Me, dad and the zombie chickens
Lives Less Ordinary
BBC
4.7 • 885 Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman railed against Hollywood his whole career as the founder of cult B-movie production house, Troma, while his daughter Lily-Hayes dreamt only of fitting in.
Lloyd Kaufman has been the father of anti-establishment filmmaking for over 50 years. His production company Troma Entertainment is known for its gory, controversial and politically-charged movies. His daughter Lily-Hayes grew up on the sets of these bizarre and often quite gruesome Troma films, such as Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. She had her first on-screen role at the age of 4 in one of Troma’s biggest hits – the 1984 horror-comedy The Toxic Avenger – a film about a nerd who turns into a mutant superhero after falling into a vat of nuclear waste. But the chaos of the films was not mirrored at home in New York; Lily-Hayes and her sisters went to an Upper East Side all-girls private school, sweets were strictly rationed, and life was kept in order.
When it came time for Lily-Hayes to pick her own career path, she wanted to push back against her father's anti-establishment line of work. But how could she rebel against the ultimate rebel? Well, she went into investment banking and forged a ‘normal’ life on the trading floor. One day she witnessed a colleague take part in a chicken nugget eating contest. It was a sight that would rival even the grossest scenes she’d witnessed on a Troma set and it pushed her back towards the call of the Tromaverse.
Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Andrea Rangecroft
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I've just nipped in before your BBC podcast starts to tell you all about |
| 0:09.4 | You're Dead to Me. We're the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Also from the BBC |
| 0:13.9 | and presented by me, Greg Jenner. I should have told you that at the beginning. Sorry. |
| 0:17.9 | Anyway, like many other BBC podcasts, such as Desert Island Discs, Evil Genius, or In Our Time, your dead to me is available first on BBC Sounds, |
| 0:26.3 | a whole month earlier than anywhere else, in fact. So if you can't wait another day to hear |
| 0:31.2 | the very latest in history and loads of other good stuff, then listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.5 | What's the song? How does it go? |
| 0:38.0 | Are there any broadcastable parts that you guys could sing or hum for us? |
| 0:42.5 | Well, there's, do you have the lyrics? |
| 0:45.3 | I mean, yes, the sky is blue and all the trees are green. |
| 0:50.7 | My heart is full like a mashed potato. |
| 0:54.8 | I think you know precisely what I mean. |
| 0:58.8 | When I say it's such bedoinkled day. |
| 1:03.0 | Beautiful, beautiful. |
| 1:04.6 | Yes, we would sing this everywhere we went on our family trips through the outs and elsewhere. |
| 1:11.7 | Ah, the dulcet tones of film royalty. |
| 1:15.5 | But this is no sound of music. |
| 1:18.2 | That was lovely. |
| 1:19.6 | Beautiful voice. |
| 1:20.9 | That's Lloyd Kaufman and his daughter, Lily Hayes. |
| 1:24.4 | Lloyd founded Troma Entertainment in 1974, |
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