My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business

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My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 2,725 ratings · 539 reviews

Dick Van Dyke, indisputably one of the greats of the golden age of television, is admired and beloved by audiences the world over for his beaming smile, his physical dexterity, his impeccable comic timing, his ridiculous stunts, and his unforgettable screen roles.

His trailblazing television program, The Dick Van Dyke Show (produced by Carl Reiner, who has written the fo...more

Hardcover, 287 pages

Published May 3rd 2011 by Crown Archetype (first published 2011)

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Oct 14, 2011 Cara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2011

As a rule I usually do not read memoirs because in reality not all famous people are good writers. But I wanted to make an exception here because as a kid I loved watching the Dick Van Dyke show and Mary Poppins. Well... I may not change my opinion on memoirs anytime soon.

Van Dyke writes the book in chronological order and you get to read about some of his rough times, how he grew up, and how sometimes he truly did get lucky. Some of the parts of the book I did enjoy were when he talked about hi...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Follow all my reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....

I had every intention of writing a review after I finished this book. It didn’t happen. Instead I picked up my daughter and sat down with her in our living room. I popped in a DVD and introduced her to Mary Poppins, Bert and Mr. Banks. She loved it. She grinned and giggled and clapped and danced. To me, this is the magic that marked Dick's career. He is a song and dance man with a timeless brand of humor that can be enjoyed by chi...more Follow all my reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....

I had every intention of writing a review after I finished this book. It didn’t happen. Instead I picked up my daughter and sat down with her in our living room. I popped in a DVD and introduced her to Mary Poppins, Bert and Mr. Banks. She loved it. She grinned and giggled and clapped and danced. To me, this is the magic that marked Dick's career. He is a song and dance man with a timeless brand of humor that can be enjoyed by children as well as their parents.

Dick's dedication to family friendly entertainment is genuinely impressive. I can't name a television personality with half as much talent as Dick or his contemporaries. Their vaudeville style numbers and comedy sketches are classics for a reason. Their ratings were dependent on their ability to entertain, not twenty somethings running around the set in a barely there thong.

But the book is about more than an actor keeping his integrity in show business. It is the story of a man and in some ways, the story of his generation. Dick's battles with alcoholism and nicotine took me straight back to my grandfather. My mother and I watched her father confront the same demons and I admire Dick's courage in sharing his journey.

The thing that touched me most was Dick's relationship with religion. He chronicles raising his family within the church, his years teaching Sunday school and the frustration he feels with what he refers to as the "hypocrisy of the faithful." I believe the sentiment is something many generations can relate to.

I didn't know a lot about Dick Van Dyke when I stumbled upon this book. I was raised on Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Bye Bye Birdie but having been born in late 1985, I missed much of his television career. I remember Diagnosis Murder but only just. Still, I have a warm place in my heart for the roles I am familiar with. My Lucky Life is a down-to-earth heartfelt look at a beloved entertainer. Wonderfully engaging cover to cover. Thoroughly enjoyable.(less)

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Jul 17, 2011 V. Briceland rated it 2 of 5 stars

Dick Van Dyke's celebrity memoir, spanning his career of sixty years, goes down like mayonnaise on white bread--unobjectionable, but hardly interesting. Everything passes by without much impact or examination. His work on the groundbreaking The Dick Van Dyke Show was fun. Mary Tyler Moore was a sweet gal. Walt Disney was a heck of a guy. Martin Luther King Jr. sure was swell.

It's a little odd that the most emotionally-resonant scene in the book (moreso than either his divorce or the death of a...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Tracy Hite rated it 5 of 5 stars

i may not be one of his groupies,(nevermind i am) i'm in my mid 20's and was not around when his show was on the air originally. but there was a time when his show was being re-ran on Nick at Nite in the early 90's and that is how i became a fan of his. i was young and some of the jokes went over my head but he was always funny to me.
i never missed the show and i would beg to see it. (now that i'm older i can watch whenever i want) and then when i saw him as Bert, the fun-loving Do-it-all man in...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Mackenzie Dare rated it 1 of 5 stars

When I was a kid, watching the energetic Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was always a favorite, and now that I'm older, I still always enjoy a good Dick Van Dyke Show rerun. So, when I saw this book in the library, it really caught my attention. I'd always been curious about the man behind those great comedies. So, I checked it out. The beginning was interesting and somewhat inspiring, how an ordinary guy from a simple background without much money or any ties to Hollyw...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I was randomly typing names into the search engine at my library when I came across this book. I immediately requested it and picked it up a few days later. I love the Dick van Dyke Show - it's hilarious and such a classic. His sense of humor and his expressions of it are just fabulous. So I was eager to read this book.

