My first introduction to Tim Matheson was as Otter in Animal House. I thought he was hilarious, and have enjoyed watching his career over the years. This memoir is full of funny, behind-the-scenes takes on his past projects. It's also a searingly honest look at poor choices, failed relationships, and the parts that got away. Between stories, Matheson offers tips and suggestions for people aspiring to succeed in media. As a person in their 50s, I enjoyed the nostalgic mentions of long-forgotten tv shows, movies, and actors. I really enjoyed the memoir and reading about the ups and downs of Matheson's life and career.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Hatchette books for the chance to read this book as an ARC. I really liked this book,. It has an open honest approach to life in general and Hollywood in particular. Tim Matheson has a natural easy way of describing his life, warts and all. It is almost like sitting down with a friend and a drink and sharing stories. He has a long career , in both acting and directing, and shares it all. From being Beaver Cleavers friend, to Animal House's Otter, to the West Wings Vice President,he shares his personal and professional life. I was" Damm Glad" to read it.

With Animal House being one of my all time favorite movies, I was more than excited when I saw Tim wrote a book and the title was one of his most iconic lines in the movie. It's always hit or miss when you read a book by a celebrity as to where the story will go and what you'll be able to take away from it. There are some celebrities whose books are more or less a compilation of other famous names more than actual stories & then there are those that are rooted more in the stories that the reader can relate to on a personal level, Tim's story was a healthy mix of both. Yes, he did the celebrity name drop thing but it was always in the context of a project he was a part of or someone that influenced him, but he also had stories about being a child of divorce, reconnecting with his father & what dating was like for him. While I've definitely read books where the author appears to just be writing to stroke their ego (and in some cases hear their own narration), in my opinion this book was not in that category. It seemed more about leaving a legacy for his kids & sharing his story with those who have followed his career.


Thank you NetGalley & Hachette Books for providing me with an ARC for my honest opinion.

As a fan of Tim Mathewson I was really delighted to read this book .Following his long career through many of my favorites shows West Wing no. One.This is a fun nice biography a pleasure to read.#netg#hatchettebooks

From rush chairman at the Delta Fraternity to the Vice President at the white house Tim Matheson has had a long career in show business.
Matheson can be seen on old shows Like Leaver it to Beaver and the last season of Bonanza. His latest work is the Netflix series Virgin River.
While "Damm Glad to Meet You!" is Matheson's unctuous iconic line from Animal House, his autobiography is both candid and informative. Matheson provides a boatload of detail about the challenges of being an actor. You quickly realize that being an actor is not all makeup and limousines.
He takes full responsibility for his mistakes in both his personal and professional life, and regrets the family time he missed while pursuing opportunities in front and behind the camera.
Like and well written memoir, Mathseon furnishes ample evidence of a mostly dysfunctional family life that forced him to be independent and the family breadwinner at an early age.
Damm Glad to Meet You is a great read for anyone especially if you were in college when Animal House was in theaters and you were an adult when West Wing premiered on television.

Sympathy-Grabbing by an Overpaid Hollywood Insider
A first glance at the first chapter, “Fade In”, promises this book is an echo of the no-content style of the previous title in this set. While the lines are similarly short, and most of it is empty dialogue, the contents in the opening paragraphs are a bit surprising, as the author confesses he is having troubles: he is newly divorced, “the two TV networks I’m currently working for are suing me”, and he is anticipating bad medical news. The doctor through tells him he is fine, and has only had a “panic attack”. Instead of focusing on the negative, I decided to search for key terms that promise some interesting content within this book. The first term I search for is “lawsuit”. In “Marrying My Sister”, he explains that his “creditors responded with lawsuits”, after his Universal and other contracts had been “canceled”, and he was attempting to pacify creditors “with a $10 check” (85). He repeats that two studios were threatening to sue him, but does not clarify why. It seems a miscommunication between his “acting agent and directing agent” caused this. Both studios “were threatening to sue me for millions if I didn’t make myself exclusive to their show.” He apparently double-booked despite an exclusive contract because he was attempting to double his money “postdivorce”. The threat was that if he didn’t end one of the jobs, he “would never work at their networks or studios again”, despite 50 years in the business (314). This seems like a rich-person problem, as just quitting one of the shows surely would have immediately ended this turmoil. Then, he notes the studios are surprised when a phone calls solves scheduling issues. He promised both studios to pay for their expenses associated with this double-booking and this allowed him to work at both. This is a ridiculously over-hyped problem that was just instantly deflated after being built-up across this book. I was hoping to read about a Hollywood actor being dramatically sued into bankruptcy…
Then, I searched for “Lucille Ball” and mostly found mentions of her in lists of puffed actors. One exception is a brief mention of “appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show” in a “scene… with Lucille”, which was “terrifying”. No details about this encounter follow (125). Mostly he just keeps mentioning her when he needs to prove that he was an expert at acting because he worked with this antique celebrity.
I searched for “Spielberg”. There’s a mention of a call from Spielberg. After a puffery of Spielberg, the first thing he says is an invitation for the author to be in his movie. Spielberg gives a brief spiel about his movie. He adds that he has two different parts, and he wants the actor to chose one, which he does. Spielberg does a presentation for him of the storyboards: the author puffs himself: “I was being courted by the wunderkind—the new king of Hollywood.” Then, he is surprised to learn that he would be paid the same amount for this lead role, as he was paid for a supporting role in the previous film. He learns that “Spielberg… couldn’t care less about playing games with actor-salary negotiations” because he was offering the lowest possible rate, and was threatening a take-it-or-leave offer. He might have called most Hollywood actors with this type of a “I have two roles for you” deal that basically categorized actors into male-old vs female-young etc.
While this is somewhat curious. It really says the bare minimum about the realities of life in Hollywood. And the pufferies of those in this industry are deeply annoying. Thus, I do not recommend this book.
--Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Summer 2024 issue

