• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 934 0

in comparison to the memories I’ve collected. I began talking about retirement fifty years ago. What the hell was I thinking? What was going on in my head? I can’t imagine what I would have done. These days I no longer talk about stopping or even slowing down. I am happily, contentedly resigned to the fact that that won’t happen, not as long as I have a say in the matter.

As you may have guessed, there is no end to this story—not yet, anyway. So instead of a tidy conclusion, I will let you in on my plans. Right now I am going to take my wirehaired terrier, Rocky (he wanted to see his name in the book), for a walk. Later I have rehearsals at an L.A.-area high school where I perform with the kids each year at a fund-raiser. They seem to like it, but not half as much as I do. Coming up are meetings for my one-man show. And then, who knows.

As always, I will see where the wind takes me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A life story consists not of one life but of many, and after reading the last draft of this book I realized how many dear and precious friends have contributed to the richness of my life. I’m afraid it would take a stack of books five feet tall to thank everyone. But I do want to mention a few key people without whom my life would not have been as lucky. They include Phil Erickson, Byron Paul, Carl Reiner, Walt Disney, Aaron Ruben, Sol Leon, Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood, Danny Daniels, Chita Rivera, Mary Tyler Moore, Gower Champion, Mary Miller, Pansy Legg, and my incredible family—children and grandchildren. Special thanks must also go to my editor, John Glusman, as well as to the entire Crown team, especially Domenica Alioto, Tina Constable, Mark McCauslin, Barbara Sturman, Jennifer O’Connor, Court Clinch, and Shaye Areheart. And finally a thanks to my team on this project: my book agent, Dan Strone; my manager, Jeff Kolodny; my publicist, Bob Palmer; and my collaborator, Todd Gold.

INSERT PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS

i1.1: Photofest

i1.2: CBS/Photofest;

i1.3: Photofest

i1.4: Walt Disney Productions;

i1.5: Walt Disney Productions/Photofest

i1.6: Walt Disney Productions/Photofest

i1.7: Walt Disney Productions/Photofest

i1.8: United Press International;

i1.9: United Artists/Photofest

i1.10: NBC/Photofest

All other photographs are from the author’s collection.