Carl Reiner may be best known for his role as third banana
to Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca on Your Show of Shows and the
creator of The Dick van Dyke Show. In his latest memoir,
I Remember Me, Reiner
practically ignores those and other cultural touchstones, electing instead
to focus his memories on his family, friends, and more minor show business
triumphs.
Over the course of the many short chapters, we are
introduced to Reiner’s parents, particularly his father, his wife,
Estelle (who he notes had a famous line in When
Harry Met Sally, but who comes across in more detail when Reiner
describes their courtship), and his children (where it is sometimes
difficult to remember that Robby has a high profile career of his own).
Reiner passes along the stories of his father’s
difficult life, pre-Carl, as well as his memories of growing up with his
father, Irving, with relish. Interestingly,
his mother, Bessie, is practically invisible in this book.
Riner does, however, discuss his wife, Estelle, and his daughter ,
Annie, and their achievements at length throughout the book.
When Reiner does talk about his life in show
business, it is often to highlight the work of others, and his
relationship with them. He
discusses the rocky relationship he forged with Shelley Winters on the set
of Enter Laughing and how he
overcame her diva-like behavior. He
talks about relatively minor actors, like Maurice Evans, under whom he
served in World War II and who he cast in several of his shows and films.
Although these vignettes don’t focus on Reiner’s work, it does allow
him to show an interconnectedness not just within Hollywood, but life in
general.
For fans of Reiner’s work, one of the most
intriguing parts of the book are when he tells stories about his own life
that provided the basis for scripts. Perhaps
most notable might be his story about his honeymoon with Estelle, in which
he had to go AWOL in order to spend time with her.
Reiner used the same idea, with few embellishments, for The Dick Van Dyke Show episode “Honeymoons Are for the Lucky.”
These sorts of stories bring extra depth to The
Dick van Dyke Show and other projects Reiner participated in and
demonstrate how much of his work has been semi-autobiographical in nature,
although to assume autobiography when Reiner was shooting for
entertaining, is a mistake.
Given that Reiner has demonstrated himself as a
master story teller in various episodes of The
Dick Van Dyke Show and films such as Dead
Men Don’t Wear Plaid and The
Comic, it is a little surprising that Reiner has elected to complete
forego the narrative style in favor of a memoir comprised of vignettes.
The reader is left with a series of impressions about Reiner’s live,
relationships, and work, but with a distance from the subject, not as if
Reiner is trying to hide anything, but rather as if he is teasing the
reader with his memoirs while attempting to preserve his privacy. While
Reiner has, of course, every right to his privacy, it does come off a
little strange in a memoir.
I Remember Me is a quick and entertaining book for anyone who has
sat in front of a television and watched Carl Reiner on Caesar’s Hour or the world of suburbia and work in The
Dick van Dyke Show. Although
Reiner may not tell a cohesive story in the book, or focus on his work in
Hollywood, he does offer himself up as a man who seems to be every bit as
friendly and welcoming as his portrayals on various shows, even when
losing his temper as Alan Brady.
