My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business

My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir
By Dick Van Dyke
Crown Archtype, 2011. 287 pgs. Biography

His father feared that he would never amount to anything. Boy, was he wrong. Dick shares his struggles in trying to make it in show business starting with local club acts to starring in his own show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, to making Hollywood classics like Mary Poppins. He decided early on that he wanted to be involved in productions that he would not be embarrassed for his family to watch, and for that, he has become a family favorite to many. Life was not always perfect for him; he discusses his battle with alcoholism and finding peace with himself. Dick Van Dyke keeps talking about retiring but it looks like this 86-year-old has no intentions of slowing down.

To be honest, I usually “read” biographies by looking at the pictures and checking the index who they mention and look at their connection but this memoir grabbed me from the beginning and I found myself reading into the night. You will not find any dirty gossip about Hollywood but you will hear a lot of funny stories.

KK