This book contains 250 anecdotes, including this one: Mary Tyler Moore missed out on the chance to play one of Danny Thomas’ daughters in his TV series because Mr. Thomas believed that no one would believe that someone with a nose like hers could be a daughter of his, but fortunately she was later chosen to play Laura Petrie—the story is that Danny Thomas, who financed the pilot of the The Dick Van Dyke Show, was handed a list of actresses and was asked, “Can you think of any more?” The word “more” caused Mr. Thomas to think of Mary Tyler Moore and so she auditioned for—and got—the part. Throughout the first year of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Danny Thomas made a point of writing “Boo!” and “Hiss!” on Mary Tyler Moore’s checks because he had heard of an old Chinese belief that the gods are kind to young people whom elders dislike. By writing “Boo!” and “Hiss!” on her checks, Mr. Thomas made sure that the gods liked Ms. Moore.
