Million Dollar Grandma

I don’t commit to many TV shows, but one that I do try to keep up with is BRAVOS’s Million Dollar Listing. I can’t say I watch it religiously, but I make the effort and will happily watch a rerun. It’s now into season 5, but if you’re not familiar with it, the show is about the business and personal adventures of three young real estate moguls in LA: Josh Altman, Josh Flagg, and Madison Hildebrand. They are all real estate agents, but each has different personalities that could be called stereotypical of LA lifestyle. The business is interesting, but it’s usually the background theatrics that keep me entertained.

Each of the agents’ personal lives is part of the show, so there are several significant others, co-workers, friends, and family members that could easily be considered regulars on the show. One person who often turns up in episodes is Josh Flagg’s grandmother, Edith Flagg.

The show had me hooked before I “met” Grandma Flagg, but now I watch each episode hoping she is included. If they gave this woman her own show I would probably watch it instead to see more of her.

Most grandmas have sage advice on all sorts of subjects, and Josh often turns to her. For instance, after a discussion with Grandma Flagg, he spun the challenging task of showing a house in the midst of renovations into a party-like atmosphere complete with tools and hard hats as party favors.

Grandma Flagg has quite a story, which Josh Flagg recently published in a book titled A Simple Girl.

The book tells Edith’s story, which begins in Romania in 1919. She survived a concentration camp, relocated to the U.S., and launched her own dress line, Edith Flagg, Inc., in 1956. She retired in 2000 but is hardly the vision of a retired grandma, even for a designer. She is usually dressed to the nines, and in the last episode I watched, she had on a pair of black menswear oxford shoes I would wear myself. Her whole story is pretty inspiring.

According to A Simple Girl, “With $5 in her pocket, Flagg managed to become one of the leading fashion designers of her day and a pillar in the California apparel industry.” She ended up building a multimillion dollar clothing company out of just $2,000!

Grandma Flagg is the nudge that moved grandson Josh to second place for my favorite on the show. When the two interact, it’s both humorous and heartwarmingly touching. They trade barbs and bicker like most family and great friends, but you can plainly see that he truly treasures his Million Dollar Grandma.