A fun memoir from the guy I loved to hate on "The West Wing," lol! Tim Matheson played Vice President John Hoynes on my all-time favorite TV show. He has had a long career in show business, starting as a youngster in "Leave it to Beaver." Matheson's book is a celebrity memoir without graphic sex scandals or bad mouthing. He takes readers through his life and acting career, with lessons learned along the way.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Wow Tim has done so much! He has always been that friendly face in so many things but it was nice to learn more about his past and all his work behind the scenes as well. So many interesting stories of people he has worked with all tied with little film boot camp stories with his take on advice. I particularly enjoyed the story about his acting time in Yours, Mine and Ours and how he was actually going to Marine Bootcamp at the same time and how Bob Hope got involved with his drill instructor. So crazy! For those fans of Hollywood and connections, this is a great read!

I loved this book! I have watched Tim Matheson since he was the oldest child of Lucy in Yours, Mine and Ours. You forget about some of the many shows he has appeared in until you start this book. He started out as a friend of the Beaver and then is Vice President and several Doctors. What a career he has had. He gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly of the entertainment industry. Most of us thinks that it is all great and wonderful but Tim shows us that it takes a lot of hard work and determination to be a success. And who doesn't remember him in Animal House. I need to rewatch that one. This is a very entertaining book. It will make you laugh out loud, You might even find yourself looking up Virgin River on a streaming service. I'm really glad I read this book.

Damn Glad To Meet You, Tim Matheson! Great insider’s view of Hollywood, movies and tv. It is a personal reflection on an acting and directing career that has spanned decades. Matheson combines celebrity anecdotes and personal insights with humor and honesty that reveals the glamorous and sometimes not-so-glamorous side of a lifetime in Hollywood.

I received a copy of the book, "Damn Glad to Meet You" by Tim Matheson from Netgalley. I was pleased to see Tim Matheson wrote a memoir. I have memories from my childhood in the 1960s when he was the voice of Jonny Quest, and one of the 18 children in "Yours Mine and Ours" the author writes of a tough childhood. Both parents were alcoholics. His dad left when he was a kid leaving him with his sister and a mother who was working two jobs. Being a California kid he started taking an interest in acting. He soon was cast in the lead role of the cartoon Jonny Quest. he had other roles on TV and landed the role in Yours Mine and Ours. this was the start of a career that has lasted six decades. he writes of the ups and downs of his life. the success in the roles in movies he has starred in. LIke "Animal House" and many other roles in movies and TV He is stll acting today. I liked getting the chance to read his memoir.

If you were a kid in the '60s and '70s and watched a lot of television, like I did, you will easily recognize Tim Matheson's name and face. I saw him mostly as a guest star on various television shows, not in movies or as the star of a show. His career started way back on "Leave It To Beaver" as a child actor. No, his mother was not behind his desire to act. She was no stage mother, but someone who saw her jobs as paying the bills, not someone who saw her kid as a breadwinner. Mr. Matheson's parents divorced when he was young, and he saw acting as a way of getting more money for his mother and sister and himself. He would eventually buy a house for the three of them, too.

His memoir covers lots of years and lots of acting jobs. He mentions lots of people he worked with from old Hollywood actors to those of contemporary years. I wouldn't call the book "gossipy", but he doesn't shy away from making some critical observations of others. Yet most of his observations are complimentary. Included, too, throughout the book are "lessons" he learned as an actor and director, which may be helpful to other actors or aspiring actors. Stories about his personal life are not too personal for the most part, and he struggles with defining love and dealing with his childhood issues at times. All in all, a satisfying and informative read by a hardworking character actor.

