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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.
#disney #disneyland #disco #hazel
