Includes bibliographical references (p. [383]) and index.

Introduction / by Dick Van Dyke -- Prologue : inauguration day -- One man's reality -- Sifting through sand -- Head of the family -- A basket full of scripts -- Fall guy -- Casting calls -- The girl with three names -- Nervous wrecks -- Casting off pearls -- Soft soap -- The best of times -- Moving the furniture -- courtship -- Capri pants -- Wednesday nights -- The bad old days -- On the banks of the Ohio -- Never name a duck -- Stumbling -- Sneezing funny -- Nuts -- Unlikely saviors -- Changing of the guard -- Playing to an empty house -- Picturing Mary naked -- Tempest in a bathtub -- Practice makes perfect -- Curtain calls -- Shenanigans -- The last chapter -- Epilogue -- The Dick Van Dyke Show log.

The first and only complete, fully authorized biography of one of TV's most beloved sitcoms, including the first complete viewer's guide to all 158 episodes, as well as special behind-the-scenes trivia and a full chapter concordance. 50 black and white photos.