PRAISE FOR
WHEN YOU STEP UPON A STAR
“Will Keck loves Hollywood, knows Hollywood and writes about his idiosyncratic journey through the dark and the light of Hollywood.”—Henry Winkler
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“Here’s the thing; Will OWNS it. He owns it all! … I cannot fault any human who is willing to atone. In fact, I find it an incredibly courageous and inspiring thing to do …. As I read this book I could feel the true love he has for every show, every character, every actor or creative he has come in contact with … I also have to admit, as a fan of film and television myself, I found this book to be a big, juicy morsel. So read on my friends, and enjoy these stories from the great adventure that is the life of my friend Will Keck.”—Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie)
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“I thought I knew everything there was to know about Will Keck from our years working together on Home & Family. But until I read When You Step Upon A Star, I had no idea that while I was interviewing stars for Entertainment Tonight, he was hiding in trees and stealing celebrities’ garbage to land Hollywood scoops of his own.”—Mark Steines, TV Host (Entertainment Tonight)
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“When I was making Lost, I crossed paths with Will Keck, who was covering our show for USA Today and TV Guide. Will was smart, engaging and witty, and he worked hard to bring his publications interesting and fresh scoops… Ironically, I was so busy making the show that I knew almost nothing about what was going on in the private lives of our actors. So I when found myself reading Will’s stories, I discovered he always knew way more about their private lives than I did.”—Carlton Cuse (Showrunner, Lost)
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“If you should ever meet Will Keck at a party, definitely introduce yourself. You’ll have a good time and you’ll learn some things. But don’t start the conversation with ‘Hello.’ Start with ‘This is off the record.’ Trust me. It’s safer.”—Marc Cherry, Creator, Desperate Housewives
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“I’m a firm believer that we all have the ability to evolve and not allow mistakes made in our pasts to define who we are in the present. Even former National Enquirer reporter, William Keck, with whom I crossed paths many years ago. I applaud the mission to offer transparency, make amends and heal old wounds, in his book, When You Step Upon A Star.”—Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman)
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“All of us have done things in our lives we’re not proud of. It takes guts to admit it. Especially publicly. That is what Will Keck does in his book, When You Step Upon A Star—cops to the lesser him from the more enlightened him he has matured into. He does it with brutal honesty and a lot of humor. Bravo!”—Dee Wallace (E.T.)
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“Jesus preached about repentance and changing our ways moving forward. Good on ya, William Keck.”—Connie Sellecca (Hotel)
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“When You Step Upon A Star offers a rare look at my dear friend Adam West, and so many other beloved Hollywood legends, from the unique perspective of a celebrity reporter who was assigned to expose their secrets. The invaluable life lessons he learned during his outrageous encounters prove that any leopard can change its spots.”—Julie Newmar, Batman’s Catwoman
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“Upon reading Will’s passages about his childhood connection to the Bradys, it dawns on me how his connection is like the root of a tree put down long ago. I see its fundamental to who Will is, where he is and what he’s become.”—Christopher Knight (The Brady Bunch)
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“From what I’ve read of William’s book, I can clearly see he can hold his own with every diva he’s interviewed.”—Linda Evans (Dynasty)
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“When I first met Will we were at Southfork Ranch. Loved by the entire cast, we loved it when we knew he was coming to interview us. Will was always fun, ready with interesting questions and soon became a friend. He never missed a trick, noticing everyone and everything around him. I could see him feeling like we were his family … but who in their right mind would want to be a part of the Ewing Family?”—Linda Gray (Dallas)
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“When I had the opportunity to shoot a couple episodes of General Hospital with William Keck as my character’s scheming flunky, I could tell he had a little diva in him. Now, with the publication of his juicy book, When You Step Upon A Star, I know where he got it from. William, you learned from the best of us. Welcome to the Divas Club!! Heaven knows you’ve paid your dues.”—Morgan Fairchild (Falcon Crest, Friends)
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“I’m not sure if William Keck was one of the many sleuths on my trail back in the day. They were all pretty slippery and skilled at hiding their tracks. I came to know Will later in life—when he wrote a wonderful piece for USA Today on one of our Knots Landing reunion specials, before moving on to produce his own Knots reunion for the always-delightful Home & Family. The fact that he saw the error of his ways—and now has the guts to tell it like it was—shows me he is a really decent human being who is now bringing good into the world. And I applaud him. Thank you, Will, for giving us a book that offers a look behind the curtain … but also restores our faith in mankind.”—Donna Mills (Knots Landing)
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“Two days before the taping of a Knots Landing reunion show Will Keck produced for the Hallmark Channel, I tripped while out jogging and ended up with a sizable and quite noticeable black eye. A diva disaster! But ‘chill Will’ demonstrated his protection for his celebrity guests by convincing me I’d be well taken care of with camera angles and makeup (applied with a spatula!). And he was right! Thank you, Will, for making sure I didn’t look like the Target dog … and for revealing in When You Step Upon A Star how you put your Enquirer ‘bad boy’ self in the past to become the classy, prolific writer/producer you are today!”—Joan Van Ark (Knots Landing)
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“Years ago a young National Enquirer reporter named William Keck turned up at our home right after Christmas wanting to write a story about our new baby girl. My husband Peter was very protective and wanted to send the kid away. But in the spirit of the holidays we gave him a chance and invited him in. He ended up writing a beautiful story. Now, he’s written an unvarnished, gritty book confessing some of his other encounters that didn’t go quite as well. His stories left me shocked, amused, touched … and grateful we got off so easy.”—Catherine Bach (The Dukes of Hazzard)
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“I had the opportunity to experience William Keck’s passion for classic television when he produced a lovely Waltons cast reunion special for Hallmark Channel. But until I read When You Step Upon A Star, I had no idea the extraordinary lengths he employed to meet all of his favorite stars. I should consider myself lucky he didn’t turn up uninvited to my wedding, as he did at Melissa Gilbert’s and Meredith Baxter’s.”—Michael Learned (The Waltons)
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“Reading When You Step Upon A Star took me back to when I was a young inexperienced actress working on a hit network TV show and dreading Tuesdays—the day the new weekly tabloids were put out in stores. I realized early on that producers and others on our set would give ‘stories’ to the papers and that about 10% were sure to be true with a wide open field for the remaining 90%. While I’m grateful not to be one of the ‘stars’ Will stepped on, many of our Love Boat guest stars were not so fortunate. Will’s stories reveal his evolution into the kind, generous man I’ve come to both know and trust. Enjoy the read!”—Cynthia Lauren Tewes (The Love Boat)
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“The confessions recounted in William Keck’s When You Step Upon A Star tell the story of a former tabloid bad boy uncovering personal secrets of Hollywood’s most notable and infamous figures. One of whom I personally worked with was Larry Hagman, who played Major Tony Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie. I have only fond memories of working with William, who initially wrote a story about me for TV Guide ahead of the release of my New York Times bestselling memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle in 2012. William was also my producer when I appeared on Home & Family in 2016 and I recall him being only a kind and consummate professional. This just shows me that we all deserve the space and opportunity to evolve and show the most authentic versions of ourselves. I wish him all the best on his literary debut. Welcome to the club!”—Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie)
