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.