He gives some of his background and experiences growing up. One of my favorite parts was the mention of his time in the Air Force. The way he talked about his experiences made me...more I was randomly typing names into the search engine at my library when I came across this book. I immediately requested it and picked it up a few days later. I love the Dick van Dyke Show - it's hilarious and such a classic. His sense of humor and his expressions of it are just fabulous. So I was eager to read this book.

He gives some of his background and experiences growing up. One of my favorite parts was the mention of his time in the Air Force. The way he talked about his experiences made me think of Gomer Pyle - it was pretty amusing! He also documented his entry into stardom. He spent many years working from paycheck to paycheck and traveling the country before his talents were finally discovered and utilized. I really loved reading the parts about the filming of the Dick van Dyke Show. He talked about how everyone genuinely had a fabulous time working on the show together, and I think it's very evident in the features they produced. For the rest of his career highlights, you don't quite get the amount of information and behind-the-scenes look as you may desire, but it's still interesting to hear about.

There's a few things I wanted to highlight. The first would be his bought with alcoholism. I found this section to be very honest and straight-forward. His life serves as an example for one of the main reasons I choose not to drink. Unlike some teetotalers I've read, I don't see where the Bible clearly speaks to moderate drinking being a sin. My personal decision is largely based on not starting down a road that could easily become an addiction and sin - one you may not even be aware of while you're doing it. Mr. van Dyke's life is an example of this. He started off not drinking at all. After some time in Hollywood, he started having just one glass to help loosen him up and cut some of his shyness. That developed into 2-3 drinks, which eventually led to him getting drunk fairly frequently. Right before he sought treatment, he seems to indicate it was an almost daily occurance. I think one of the inherent dangers of alcohol is that you don't know if you will be attracted/addicted to it until you try it - and then it's too late. Not that it's too late to overcome the addiction, but now you have the addiction and the strong temptation to over-indulge. Mr. van Dyke also is very open about the long struggle to overcome this addiction. He candidly shares his setbacks in his 6-year journey to overcome what he calls the "disease" of alcoholism.

I also found his musings on life and the purpose of life to be interesting. From piecing together bits and pieces from his book, it seems fairly likely that he doesn't have a clear understanding of the Gospel and possibly even Scripture as a whole. Even though he was an elder in a church at one point, his own words don't really portray him as a Christian. He admitted to spending a lot of time throughout the years, and particularly during a mid life crisis, wrestling with life - what it's meaning and purpose was, and what his own life was supposed to be for. In the end, it seems in all his searching he missed the Truth. For Mr. van Dyke, the meaning of life is love. As he says near the end of the book, "Hope is life's essential nutrient, and love is what gives life meaning. I think you need somebody to love and take care of, and someone who loves you back. In that sense, I think the New Testament got it right. So did the Beatles. Without love, nothing has any meaning." (p. 271) I hope that soon he comes to see the riches and beauty of the true Gospel.

Another thing that bears mentioning- Mr. van Dyke divorced and lived the next 30 years with his girlfriend. The topic is covered in a gracious way - there's no dirty talk or very deep details of their relationship - either before and after the divorce. Though it's certainly disappointing, it's not an uncomfortable read. In the end, he decided to go with what felt good to him instead of what was right before God. I found this to be especially ironic as he would emphasize his desire for his public persona (people he portrayed on the film and tv screen) to be very family friendly and values oriented.

