All the World's a Stage

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It takes the reader back through many years and presents a clear picture of life in each era, through the eyes and personal experiences of this wonderful actor and kind-hearted soul. Whether you're reading about young Dennis picking strawberries in Oregon fields with his family -- to make it through tough financial times -- or his often amusing experiences in Hollywood, this book will entertain and uplift you. Written in a warm, conversational, highly accessible tone. Reading "All The World's A Stage" gives you the feeling of relaxing in a porch rocking chair with a good cup of coffee, listening to timeless stories told by an old friend. Full of anecdotes and Hollywood history, woven together with wisdom and spirituality.-- Graciela Sholander, http://dreamitdoit.net

This is a wonderful book with great depth and pathos and humor about the dust bowl inthe depression. It is not just another Hollywood book, but there are many humorousstories about his career. I especially loved to read about what work he is doing for our planet and to cap it off his spirituality certainly comes forth. My friends and I agree that once we began to read we couldn't put it down.

.I admire Dennis Weaver. He has a long consistent acting career in diverse roles, a marriage now celebrating its second half century and deep convictions on what is meaningful in life. His life story is full. Besides his lead in the television series McCloud and the role of Chester on television's longest running prime time series, Gunsmoke, Dennis Weaver won an Emmy for his portrayal of Chester on Gunsmoke; is an inductee of the Cowboy Hall of Fame; co-founded LIFE (Love is Feeding Everyone); serves as host of cable TV's Western Channel; and served for fourteen years as the spokesman for Great Western Bank replacing John Wayne after Wayne's death. Dennis Weaver starred in Steven Spielberg's first movie, "Duel"; teamed with Orson Welles in the movie "A Touch of Evil"; acted with James Cagney in "The Gallant Hours"; co-hosted Farm Aid IV with Willie Nelson. He is a singer/songwriter and has recorded his works with the likes of John Denver. Like Ronald Reagan, Dennis Weaver served as President of the Screen Actor's Guild. Weaver was a naval aviator in the Naval Air Corps in WWII; was offered a football scholarship at the University of Oklahoma; and finished #6 in the decathlon tryouts for the United States Olympic team. He built a house out of old tires,dirt filled pop cans and adobe and dubbed it "Earthship". Behind the scenes, he introduced the parents of Ron and Clint Howard. Ron Howard, of course, played Opie on the Andy Griffith Show and later made great films like "Apollo 13". Clint Howard costarred with Weaver in the television series "Gentle Ben." Dennis Weaver introduced Linda Evans ("Dallas") to her first TV acting job on McCloud; coached his son's little league team; was financially helped by Shelley Winters in lean times; and, before fame, made money delivering flowers to people like Lucille Ball, Jack Webb and John Ford. Director extraordinaire John Ford's son-in-law, Ken Curtis, later replaced Dennis Weaver's character of Chester on Gunsmoke as the hay seed Festus.The first eight chapters of "All the World's a Stage" are Weaver's autobiography. The account of his life in the Great Depression reads wonderfully like John Grisham's "The Painted House". The times were tough, but there was love, family, adventure and good friends. Some of Weaver's pros are poetic: "A shared crisis is fertile soil in which kindness can grow"; "The purpose of life is to Love and be Loved". Some read like proverbs: "to achieve a goal, three things are necessary, focus, focus and focus"; "Everyone should be passionate about something"; "that which you would have for yourself, give to others"; "Be happy with yourself;" and one his favorite sayings, "The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer." Dennis Weaver soared to popularity as stiff legged Chester Goode in television's Gunsmoke. Chester was Matt Dillon's hired help - not a deputy as reported in most commentaries on the series. The cast and theme of the e