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Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other…
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Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned   [NEVER HAVE YOUR DOG STUFFED] [Paperback] (edition 2005)

by Alan Alda (Author)

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1,2944314,639 (3.64)32
He’s one of America’s most recognizable 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 eleven 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 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. YetNever Have Your Dog Stuffedis 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 just begun to grow. It is the story of turning points in Alda’s 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, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, 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 Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.… (more)
Member:frenchhorn88
Title:Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned   [NEVER HAVE YOUR DOG STUFFED] [Paperback]
Authors:Alan Alda (Author)
Info:random house (2005), Edition: First Edition, 224 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

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Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda

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» See also 32 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 43 (next | show all)
Well written and on point. There are no frills here, just a straight forward story told in a folksy style. I feel I know the writer as well as one can know someone they spent eight years with once a week.
( )
  alanac50 | Feb 27, 2024 |
NF
  vorefamily | Feb 22, 2024 |
This autobiography of the author's unusual life 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 just begun to grow.
  BLTSbraille | Sep 22, 2021 |
So. I totally loved this book. And if you are a fan of Alan Alda - whether through M*A*S*H or his stage work or his hosting work on PBS or whatever - you will probably love this book too. It had me alternating between laughing and crying and doing both at the same time. His writing style is rather brilliant and intelligent and sharp while still being humorous and easy to relate to - so like his most famous character, Hawkeye. Also, I adore the photos he included in the middle of the book; he was such a cute kid! I can't wait to pick up his second non-fiction book as soon as possible. ( )
  sarahlh | Mar 6, 2021 |
Autobiography. About his life with a mom who was crazy and a dad who did burlesque. Joe never really liked Alan Alda as an actor. Still does not like him. ( )
  SeasideBookClub | Sep 3, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 43 (next | show all)
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Act one: Get your hero up a tree.
Act two: Throw rocks at him.
Act three: Get him down again.
--attributed to GEORGE ABBOTT, on playwriting
Dedication
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My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six, but she must have shown signs of oddness before that.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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He’s one of America’s most recognizable 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 eleven 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 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. YetNever Have Your Dog Stuffedis 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 just begun to grow. It is the story of turning points in Alda’s 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, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, 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 Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.

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