While he kept his relationship details clean, there were a few comments about movies or shows he participated in that weren't quite that way. I felt they could have been left out and not been detrimental to the storyline in any way. He also has a penchant for cuss words, even taking Christ's name in vain a couple times near the end of the book. It's something to watch out for as there's an average of about one per chapter. (some have none and some have several) Overall, I found it to be an interesting light read into the life of a beloved entertainer and comedian. It won't be finding it's place at the top of my favorite's list. But I would recommend it, with discretion, if only for the forthright dealing with alcoholism which I found very intriguing and honest.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Willis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting book and easy read. I liked it first, because I was a big fan of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Mary Poppins" and second, because I like to read about the behind-the-scenes stuff of show business. Loved reading about Dick's early struggles in show business. He over-simplifies things when he claims that he was lucky and "the right man in the right place at the right time". It becomes obvious from his work ethic described in the book that he was "the right man in the right place at the...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Abbe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-library

Dick Van Dyke, indisputably one of the greats of the golden age of television, is admired and beloved by audiences the world over for his beaming smile, his physical dexterity, his impeccable comic timing, his ridiculous stunts, and his unforgettable screen roles. His trailblazing television program, The Dick Van Dyke Show (produced by Carl Reiner, who has written the foreword to this memoir), was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s and introduced another major television star, Mary Tyl

...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book to read especially when I reached the era in which I started to recognize the names of actors Mr Van Dyke worked with and the movies and shows he stared in. I loved the chapters about Bye, Bye, Birdie - Mary Poppins - The Dick Van Dyke Show & his working with Carl Reiner. I enjoyed Dick's experiences with Walt Disney. Walt heard Dick say that he prefered acting in shows that his children could sit and watch with him or shows that were family oriented. Because of this he w...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

We are often told that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The same can be said for our fellow man, especially the celebrities that we idolize. To think of Dick Van Dyke as being the same man as Rob Petrie or Dr. Mark Sloan would be jumping to conclusions, and Mr. Van Dyke points that out in this book. Yes, there are characteristics from his life and mannerisms that he uses when he's playing a charcater that he borrows from his life, but there is more to this man that I didn't know.

We all h...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Trike rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, movies, television

Dick Van Dyke is quite a good entertainer, but he's not a great writer. This memoir is sort of a travelogue that's rather unfocused. Much like Van Dyke himself. His friends call him a loner and he insists that he's contemplative, yet he undercuts that by also claiming he's a people person and offering many examples of that. He does say that he never had a plan and simply lucked into the things that happened to him, and that really does seem to be the most accurate description of both the man and...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Jeremy rated it 2 of 5 stars

If you *love* Dick Van Dyke, or even just the "Dick Van Dyke Show" era of television, you will find this readable (I count myself a fan of his and found the book decent). It starts out with the crises of his early life which make for a fascinating read as he attempts to break into show business, but once he becomes famous, Dick's life - and, consequently, his autobiography - becomes predictable and fairly boring. He shares some cute anecdotes from the set of his early show, and after that waxes...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Versel Rush rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Van Dyke warns the reader in the first pages that if they are looking for scandals to look elsewhere. While including his now well documented alcoholism and his divorce, this is not a salacious tell all filled with backstage backstabbing. In fact, though he does cover his childhood and family life, “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business” is more a series of stories by a true icon of American theatre, television, and movies.
The stories cover everything from his very early days in high scho...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Ame rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biographical, comedy, non-fiction, favorites

There's something that just draws me to bios stemming from comedians/actors involved in comedic feats. This may be one of my all-time favorite tales to read, but I'd expect nothing less from a person as interesting as Dick Van Dyke. I recommend this autobiography for any hardcore fan, or anyone that has enjoyed his previous works. There's a humble, gracious tone throughout the book. For instance, his take on why he was selected for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (before Carl had a name for it, natural...more There's something that just draws me to bios stemming from comedians/actors involved in comedic feats. This may be one of my all-time favorite tales to read, but I'd expect nothing less from a person as interesting as Dick Van Dyke. I recommend this autobiography for any hardcore fan, or anyone that has enjoyed his previous works. There's a humble, gracious tone throughout the book. For instance, his take on why he was selected for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (before Carl had a name for it, naturally) - "Why they liked me - I wasn't too good-looking, I walked a little funny, and I was basically kind of average and ordinary. I guess my lack of perfection turned out to be a winning hand."

His anecdotes sound like tales from classic Hollywood fan fiction writers, such as the day when his Jaguar broke down on the LA freeway in the middle of Rush Hour. Fans immediately leap out of their own vehicles not to help him push his car, but to get his autograph. A producer even hands him a script stating, "I've been trying to track you down to give you this! What a lucky break!"

Then there was his struggle to quit smoking. Van Dyke utilized the method of smoking an entire pack. He became violently ill, and was so stressed from the whole experience that he lit up a cigarette afterwards. Yep...

