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I Remember Me
I Remember Me weaves an American tapestry of colorful tales, beginning with the timid musings of a young boy on the verge of becoming a man in the Jewish section of New York's Bronx neighborhood, and bringing us up to date with the mature insight of a man whose remarkable trajectory has sent him to the top of Hollywood's elite and sparked the careers of dozens of household-name entertainers. Along the way, Reiner treats his loyal readers to everything from the ordinary to the truly unforgettable: a family trip to a nude beach, French lessons with Mel Brooks, a chapter dedicated to Rinnie the dog who unfortunately mistakes a skunk for a cat, a surprise early-morning visit from the McCarthy era FBI, a heart wrenching story of loss describing the day of his wife's passing, and then in a revealing chapter of Reiner's character, he describes "the most theatrically triumphant day" of his young career.Through his memoir, we meet the man behind the success in roles rarely seen before: son to Romanian immigrant Irving Reiner, husband to fellow Bronx native and renowned singer Estelle Reiner, father to the prolific filmmaker Rob Reiner, Dr. Annie Reiner psychoanalyst & gifted singer, and Lucas Reiner, a globally recognized fine artist.
Written with the same combination of playful jest and modest humility that has garnered the love and respect of fans for generations, I Remember Me remembers the creative and inspiring journey of one of the most revered comedic icons of the past hundred years.
Written with the same combination of playful jest and modest humility that has garnered the love and respect of fans for generations, I Remember Me remembers the creative and inspiring journey of one of the most revered comedic icons of the past hundred years.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published November 20, 2012
29 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Carl Reiner
72 books45 followersCarl Reiner was an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during his career. He has the distinction of being the only person to appear on all five incarnations of The Tonight Show. He is best known for his work in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, and Ocean's Thirteen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
January 2, 2020
This is my first ever audio book, and I owe it all to Marc Maron. Mr. Maron puts out a podcast, WTF With Marc Maron, in which he interviews comics of all generations, with a smattering of musicians thrown in. I am an avid listener and recently enjoyed an interview with Mel Brooks followed up by an interview with Carl Reiner. I was delighted with both and as a result decided to read Mr. Reiner's recently published memoir. I took advantage of the free download from Mr. Maron’s sponsor, audible.com, and am now enjoying the result. More later...
I've finished what turned out to be a fun listen. In 55 chapters, Mr. Reiner chronicles his first encounter with Mel Brooks and many other entertainers, the first summer he met his wife Estelle, his time spent at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, while in the army during WWII, and the death of his wife. (Mr. Reiner was 90 when he wrote the book, and his wife--8 years his senior--died at the age of 94.) I confess I had expected the book to be funnier, maybe a little flip and irreverent, but it was more a revelry, as I guess memoirs might be expected to be. It was a bit repetitive, with the same stories showing up two, three and even four times in different chapters though in different contexts, but I guess Mr. Reiner can be forgiven. 90 years is a lot of remembering, and the good stories are worth referencing more than once.
I think what I took away from this is that Carl Reiner is a sweet, family-loving man, happy with the life he's lived thus far and happy with the life he leads now. He adores his children and grandchildren and is bursting with pride for them. He cherishes his friends and spins a good yarn over games of charades played with Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft, Norman Lear and his wife, and Larry Gelbart and his wife. He and Mel, who is a spring chicken at 86, get together every evening for several hours, just to "hang out," and sometimes they visit their ailing friend and former boss, 91-year-old Sid Caesar.
I found myself wishing he were MY grandfather!
I've finished what turned out to be a fun listen. In 55 chapters, Mr. Reiner chronicles his first encounter with Mel Brooks and many other entertainers, the first summer he met his wife Estelle, his time spent at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, while in the army during WWII, and the death of his wife. (Mr. Reiner was 90 when he wrote the book, and his wife--8 years his senior--died at the age of 94.) I confess I had expected the book to be funnier, maybe a little flip and irreverent, but it was more a revelry, as I guess memoirs might be expected to be. It was a bit repetitive, with the same stories showing up two, three and even four times in different chapters though in different contexts, but I guess Mr. Reiner can be forgiven. 90 years is a lot of remembering, and the good stories are worth referencing more than once.
