Josh Flagg has always been the better Josh on Million Dollar Listing: LA . He's funnier, seems smarter, and is remarkably less petty. He also always gets the best listings, in large part due to the help of his grandmother, Edith Flagg, who always has a sharp piece of advice for her grandson, whether a seemingly random anecdote or the phone number of one of her many wealthy, connected friends planning on selling their 50-years-off-the-market starter home. Sadly, Grandma Edith died on Aug. 13 at the age of 94. But for such a matter-of-fact woman, there's no better way to pay tribute to her than by celebrating how many amazing things she did in her lifetime — no matter what, she's deserving of a slack-jawed tribute to just how much she's been able to accomplish, including becoming a TV star in her 90s.
A 2012 interview from The Hollywood Reporter showcased Grandma Edith's amazing life, which started in Austria, though she was raised in Romania. That upbringing gave her a slight Germanic accent and a lifelong deftness with languages that served her well when she was forced to move around Europe to avoid the Holocaust. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, before Edith met Eric Flagg, she was married to Hans Stein, who was caught and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz, as they mounted a resistance in the Netherlands, their adopted home. Edith's young life was characterized by narrow brushes with death that sound like something out of a movie, but were all too real.
Once Eric and Edith moved to America, she began a clothing company, Edith Flagg California, that would eventually make hundreds of millions when she became the first person to import and use polyester on American clothing, according to The Hollywood Reporter's obituary of the deft businesswoman. She must be considered the unofficial godmother of the 1970s.
And while Grandma Edith doesn't seem like the sort who would outright say her own fashion sense was too good for polyester… I'll say it for her. While we saw her dress simply on MDL, her clothes were always well-appointed, perfectly fitted, and stylish.
She only had one son, Michael, and Josh is her only grandchild, and it was abundantly clear, even through the television set, that the people closest to her were extremely important to Edith. That makes it so comforting to know that she became known as a Grandma first and foremost on national television. Whether you're a big Million Dollar Listing: LA Josh-aholic or you've barely watched a single episode of the show, everything you hear about Edith Flagg's past is bound to make you spit out whatever you're drinking and exclaim "Seriously?!" She lead an extraordinary life.
Image: Vivian Zink/Bravo; Josh Flagg/Instagram
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