My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business

My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business

By Dick Van Dyke

Crown Archetype, 2011. 287 pgs. Biography

This is a terrific little journey through Dick Van Dyke’s “Lucky Life.” He gets his start in radio. Then he joins Phil Erickson on the road doing a comedy routine. He did some television work for a few years, then landed a part in Bye Bye Birdie. This was followed by The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and somewhat later Diagnosis Murder. There were of course, a number of other films and television work, but these are certainly his most memorable work.

There are no scandals here—well they might be mentioned, but there’s no dwelling on them—and perhaps that is the secret to Van Dyke’s “Lucky Life”—a optimistic outlook that focuses on the good. This is the story of a kind, earnest, and talented man who found ways to spread his good-natured entertainment far and wide.

SML