There are magic moments, such as when Dick met his idol, Stan Laurel. How did he manage that? Oh, he randomly found Laurel's name in a phone book and called to check if it was THE Mr. Laurel. It was! When Dick met Buster Keaton, Buster was so shy he walked around the outside of his own house for awhile until he gathered the nerve to walk into his own kitchen, wearing his trademark hat, and playing the ukulele for Dick Van Dyke. Sometimes the shyest of us can be the most talented.

But before I give away all the interesting stories, pick up the book yourself and take a peek. It's nothing short of a touching, "jolly holiday" about show business, addiction, love, and finding that passion that never dies. (less)

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Oct 03, 2012 Gigi Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you are or were a fan of Dick Van Dyke you will enjoy this delightful memoir by him at the age of 85.

Throughout the book he reminisces about his classic sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" of the 1960's. He talks about other career highlights from some of his movies, "Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Bye Bye Birdie," and many more.

He also devotes time and thoughts to his personal life, his ups and downs of his marriage to Margie, his childhood sweetheart, his children. He also tells us abou...more

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May 21, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of Dick Van Dyke. As a kid, I watched "Mary Poppins" constantly, and knew all the words to the songs, and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" along with others from Nick at Nite and TVLand kept me company when I was sick. Mr. Van Dyke was always the one who caught my attention, though, because of the smile that never left his face. He truly loves making people laugh, and that's a characteristic that I admire, even in some of my favorite celebrities from...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran 5 Seasons, from 1961-1966. I would have been to young to remember it, first run but I do recall this wonderful comedy being a staple in our household, along with Get Smart, Cream of Wheat, Twinkies and SpaghettiOs. This must have been in the late 60s.
My first film going experience, that I can remember, is my Mother taking my sister and I, downtown Chicago, by train or bus, (she did not drive at the time) to see Mary Poppins. I must have been 6 and my sis 4, most likely...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dick Van Dyke offers an honest and touching account of his life. The much beloved actor/singer/dancer/all-around-funny-guy makes no apologies for his choice to keep his career choices focused on projects that the entire family can enjoy. As his story unfolds, it becomes clear that the Dick Van Dyke we all know and many of us love is well deserving of the admiration. Particularly in the role he is best known for, Rob Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," what you see is what you get.

I highly recom...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Fuzzy Cow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

Dick Van Dyke is an actor, dancer and all around performer who performed on the Dick Van Dyke show and was in the biz as the now commodity called television evolved. He was a household name and had great sucess though his carrer, including on the big screen where he played a role in the Disney hit Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This book is his story about the every day life of Dick Van Dyke. His great luck in a job that he endlessly mentions that he enjoys, his struggles to keep his...more Dick Van Dyke is an actor, dancer and all around performer who performed on the Dick Van Dyke show and was in the biz as the now commodity called television evolved. He was a household name and had great sucess though his carrer, including on the big screen where he played a role in the Disney hit Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This book is his story about the every day life of Dick Van Dyke. His great luck in a job that he endlessly mentions that he enjoys, his struggles to keep his nose clean in a volitile carrer, and the major choices that he attributes to his life story.
As far as an autobiography goes I think this is pretty good. As a well known member of a business where who you know is probably more important than what you know I expected to sludge through long paragraphs of name dropping (which I find tedious). For the most part Mr. Van Dyke avoided this, and intersperced his name dropping with entertaining stories involving the person. The book is at it's best when he is at the begining. His rise to stardom is very humbly told, and he humanity is proven by the hardships he encounters and barely endures. His quips in this region make this the most enjoyable section by far. The next part I feel is about how his rise to fame has affect people. He shows that he was involved in politics, both at a local and national level, and how his alcholism put stress on his family. This is a fairly serious section, but Dick Van Dyke wrote the weight of the situation very well.(I must point out that his political views, where were very progressive at the time, seemed almost faked as they are commonly accepted today. He proves himself, however by proving his belifs by including his picture next to the famous figures of the time.) The third section that I felt was how Mr. Van Dyke aged. Hollywook does not take care of its aging stars, and here Dick Van Dyke writes about how he adjusted to a normal life in retirement. Unfortunatly he used this opertunity to drop a lot of needless names (I don't pretend to know alot of the people in the book, so maybe I didn't enjoy this because I simply didn't care about who he knew). This made the third section drag compared to the other two.
Overall this is a very good book. Mr. Van Dyke has had a very interesting carrer. He wrote the book simply and humbly, which added a humanity to his story. Though I have never been in his situations, I felt they were relatable. This proves that this mulititalented person has proven himself to be a great storyteller as well. (less)