P.S. My favorite actors have always been the character ones, not the superstars.

An excellent well written book by this great actor. It gives you so much behind the scenes and general information that you probably did not know. I will gladly recommend this book and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read and review this.

When I saw this one pop up, I was interested in reading because I've been a fan for years and always wondered why he didn't become bigger after Animal House.. The behind the scenes stories were honest and added great insight into his career highs and lows.

I’ve been a fan of Tim Matheson’s ever since his Animal House days, and my admiration grew for him through a couple of my all-time favorite TV shows, Hart of Dixie and Virgin River. I enjoyed learning more about him, and I would gladly recommend his biography to everyone.

With an appealing combination of simple honesty and slight irreverence, longtime actor Tim Matheson's "Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches" is the celebrity autobiography you didn't quite realize you needed in 2024.

Matheson, perhaps destined to always be best known for his role as Otter in comedy classic "Animal House," hasn't necessarily crafted the "best" autobiography of the year (whatever that means). Instead, it's simply a truly engaging and fun to read autobiography that's refreshingly honest and devoid of the usual self-glorification one typically finds when a Hollywood figure waxes eloquently about their own life.

The now 76-year-old Matheson had already been acting for over 15 years when "Animal House" made him a household name, though his mid-60s work as the voice of Jonny Quest on television had given strong indication he'd likely have a lengthy Hollywood career. It wouldn't be until his portrayal of Vice President John Hoynes on television's "The West Wing" that Matheson would come close to matching the fame of his "Animal House" days. "The West Wing" would also grant him the long desired critical acclaim with two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in a role that was considered regular but never quite part of the actual ensemble for the series.

With "Damn Glad to Meet You," a reference to one of Matheson's most memorable "Animal House" lines, Matheson captures that sense of what it is like to have been a steady working actor in seven decades while also being considered sort of a "that guy" in Hollywood. Even at 76, Matheson is instantly recognizable and you can't help but smile when you see him.

"Damn Glad to Meet You" reminds me most of Henry Winkler's autobiography from 2023, though Matheson is perhaps a little more willing to name names and acknowledge truths whether talking about the abundant cocaine usage in Hollywood during the 70s and 80s or his string of failed flicks that threatened to derail his career in that same late 70s and early 80s.

For the most part, "Damn Glad to Meet You" is an affectionate film, Matheson's winning charm radiating throughout the pages even when he's talking about personality conflicts and films that didn't quite work. Matheson takes us through the "should've been a hit" films like Spielberg's "1941," Mel Brooks's "To Be or Not To Be," and his brief period as owner of National Lampoon from 1989-1991.

Matheson has, indeed, always been a part of the Hollywood trenches as a regularly working actor who has still had to be conscious of "needing to work." More a memoir centered on his Hollywood experience, "Damn Glad to Meet You" still takes us briefly through Matheson's childhood, his military experience, and his three marriages including current wife Elizabeth Marighetto whom he married in 2018.

"Damn Glad to Meet You" is more likely a 4-star experience if I were reviewing solely through the critical lens, however, I can't deny that I genuinely enjoyed this reading experience from beginning to end and immersed myself in Matheson's refreshing candor that possesses both wit and bite in equal amounts. So, in the end, "Damn Glad to Meet You" is the autobiography I didn't know I needed and I'm damn glad to have gotten to know Tim Matheson an awful lot more.

It was interesting learning a bit more about Tim Matheson whom I have been a fan of most of my life. I was actually watching him before I even knew who he was, which explains why he’s always looked familiar to me. Who knew he was on all those Leave it to Beaver episodes that I loved? Mr. Matheson has been in a number of well known shows and movies from the time he was a young man, including Animal House and on through West Wing, Heart of Dixie, and Virgin River. Most of my favorites were ones that might not be as well known to younger readers like Quest with Kurt Russell and Yours, Mine and Ours with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. There was always something very likeable about Tim Matheson and the book is told from his perspective. I couldn’t put it down. There’s no shortage of stories about his personal life and career. Also his experiences in working with other actors on these shows. If you’re a fan you’ll love this and if you’re a fan of some of the shows or movies and not that familiar with him, it will still be an enjoyable and interesting read. It’s written in a conversational style and quite a fast read. Thanks to Net Galley and Hachette Publishers for the opportunity to read it.
#netgalley, #hachette

I'm afraid that this book had me when I saw an actor from Animal House (one of the funniest movies of all time) was the author. A great book. Well worth the read.