows, all of which led to major media partnerships. He launched his first show, Generation Anthropocene, in 2011 during his PhD studies in earth science at Stanford University. The podcast later partnered with Smithsonian Magazine. After finishing his PhD, Michael developed Raw Data, in 2015, a narrative podcast that collaborated with PRX/PRI. In 2021, he launched Famous & Gravy, a dead celebrity biography podcast that partnered with Wondery in 2024. His work has earned multiple Webby and Signal Awards, including for Famous & Gravy, Black Women of Amherst College, and Stanford’s From Our Neurons to Yours. Michael has also delivered two TEDx talks. He operates 14th Street Studios where he manages production for multiple clients, and he also leads training and workshops. His clients include brands, universities, independent producers, and mission-driven organizations. Bio aside, we have a fantastic conversation about LIFE and other subjects. So be sure to check out this episode with Michael Osborne, the great, great, great grandson of Herman Melville! You can also find Michael and I having a lengthy conversation on an episode of Famous & Gravy after April 2026. Generation Anthropocene Raw Data Famous & Gravy #mobydick #hermanmelville #podfest #deadcelebrities #captianahab

    26 min

  6. MAR 16

    Jasper Coverdale, Son of David Coverdale

    https://youtu.be/qtRq6S7iC7Q It’s 1987, MTV Whitesnake music video of David Coverdale, big flowing blond hair singing “Here I Go Again” while Tawny Kitaen vamps on the hoods of 2 Jaguar XJs… MTV and Whitesnake at its peak, that is a Rock & Roll memory of a lifetime. Well on this episode I have an incredible conversation with Jasper Coverdale, son of David Coverdale. When his dad announced his retirement in 2025, I saw Jasper posting on social media about how proud he was of his dad and his long music career. Make no mistake David Coverdale retired from a long successful Rock & Roll career. Google him. So what is it like standing in the wings watching 10s of thousands of fans scream and sing along with your dad? How do you as the son choose a career and make your own path when your father is a worldwide rock star? Those were some of my thoughts and questions I had as we talked. We connected through social media because Jasper actually responded to a DM. I say that because sooooo many people (relatives) I reach out to through social media just ignore me. Jasper and I exchanged a few messages, had a phone call and locked in a recording date. Now, BAM you’re here to hear Jasper’s story. Jasper is an actor, he’s not just a rock star’s son calling himself an actor, and a writer, he studies and hones his craft for stage, film and tv. He takes both acting and writing very seriously. He has also had the opportunity to sing onstage with his father before 10,000 people. A feeling he cherishes to this day. Most of all, Jasper does not take his life and the experiences he’s been able to have with a grain of salt. He is a blast to talk with, articulate, funny and ready to make his on sunshine under the Coverdale name. https://www.instagram.com/jasper_coverdale #deeppurple #whitesnake #tawny #davidcoverdale #rock&roll #rockandroll #hairband #tahoe

    43 min

  7. MAR 9

    Julie Rogers Pomilia, Granddaughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

    https://youtu.be/fMM2HI82cFI We were introduced to Julie Rogers Pomilia, the granddaughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, by past guest Cindy Mitchum Azbill, the niece of actor Robert Mitchum. It’s so cool when a guest will call a friend and tell them about the podcast and suggest they come on. Why was I double happy about Julie coming on the podcast? One, she is a recommendation and two, I was the kid at Christmas that wanted Santa to bring me the fancy Roy Rogers cowboy outfit. It had to have either a red or blue shirt with white or black fringe, Roy Rogers gloves with fringe and RR branding, big cowboy hat and a two gun holster. I would tuck the fancy fringed pants into my shiny boots and pretend I was a famous cowboy like Roy Rogers with a horse as beautiful as Trigger. I did not however pretend to be a singing cowboy, because as my wife says, I am NOT known for my singing. With Julie, I find talking to grandchildren a treat, because they have 2 generations of tales to tell. And Julie has some fascinating stories about the Rogers / Evans household and life with famous grandparents. She recounts many of these in her book “Your heroes My Grandparents”. The Rogers were and still are a large close family. They are a blended family and include many adopted children. Roy and Dale were very open and advocates of special needs children because their daughter Robin was born with Down Syndrome. They did not shy away for making sure she was seen and a vibrant part of the family even though she died just shy of her 2nd birthday. Julie has taught elementary school for over 30 years, has a talent for calligraphy, loves her palomino horses and like her grandparents, she too has a large family of her own. We talked about the values that Roy and Dale personified not only on screen, but carried them into daily life. How the western movies went from the good guys win without killing the bad guys, to how the bad guy good guy line has blurred in western films over the years. Julie has lived a fantastic life stepping in and out of the Hollywood spotlight. She is always doing what she can to keep Roy & Dale and the human values they exemplified relevant in a changing world. She has the joy of having had loving grandparents who made sure all the children in their lives enjoyed the ranch, the horses, the limelight and personal one on one time. Julie, thank you for your time and amazing conversation. I am going to borrow your grandfather’s famous signature signoff – “Happy trails to you, Until we meet again. Happy trails to you, Keep smiling until then.” https://julierogerspomilia.com #royrogers #daleevens #trigger #palominohoreses #happytrails #westernmovies #singingcowboy #tvwesterns

    44 min

  8. MAR 2

    Will Neva, Nephew of Randall Morris

    https://youtu.be/H21ZBt-V2yc Randall Morris played five seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Like our past guest Craig Colquitt, Randall also played for The University of Tennessee. I met Randall’s nephew Will Neva at Podfest Expo 2026 in a roundabout conversation. He was sitting there in his Chef coat (because of his podcast) waiting on his Uber while I was chatting with another potential Relatively Famous guest. During that conversation and because it was Podfest, where everyone just talks to everyone within earshot, Will heard that I was Vanna’s brother. That opened the door for him to tell us, “I’m a comedian and I just wrote some new Vanna White material.” Will did the bit for Micheal Yonkura and I. His material was funny so jokingly I gave him the White Family seal of approval, not that he needed it, we just thought it would add to the humor of the story. Turns out Will is the nephew of a former Seattle Seahawk and has a cool life story to tell. He’s a personal chef, a comedian, writer and podcast host. He was also part of the 1994-95 classes from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach that inspired the film “Freedom Writers” starring Hilary Swank. In honor of the Seattle Seahawks winning the 2026 Super Bowl let’s have a conversation with Will Neva about his life and his time with his Uncle Randall Morris of the 1984-88 Seahawks. #freedomwriters #comedian #longbeach #Podfest2026 #superbowl #seahawks #Vols #UofTennessee https://www.tiktok.com/@friedlaughs?_r=1&_t=ZT-93ME12fylqA https://www.instagram.com/comedian_will_nave/ https://randallmorrisfoundation.org/

    33 min
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5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Welcome to “Relatively Famous with Chip White,” the podcast that offers an insider’s perspective on life alongside fame. Join host Chip White as he sits down with individuals who share their unique experiences of growing up in the orbit of celebrity.

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