I think what I took away from this is that Carl Reiner is a sweet, family-loving man, happy with the life he's lived thus far and happy with the life he leads now. He adores his children and grandchildren and is bursting with pride for them. He cherishes his friends and spins a good yarn over games of charades played with Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft, Norman Lear and his wife, and Larry Gelbart and his wife. He and Mel, who is a spring chicken at 86, get together every evening for several hours, just to "hang out," and sometimes they visit their ailing friend and former boss, 91-year-old Sid Caesar.
I found myself wishing he were MY grandfather!
June 9, 2013
A *3.5* this book contains "snippets" of Carl Reiner's life. each chapter are recollections of his life and people from his life. from relatives, to friends and celebrities{some also friends} I found this book to be hit and miss. some of the chapters are very good. recalling funny moments with fellow celebrties, to fond memories of his children and wife. a pretty fun read. I liked some chapters better than others.
February 6, 2014
I have a love of a lot of things that Carl Reiner did (the movies he directed the classic show he helped create/write and guest star in) and so I thought I would check out this autobiography. Now, there are some perfect “autobiographies” that make you laugh and still inform you about someone’s life, there are some fun ones that are just there to make you laugh and then there are some that are a chore to read because they take you through the entire life of the person – even the boring stuff. I truly enjoyed this one because Carl (wisely, I think) was more interested in telling a good story than leading us step by step through his life. So what you get are 54 little short stories that manage to entertain while still giving you an idea who this man was. A very quick and enjoyable read. After reading it I love this man even more. He seems like a genuinely wonderful person. Creative, a supportive friend/husband/father, and I applaud his political views (his story about Ronald Reagan was spot on). The biggest down side is he barely even mentions the creative efforts he is known for. We don’t find out about his directing, his writing, and barely anything about the writing on the Sid Ceasar show. In the end, that wasn’t the point of the book BUT I wish he had thrown in a few more stories about that. But the ones we did get were highly entertaining.
Like Albert Brooks, my favourite chapter was Chapter 29.
Like Albert Brooks, my favourite chapter was Chapter 29.
April 9, 2014
Carl Reiner, while still in the public eye on shows like Hot in Cleveland and Two and a Half Men, but his career in show business started before I can remember, even in re-runs. Carl is funny in a not very sensational way. A lot of the things he described as being funny episodes in his real life end up being stories that end with the thought, "Well, I guess you had to be there." He is ninety years old as he's writing this autobiography. He reads it on the audio version as well. I enjoyed his performance, reading the book.
The format reminded me a lot of the Mark Twain autobiography. Mark Twain dictated his autobio and was a collection of scattered thoughts from day to day, chapter to chapter. Carl Reiner's is the same. In this book, we learn about his wife, his children, his dogs and his service in the military -- which was in the entertainment branch, interestingly.
What I like about these kinds of autobiographies is finding out behind the scenes information on songs, movies and television shows. There was some of that stuff in this book, but not as much as I'd like. I've listened to Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall's books and I like them a lot, as well.
The format reminded me a lot of the Mark Twain autobiography. Mark Twain dictated his autobio and was a collection of scattered thoughts from day to day, chapter to chapter. Carl Reiner's is the same. In this book, we learn about his wife, his children, his dogs and his service in the military -- which was in the entertainment branch, interestingly.
What I like about these kinds of autobiographies is finding out behind the scenes information on songs, movies and television shows. There was some of that stuff in this book, but not as much as I'd like. I've listened to Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall's books and I like them a lot, as well.
June 23, 2015
you know, no matter how interesting a life a person has led and no matter how many anecdotes they may tell, at some point after several hours or several hundred pages, it all seems boring and self-indulgent. now, i love carl reiner and have been a fan of his since his days with the dick van dyke show, but this was just a little too much carl reiner. the book is touching in its telling of his lifelong love for his wife, and interesting in the stories he tells of everyone from hedy lamarr to george burns. in smaller doses i probably would have loved this book. next time i read an auto-biography, i think i'll do it over a considerably longer time period.
May 9, 2013
Often when I read a biography, I come away with new appreciation and respect for the subject. Every once in awhile, after I read a biography, I come away sppreciating and respecting the subject a little less. That was the case with this one.
