He's one of America's most recognisable and acclaimed actors - a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for "The Aviator", and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing during his 11 years on "M A S H". Now, Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances. 'My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six,' begins Alan Alda's irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving, but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on after early struggles to achieve extraordinary success in his profession. Yet, "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" is not a memoir of show business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only begun to grow. It is the story of turning points in his life, events that would make him what he is - if only he could survive them.
From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist's shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can't be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father in him, personally and professionally, he learns the hard way that change, uncertainty and transformation are what life is made of, and the good life is made of welcoming them. "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed", filled with curiosity about Nature, good humour and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any he's ever played on the stage or screen. Although it does list some of the famous women he has kissed Alan Alda's autobiography is no 'kiss and tell' catalogue, but a quirkily funny, sharply observed account of an eccentric family and a very dramatic life.
This was a fairly decent autobiography of one of my favourite TV stars from the 70s/80s. I have to admit that I didn't know that much about the author, outside of his eleven year run in M*A*S*H. He certainly has led a varied and interesting life and I was glad I took the time to read this one. It seems that from an early age he was destined to be an actor, but it didn't always come easy for him. He also had to deal with his parents separating, partly due to his mother suffering from a form of mental illness. He also had a near death experience in Chile, which gave him a new outlook on life.
The book is quite humorous throughout, showing that, even in the midst of serious events, Alda is able to to always take things too seriously. I thought there would be more about his time in M*A*S*H, but wasn't too disappointed to find that it didn't take up too much of the book. Without spoiling anything, the title comes from an experience Alda had as a young boy. It's not a long read, so if you are looking for a different king of autobiography then this one is worth picking up.
