If I was good each week, my father would take me to a different pet store each Saturday. I had a snake, horny toads, turtles, lizards, rabbits, guinea pigs... I kept my alligator in the bathtub until it got too big.
Dick Van Patten
I look back with a mix of emotions: sadness for the people who are gone, nostalgia for times that have passed, but immense gratitude for the wonderful opportunities that came my way.
I may eat nine bowls of dog food, because eight isn't enough.
We're very lucky people, doing something that we really love to do. I feel privileged to have been an actor all my life.
I've probably had more jobs than any other actor living.
We wanted a pet food based on sound scientific principles and truth, not marketing hype.
I was in 27 Broadway plays in a row as a kid, and in between, I learned how to play the horses from the stagehands.
I've seen people that don't treat their animals well and yet their animals are still just as loving to them even though they're not treated that well. It's very hard to find that kind of loyalty and love and affection in human beings.
It used to be said all horse players die broke - you can't beat the races. But today, with the Pick 6's and Superfectas, you can. Not that the odds aren't against you, but a good hit, and it's hard to blow that back.
I've been to more racetracks than any other person I've met. Almost every track, missing only a few of the newer ones.
I love cats.
Tom Bradford is a lot like the real me. He's a man who always put his career second to his family. As long as everything was OK at home, he was OK, too.
The only honest reaction and true loyalty that we get is from our animals.
I've titled this book 'Eighty Is Not Enough' not just for the obvious play on words, but as a way of expressing the single idea that has governed my entire life, that every moment of life is precious, that every step we take is an adventure, that every day on earth is a gift from God.
For nearly eight decades, I've had the great fortune of playing thousands of roles before millions of people.
I've hit the Pick 6 for a hundred thousand a couple of times. A few more for 60, 70 thousand.
To be hungry must be awful.
I got what they called a diabetic stroke. Here's what it is, my left hand and my left leg. You know when your leg falls asleep? It's like that constantly. It's not painful, but it's so annoying. My leg is all tingly and my arm is all tingly.
People don't like to feed live mice and rats to their snakes. Now we have a regular meat food that they will eat. Ninety percent of the snakes will eat this food and love it.
We waited until we perfected the dog food, and then we worked on the cat food. Even though it's not going through the roof the way the dog food is, I think it will catch on eventually.
From the time I was 8 years old I was on almost every radio show there was.
I appreciate Eight is Enough. It made me recognizable.
I come from New York originally, but Californians have been wonderful about animals. These animals are so nice and so good and so sweet and intelligent. It's a crime not to help them.
I was a child actor in radio, and there's not many of us left.
I was in 27 Broadway plays, and three of them got the Pulitzer Prize.
It was just an accident; I was never going to come out here.
The only honest reaction and true loyalty we get is from our animals. Once they're your friends, you can do no wrong.
We donate a lot of food to rescue organizations.
We're feeding all these zoos. And that's getting bigger and bigger.
You have a laugh line; don't accentuate it. You get a bigger laugh.
I like to do TV series. I think they're so comfortable. You're doing the same part every week.
You're working with the same people, and there's a lot of recognition. I like to do series best. I really do.
I remember how my mom would take me on the subway from Queens to Broadway. We'd go to the offices of casting agents. Many doors were slammed in our faces. I was just a boy, but I remember that well.
I wasn't worried about unemployment.
My mother was aggressive - the typical stage mother.
The family's first, and the career is second. I could get fired from a show. As long as everything's okay with my family, it really would not bother me.
I never thought radio would fizzle out.
I used to go from one job to another. I started at seven years old in theater and used to go from one job to another.
My four friends were John Kerr, who became a star, Paul Newman, Jimmy Dean, and Jack Lemmon.
I've had a great life. It was exciting. I worked with the most interesting people, and I traveled all over the country.
I'm always working on our home, but I want to keep the old look to it.
