Death, Sex & Money | When Your Famous Dad Can Charm Anyone But Can't Pay the Bills

About this episode

Sarah Amos reflects on her childhood as the daughter of Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos cookies, and the impact of his pursuit of success on their relationship.

Sarah Amos says the best way to describe her childhood is as a “nepo-baby fever dream.” She grew up in a pink mansion in Hawaii where celebrities often dropped by, and the fridge was always stocked with cookie dough made from her father’s famous recipe. Wally Amos founded Famous Amos cookies in 1975, but by the time Sarah was in middle school, he had sold the company and their house was in foreclosure. As Sarah grew up, her father never stopped chasing the success he’d once had with Famous Amos, a pursuit that pushed them apart. Listen to Sarah’s new podcast about her father from Vanity Fair: Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos Story Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is…

People in this episode

Guest: Sarah Amos

Topics covered

• nepotism
• childhood
• celebrity culture
• family dynamics

Keywords

• Famous Amos
• cookie dough
• Vanity Fair
• Tough Cookie

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Famous Amos cookies

Books & works: Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos, Death, Sex & Money

Places: Hawaii

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