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Jun 10, 2011 Joe Martin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

I've enjoyed Dick Van Dyke ever since I saw Marry Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a child. Later in life, I saw episodes of The Dick Van Dyke show and enjoyed them too. So, when I saw this book pop up in the library, I eagerly snagged it.

It was a very easy and engaging read. The book sounds exactly like Dick Van Dyke—as I read, I could easily hear his voice in my head and it sounded exactly like the Dick Van Dyke that I’ve heard in interviews before.

The book was the story of his life, mos...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Shawne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

At this point in his life and career, how does anybody say anything remotely bad about international cultural treasure Mr Dick Van Dyke? He is, after all, the man who mangled a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins but danced with penguins and on rooftops and twirled straight into our hearts anyway. Over the course of his storied career, he's also diagnosed murders, driven a flying car and tripped over ottomans on screens big and small. He has, usually for better and occasionally for worse, entertained...more At this point in his life and career, how does anybody say anything remotely bad about international cultural treasure Mr Dick Van Dyke? He is, after all, the man who mangled a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins but danced with penguins and on rooftops and twirled straight into our hearts anyway. Over the course of his storied career, he's also diagnosed murders, driven a flying car and tripped over ottomans on screens big and small. He has, usually for better and occasionally for worse, entertained us for the better part of the last century.

The answer is, of course, that one can't say anything bad about him. It's a physical impossibility, because he is just so goshdarned likeable. Even if this autobiography reads a little blandly at times, hinting at and narrating incidents rather than revealing much about the man himself, it's still a pleasurable, breezy read - light-footed, nimble, quick, and utterly nice. No doubt all words that can be used to describe Van Dyke, even though he was 86 when the book was published.

Don't expect a literary breakthrough within these pages - this is a conventional autobiography through and through, taking us from Van Dyke's childhood through to what most people would refer to as their dotage. (Van Dyke, of course, refuses to give in to old age, just one of the charms of the man and his book.) He doesn't attempt to bust anyone's gut with smart, topical, headline-skewering chapters... but then again, Van Dyke isn't a comedian of the nineties or noughties, who has to create his or her own material to bust out of the comedy circuit. He is, really, just a tradesman, a consummate entertainer who didn't learn to act or sing or dance but did all three anyway, well enough to be remembered by many as one of the brightest shining stars Hollywood has ever seen.

The book covers Van Dyke's life chronologically, talking us through his childhood, military career, early marriage and struggling days as an entertainer before he addresses his time in Hollywood and the problems that have bedevilled him along the way. He's mostly frank if rather brief about these issues, including his alcoholism and the trouble he experiences in his marriage to his childhood sweetheart and mother of his four children Margie.

Throughout, Van Dyke walks that fine line of being candid while not really divulging all that much. He talks easily and cheerfully about what troubles he's had, be they professional or personal, but he never goes into much detail. In other words, what he wants to remain private stays that way, and the book can sometimes feel a bit clinical as he drily flips through his filmography and contributes a comment or two on a particular job/movie/television show. This is both good and not-so-good (not bad, remember, never bad!): the book stands at a very readable 273 pages, but sometimes, one can't help wishing for just a little more.

It goes without saying that anyone looking for salacious Hollywood gossip is going to be disappointed. Mr Van Dyke is a gentleman in every way, only telling sordid Hollywood stories when one feels the participants would be quite happy to be remembered as hard partiers (see: Maureen Stapleton, her paper sack and the Bye Bye Birdie wrap party) or hinting vaguely that he didn't really get along with a particular actress (Faye Dunaway)... while also explaining that this was probably as much his fault as it was hers.

Instead, he pays tireless, effusive tribute to the people who have contributed to his blessed existence, and on this count, fans of his work - especially on The Dick Van Dyke Show - will be pleased to read his memories of his happy time working with head writer/creator Carl Reiner and his fabulous cast-mates Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie and Richard Deacon. The only time Van Dyke sounds even the tiniest bit huffy about anything is when he talks of this classic sitcom's early demise - Reiner decided he would be done after five years, and so he was, and one definitely gets the sense that Van Dyke himself has long wished the good times and the Petrie family could have kept going just a little while longer.

