Movie Dad: Finding Myself and My Family, On Screen and Off

Summary

Beloved character actor Paul Dooley started his career by entertaining his family in the house his father built. Already in love with comedy and movies as a little boy, he knew he wanted to be on the big screen. Today, he is an instantly recognizable “household face” best known for his roles as the father in films such as Sixteen Candles, Breaking Away, and Runaway Bride. With over sixty-five years as an actor and countless movies, TV shows, advertisements, and stage performances to his name, Dooley describes the hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking life behind the man on screen. 

In Movie Dad, Dooley reveals that before he played father to Hollywood stars like Julia Roberts, Molly Ringwald, Toni Collete, and Mia Farrow, his personal life included a painful episode involving his wife and children. Overcoming the shock of the traumatic event, he found fresh success as a movie actor, especially playing fathers.

Brimming with show-business anecdotes, Movie Dad is a warmly remembered account of a life well-lived, told with wry irony but suffused with an uncommon sincerity and tenderness.