Showbiz Analysis with Filmmaker and Hollywood Legacy Rocky Lang

Growing up in Hollywood makes for some pretty phenomenal stories and who better to share them than an expert storyteller who happens to be an author, producer, director, and the son of a legendary Hollywood power couple? So I was thrilled when Rocky Lang joined me for my podcast Whine At 9 to discuss his childhood, his career, and his new book Growing Up Hollywood: Tales From The Son of a Hollywood Mogul.

The son of veteran producer and Universal Studios executive Jennings Lang (Earthquake, Play Misty for Me, High Plains Drifter) and stage and screen star Monica Lewis, Rocky Lang certainly had plenty of show business in his DNA. The award-winning producer, director, and writer knew at an early age that he wanted to be behind the camera. While his dad focused on the business side of Hollywood, the younger Lang took a different track. “I was much more interested in using the canvas of film to express the ideas and feelings I had as a writer and a director,” says Lang who has directed, written, and produced films, documentaries, and television shows.

While he benefitted from being raised in a home that was immersed in show business, Lang admits that there were plenty of valuable lessons he experienced first hand. “I learned a lot more through my own failures and the choices that I made in my own career. Because there’s nothing that is more educational than doing it yourself and failing at it and then being successful at it and understanding that this is a very, very difficult business. And it’s a heartbreaking business.” Advises Lang, “You have to love the process and not worry about the results.”

Lang’s multifaceted career has included authoring seven books. His mother gave her blessing to Growing Up Hollywood: Tales From The Son of a Hollywood Mogul (his father, Jennings Lang died in 1996) which includes some fascinating and juicy stories about growing up in the Lang home. Lang kicks off the book with a story that happened before he was born, but one that followed his father throughout his adult life.

Tells Lang, “My father, before he married my mother and before I was born, had an affair with screen siren Joan Bennett who was married to Academy Award [winning] producer Walter Wanger…. And they had their little affair in the apartment of then agent and now legendary film producer and executive Jay Kanter– in an apartment on Crescent Drive. And that was the genesis and the story that ultimately led to the movie The Apartment with Jack Lemmon…..Wanger basically ambushed my dad in the parking lot and aimed at his family jewels and hit [shot] him in the leg.”

Lang’s mother, Monica Lewis also had a legendary relationship. Before she married Jennings Lang, Lewis dated Ronald Reagan for several years. Says Lang, “He asked her to get married and she declined. And he (Reagan) married Nancy (Davis) and obviously had a wonderful relationship with her.”

“I was never starstruck and I’m still not starstruck,” notes Lang whose parents hosted plenty of celebrity-studded affairs. As a young boy and teenager, he was used to hanging out with Steven Spielberg and playing tennis with Clint Eastwood (the elder Lang gave Eastwood his first feature film ‘Play Misty for Me’). “Clint was one of the most loyal friends to my dad, even after his stroke, when many of the people sort of faded away as my dad was not in the power seat to help them anymore.”

Despite their Hollywood-driven life, the Lang parents were extremely grounded– never losing sight of the importance of parenting. But let’s face it, the parties at the Lang’s house had to have made for better stories than the ones my non-Hollywood parents threw. Rocky Lang confirmed this by sharing one of his favorites with me which included (of course!) a Barbra Streisand singing moment. “At that party there was Hugh Hefner and the Beatles showed up….And I woke up in the middle of the night, came to the kitchen and there the Beatles were sitting around at the table with Barbra Streisand drinking milk and eating cookies.” Yes, he definitely wins.

Listen to Nancy’s interview with Rocky Lang here, on iTunes, or Stitcher Radio.

Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, comic and entertainment analyst. The host of the showbiz podcast Whine At 9, Nancy digs a little deeper as she chats with fascinating celebrities and industry insiders. Her book College Bound and Gagged: How to Help Your Kid Get into a Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind can be seen in the feature film Admission starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.