Mike Douglas My Story

Here's the star's personal no-holds-barred story of how, where, when, and why it happened. A graduate of Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge, Douglas went from crooning to his present eminence holding to a "Mr. Nice Guy" image that rejected hyper-sexuality and violence most producers decreed essential for TV success. "What a moment!" That's the way Mike sums up those very special events that happened on his daily variety-talk show. A "moment" might be Mike's working with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly as co-hosts for a week of shows from Hollywood featuring a who's who of stars from MGM's golden years...or bringing Ray Charles and Michel Legrand to perform together for the first time...or singing a number with the legendary Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey. Then there were "moments" that seemed like eternities to him. He finds himself exposed to berserk chimpanzees, rampaging bulls, wrestling bears, trained dolphins, untrained elephants, and racing ostriches. Such "moments" ranging from pleasant to poignant, from serious to slapstick, from revealing to riotous-are relived for the reader from his 4,000 shows. They are but one factor in what led to continuous recognition for the Mike Douglas Show and its star: from the first Emmy ever awarded for daytime achievement (1967) to Mike's making the list of America's most exciting men (1977). Mike reveals what made his show-and himself-tick, and provides an inside look at the people-his family, his co-hosts, guests, and associates-who have helped shape his life and career. His story is inspirational, engaging, anecdotal, with hundreds of celebrity vignettes, and unfolds in this appealing book.