Carl Reiner is extremely liberal, and he describes himself as "a Jewish atheist." I don't care what his views are, but I don't feel that this was the forum for him to push his liberal agenda. I wanted to learn about his life in show business, which I did. I didn't want to be demeaned because my political and religious views were different than his.
Carl Reiner is extremely liberal, and he describes himself as "a Jewish atheist." I don't care what his views are, but I don't feel that this was the forum for him to push his liberal agenda. I wanted to learn about his life in show business, which I did. I didn't want to be demeaned because my political and religious views were different than his.
May 23, 2013
A collection of reminiscences, which bounce around in time and thus come across as disjointed. Still, I enjoyed it. It was worth reading if only to find out that once upon a time, Reiner's commanding officer in the Army was Allen Ludden.
May 21, 2015
What can I say, he sounds like a truly nice guy. Anybody who can leave you with the invitation to make a list entitled "There's no end for the living if you can..." can't be that bad. Thanks Mr Reiner. I'm glad you remembered so much.
October 5, 2016
I go back to this book often. I love this man and the fun he created in our lives. His stories are sweet and wonderful. He belongs to all of us but more importantly his family is his ballast and he shares the golden riches of his family life with us. Love him!
April 4, 2025
Just started reading.... Always found Carl Reiner an interesting person.... Enjoying the book so far....
May 7, 2023
Written with wit, gratitude, humility, honesty, and credit where credit is due, this is not only a very funny book but warm and totally charming.
There were one or two bits where “you had to be there” (I didn’t think most of the celebrity house party bits rose above drunken foolishness) but overall one of the most loving and grateful portraits of a life well lived.
His marriage was everything you would want a marriage to be, and his priorities and politics never lost sight of human needs and feelings. He was the embodiment of a mensch: honorable, graceful, thoughtful, and kind in his interactions with others.
While some humorists are angry, bitter, or the victims of tragic lives whose comedy has an edge to it, nothing here is mean spirited or hurtful. By his own recollections, Carl Reiner seems to have been a very warm, intelligent, and generous man.
Although there were many laugh out loud moments, this reader came away comforted by the author’s common sense and spirit of fun.
I wish there were captions for the many photographs since not all of them were easily identifiable but the text itself was superb.
I have read several of Reiner’s books of short pieces and reminisces. This is by far the best!
At 200 some pages it is short but very sweet! Savor it…
There were one or two bits where “you had to be there” (I didn’t think most of the celebrity house party bits rose above drunken foolishness) but overall one of the most loving and grateful portraits of a life well lived.
His marriage was everything you would want a marriage to be, and his priorities and politics never lost sight of human needs and feelings. He was the embodiment of a mensch: honorable, graceful, thoughtful, and kind in his interactions with others.
While some humorists are angry, bitter, or the victims of tragic lives whose comedy has an edge to it, nothing here is mean spirited or hurtful. By his own recollections, Carl Reiner seems to have been a very warm, intelligent, and generous man.
Although there were many laugh out loud moments, this reader came away comforted by the author’s common sense and spirit of fun.
I wish there were captions for the many photographs since not all of them were easily identifiable but the text itself was superb.
I have read several of Reiner’s books of short pieces and reminisces. This is by far the best!
At 200 some pages it is short but very sweet! Savor it…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2022
Very good, in fact, probably better than his first autobiography. It went over a lot of different ground, but also touched base on a lot of things that he already covered in the first book. I guess it makes sense when you're bouncing around from one decade to another. Memory is a strange thing.
Like anyone else who is a fan of his work, I guess I was hoping for more details on the things I was interested in (Steve Martin, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and some of his other movies) but I can't say I was disappointed by what I got.
Purely by coincidence, I watched "The Thrill of it All" last week. I picked it up not knowing that Carl Reiner had written it (and appears in a few short scenes). It was nice to have a small chapter on the movie's genesis.
Like anyone else who is a fan of his work, I guess I was hoping for more details on the things I was interested in (Steve Martin, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and some of his other movies) but I can't say I was disappointed by what I got.
Purely by coincidence, I watched "The Thrill of it All" last week. I picked it up not knowing that Carl Reiner had written it (and appears in a few short scenes). It was nice to have a small chapter on the movie's genesis.
