Book Review: The Daniels Playbill

Closing in on his 90th birthday, actor William Daniels looks back on a long and varied career in There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, and Many Others (Potomac Books). As the book's subtitle acknowledges, many readers will know him best for his work on popular television shows such as St. Elsewhere and Boy Meets World. But as he reveals here, there was much more to his life and career.

I was somewhat familiar with his Broadway career as an adult, including his starring role in 1776. But I didn't know about his start as a child actor, playing one of the Day kids in Life with Father, or about his role in his family's dancing act. Though he nicely satisfies the curiosity of readers who want to know about Dr. Craig and Mr. Feeny, some of this book's best anecdotes relate to other aspects of his career. He reminisces about a film actress of the 1940s who went totally blank during a live television performance, leaving him as her co-star holding the bag. His stories of working with the legendary Jerome Robbins are also noteworthy.

On TV, at least, Daniels often played characters who weren't immediately forthcoming, or likable. In these pages, he gives us an idea how much that persona reflects the real William Daniels, and it's intriguing. He also writes with great love about his wife of more than 65 years, actress Bonnie Bartlett. The result is a book well worth the time of readers interested in 20th century theater, film, and television.