When it comes down to it, Van Dyke's memoir is a fun, easy read - perhaps not quite as incisive or far-reaching as I would have liked, but it's ultimately written as he would want to be remembered: a nice, well-meaning, moderately talented gentleman full of hope, love and luck. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
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Jul 22, 2011 Kyle McCreary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, autobiography

Wow, what a great read! I usually don't spend time reading bio/autobiographies of still-living people, but I'm such a long-time fan of Mr. Van Dyke that when I heard about his newly published memoirs, I just had to read it. Believe me, it was not a disappointment. From the first paragraph on, this book was almost as full of laughs as the original The Dick Van Dyke Show series. With the wonder and enjoyment of Mary Poppins thrown in, to boot! As he points out right from the start, there are no sc...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Nada rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...

My Life In and Out of Show Business is the memoirs of Dick Van Dyke. As a memoir, it is centered entirely on his story. The other characters including his family are introduced and included in relation to his life and when and where they impact his life. Beyond that, this is entirely the story of Dick Van Dyke.

Dick Van Dyke is an icon of my childhood. From Mary Poppins to The Dick Van Dyke Show to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Mark Mikula rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

The first half of his autobiography wafted over me as little more than strung-together pleasant anecdotes. The second half redeemed it as Van Dyke becomes more introspective as he tries to determine a course for himself as a middle-aged actor.

Van Dyke lets his readers know that he will be somewhat guarded about what he reveals and states up from that there will be no "dirt" revealed during his life story. For the most part, he holds to that. Still, he is generally frank about some of the challen...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Kate Woods Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's an old-school celebrity memoir. As many have already noted in earlier reviews, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business is told in the gosh-golly-gee-whiz voice of a PG-rated narrator who finds everyone and everything very nice.

I don't find this to be particularly objectionable. I pick up a book like this one to serve as a mental palate cleanser, and the likeable Mr. Van Dyke, now in his mid-eighties, has earned the right to present himself as a big bowl of orange sherbet if that's what he...more

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May 05, 2011 Chandni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I LOVE THIS MAN! :)

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Jan 22, 2012 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes Dick Van Dyke

Shelves: autobiographical, biography, contemporary, non-fiction, writing, television

I love Dick Van Dyke. I was introduced to him through - what else? - Mary Poppins. Burt was always my favorite character. I've also seen reruns of the Dick Van Dyke television show and loved them - they're pretty timeless - and I've seen several other films with him. He is just such a fantastic entertainer - he always makes me smile. So, I picked up the book already his fan.

I ended the book liking him and understanding him even more. Though I can't/don't agree with all his personal views, I stil...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bio-memoir, read-2011

Oh, how I love Dick Van Dyke! The audio version of his book is superb, as it is narrated by the man himself. It is an honest look at the ups and downs (and there were more than a couple downs) of his life, from growing up in the rural Midwest and learning he was born out of wedlock to his rise as a performer. He tells of his struggles with alcohol and his attraction to a woman other than his wife, which ultimately leads to a divorce from the mother of his four children. The sneaking around aspec...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Jamison rated it 4 of 5 stars

dick van dyke had a lot of choices in life. he had to choose between the wife who gave him several children, and a lover who gave him a listening ear, and the support he needed as an actor. he had to choose between being a star, and being a man who could share his films with his family.

but, most importantly, van dyke had to choose between himself, and the bottle. unfortunately, this book doesn't really go into the hardships he had with alcoholism. but, he gives credit where it's due . . to the s...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Dick Van Dyke

Recommended to Mike by: found in the bookstore

Shelves: autobiography, celebrity-biography, tv-stars-past-and-present

I love reading the biographies of TV stars past and present. Some of them are wild rides through adulthood with the highs and lows of drug/alcohol abuse and yet others are stories of the stars struggles to make it....Dick Van Dyke's story is more of the latter..story of how an ordinary person from the Midwest (Danville, IL to be exact) worked his way into the early days of TV as Rob Petrie through his other various projects including his Murder: Diagnosis series.

His story is not devoid of some...more

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