May 24, 2025
3.5 stars. Narrated by Reiner at 90, the book is a collection of memories and stories that are a bit like listening to your grandfather‘s favorite tales of his life, except his friends and coworkers are some of the most famous people of his era. Some of the stories don’t hold up as well (though the behavior is “of the era”). His best friendship with Mel Brooks over 65 years of his life are some of the best and funniest. I remember reading somewhere years ago that after Carl’s wife of 60 years, Estelle, passed away, and Brooks had lost his wife Ann Bancroft, the two had dinner and hung out together every night. Some nights friends Dick Van Dyke and others joined, too. I found a weird sort of solace in this and thought about it often — as in, “I wonder what Mel and Carl are talking about right now.” That it continued until Reiner’s passing 5 years ago makes me very happy. He’s clearly a man who loved his family, his wife, and his friends, and found joy in nearly everything.
June 24, 2020
I think this book should've been called "I Remember Them" because it is at least half filled with stories of other people, early chapters seemed like a Mel Brooks biography. I was unpleasantly surprised to find that this very high end copy, with glossy pages and thick paper stock, had not one, not two, but three points where the end of a paragraph was completely missing from one page to the next. There was even a point where, after a paragraph ended on one page, the next page began with no indentation, leading me to wonder if there was something missing there, too.
The middle of the book has a bunch of fun stories, a lot of the rest has stories Reiner thinks are funny that I did not. Lots of doting on family, too. I wish I had read his previous autobiography first, it may be more a legitimate autobio than this one.
The middle of the book has a bunch of fun stories, a lot of the rest has stories Reiner thinks are funny that I did not. Lots of doting on family, too. I wish I had read his previous autobiography first, it may be more a legitimate autobio than this one.
July 17, 2019
Mr. Reiner shares glimpses of his memories over the years. Mr. Reiner was 90 when he presented these stories. Some humorous. Some kind. Others general heartfelt. What is missing is organization (they are placed randomly) but perhaps that was how it was meant to be. I was looking for more in-depth history of his life and the life of entertainment during his comedic years but cannot take away from what he offered here.
October 1, 2020
Carl Reiner is by far a comedy genius. Even as a child growing up I was enthralled by his personality and comedic timing. He was a huge comedian whose presence set the bar high on "everyman's " thoughts and reflections. This great book is a love letter to all and a book not to be passed over. I already miss him so much. In learning more about the background of his road to funny, I came away wanting to know more and more about his creative mind.
December 14, 2017
Carl has known and worked with the brightest and best in the comedy world.on television and film, and he is a forerunner in the development of many fantastic shows and bits. His long life and memories kept me in stiches.
January 9, 2021
Included repetitive stories from his first memoir and in at least two places sentences were not complete and started mid sentence in another paragraph almost like a page was missing but must have been a spacing issue - bad editing I guess.
June 16, 2022
Lots of nice stories from his life, some of which might be true. An example is the fish who was killed in an automobile accident.
Many modern readers will not remember some of the show-biz celebrities from the middle of the 20th century, but the stories are interesting anyway.
Many modern readers will not remember some of the show-biz celebrities from the middle of the 20th century, but the stories are interesting anyway.
February 16, 2024
It was an absolute delight to read the high-spirited musings and memories of this compassionate, self-effacing, and intelligent gentleman who's work and creative endeavors have brought me quite a bit of joy over the course of my lifetime.
February 19, 2017
**#17 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2017**
July 26, 2017
This is an excellent book from one of the greatest comedic writer and actor there has ever been! Quick, fun read!
July 12, 2018
I love Carl Reiner. This woukd have potentially benefited from an editor, it was just a but unfocused in content.
February 13, 2019
What a life. And 32 is the funniest number.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2019
I listened to this on audio and it was read by Carl Reiner. He's led a most interesting life and it was fun to hear him tell the stories.
June 30, 2019
Decent book telling about Carl's life through events he remembers.
December 2, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this humorous and tender memoir.
July 24, 2020
Stories that didn’t make it into the previous memoir. Some are lovely, some are a little rambling. I just loved listening to Reiner read this.
August 10, 2020
it's carl reiner! in his own voice!
i miss him so much.
i miss him so much.
August 10, 2020
It was fun to listen to Carl read his own memoir.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews