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A Memoir by Bill Persky

Before Larry David, before Louis C.K., before Ray Romano, there was the true Golden Age of television comedy, an era of brilliant and landmark programming that dominated the dial from the 50s to the 70s.
Bill Persky, the five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer of over 300 TV shows and films was at the center of that special time in TV history. Along the way, he was responsible for some of the most successful and acclaimed sitcoms of all time, including the classics:
The Dick Van Dyke Show
That Girl
Kate & Allie.
Persky blazed a trail through television during a time of tremendous social upheaval, when TV was still discovering its power to influence and move audiences. To this day, Perskys groundbreaking female characters, such as That Girls Ann Marie, remain pop culture icons.
In his memoir, My Life is a Situation Comedy , Bill shares his tales of a life well lived and vividly recollected.
Persky's touching, often hilarious and occasionally alarming backstage portrayal is one of triumphs and disappointments, celebrity and calamity, romances and breakups. I attempted to make things right and maintain a semblance of dignity, he writes, while constantly slipping on the banana peels of life.”
Lucky for us, many of those slip ups wound up as fodder for the TV episodes we came to know and love so well. My Life is a Situation Comedy is populated by the larger than life legends and one-of-a-kind characters that figured so prominently in Perskys world.
From his work with Carl Reiner on The Dick Van Dyke Show, to a surreal six weeks in London with the mythic Orson Welles, Persky knew them all and somehow lived to tell the tale.
Among the marquee names that sparkled brightly in Persky's universe are Mary Tyler Moore, Bill Cosby, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen, Goldie Hawn, Marlo Thomas, Peter Sellers, Susan St. James, Jane Curtin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Tim Conway, Andy Williams, Cary Grant and The Smothers Brothers.
A veritable treasure trove of stars.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mandevilla Press (November 20, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1627040005
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1627040006
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.53 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A pleasure to read and a treasure to have
Review: Before hearing about this book (by sheer dumb luck), I had no idea that I'd been enjoying Bill Persky's work throughout my entire life, as have millions, via the best TV shows of all time. What a pleasure to enjoy his talent yet again, this time in a collection of personal stories spanning from humble beginnings through a remarkable career that not only helped define the "sitcom" but set an entertainment bar so high it's still rarely met. While this book is studded with stars and show-biz anecdotes, it transcends that. Had the characters and situations been fictional, it would still be great fun to read. Sure, the fact that many are legendary makes it especially enduring, but it's immediately apparent that Mr. Persky's foremost intention is to tell remarkable, hilarious, and moving stories in a unique and masterful way. "My Life is a Situation Comedy" is funny, enlightening, candid and moving----all without gimmick. It reminds us that there's a situation comedy somewhere in all our lives, and that one secret to happiness is appreciating the humor and irony of it all. This book is a delightful read and a cultural treasure.

Reviewer: R. Jones
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An Entertaining Collection Of Anecdotes
Review: A legend in the world of comedy writing, Persky has filled this book with an entertaining array of stories about people he’s worked with (like Carl Reiner and Marlo Thomas) and tales from his personal life about his kids and various marriages/relationships. If you’re looking for salacious behind-the-scenes show business gossip, you won’t find it here, but it is an amusing look back at an era of TV comedy that created a lot of classic shows, like The Dick Van Dyke Show and That Girl.

Reviewer: Autoxer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Funny, charming, touching
Review: I laughed out loud, was fascinated by his humble approach to an extraordinary career, and misty eyed over some of his personal observations on his family and life. A delightful, insightful book that I highly recommend.

Reviewer: Mom of Sons
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Starts off strong, drops off
Review: As perhaps the number one fan of The Dick Van Dyke Show...EVER... I eagerly started this book after being enthralled with the free sample. The beginning parts of the book, dealing with Bill Persky's early career and the Dick Van Dyke Show, were fabulous, laugh out loud funny and intensely interesting. Then... what happened? I don't know. I got seriously bored.Although he went on to have a big career after that, we don't learn much about it. He also created and wrote "That Girl" and "Kate and Allie," but there is virtually nothing about those years in this book. There are pages and pages of love from his many friends and admirers, including Phil Donahue, who talks about how his wife Marlo would happily leave him for Bill Persky. I totally believe it! But... why? Because we don't really learn that from this book, which just kind of drops off.... (like my review, with no conclusion)...and rambles a lot.Recommendation: Worth reading because of the early parts about the Dick Van Dyke Show, but the rest is a slow read.

Reviewer: Tony Chu
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Disappointing - not what I was looking for
Review: I was a big fan of Bill Persky and Sam Denoff - they wrote some of the best episodes of classic comedy series, like the Dick Van Dyke show. I had been led to believe this would be a memoir that contained stories about those shows, and their stars, and behind-the-scenes antics, etc.But there is only a little of that. Different shows are mentioned (like That Girl). Mostly it's a personal memoir about Bill Persky's life. So if you are interested in hearing about his marriage, or his family, or his career, then buy the book. But if you are looking for stories about the casts of old TV shows, don't bother.

Reviewer: Jinx Morgan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Bravo, Billy!
Review: I'm lucky enough to call Billy a friend (and to have been on the infamous Tahiti shoot with him). "My Life is a Situation Comedy" is a wonderful romp through the history of some of the great television comedies of our time. There's inside stuff, but the real delight is remembering those breakthrough shows that owed their wit and wisdom to Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. More than that, it is the story of one man's career in television and his journey through a star-studded life.

Reviewer: David Margolis
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: That Guy?
Review: I expected some great behind-the-scenes memories of some of the classic shows on which Persky worked, but the book is mostly about how he handled therapy, divorce, and his post-divorce relationships. Did some publisher believe there was a market for a book about Bill Persky's love life?Now, Sam Denoff's love life--that I would read!

Reviewer: linda houden
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Funny and Light
Review: This is one of the best books on the situation comedy era. I could remember those show like yesterday and it was such fun to learn the history of them.