DAMN Pleased to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Trenches of Hollywood. By Tim Matheson. Hachette. 384 pages. $30.

Tim Matheson portrayed a president and a vice president. A police officer and a military officer. And more than a few doctors. He has worked with Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Jackie Gleason, Clint Eastwood, Kurt Russell and Steven Spielberg. He appeared in episodes of everything from Leave to Beaver and My Three Sons to This is Us and CSI.

The 76-year-old has credited hundreds of films as an actor, director and producer over the course of a career that began when John F. Kennedy was president. (Yes, Matheson played him on screen too.)

Matheson takes readers to the sets of some of his Hollywood performances in the entertaining and insightful memoir Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches.

The book’s title is a reference to the recurring line Matheson delivers as Eric “Otter” Stratton, the Delta Rush chairman, in the all-time comedy Animal House.

The section about the making of the 1978 film classic alone is almost worth the purchase price of the book. Spoiler alert: Some of the actors who played Delta House members pulled their own pranks while filming on location at the University of Oregon, the stand-in for the fictional Faber College. A particular highlight is the description of the cast’s visit to a real frat party in Eugene.

However, “Damn Glad to Meet You” isn’t all fun and games. It contains some helpful tips and tricks on acting/directing and navigating the Hollywood jungle, as well as some poignant moments. Matheson talks about the time he spent with some actors/comedians who were taken too soon, including John Candy, Chris Farley and Sam Kinison – as well as his “Animal House” co-star John Belushi.

“They came for some Belushi stories,” Matheson writes. “I know. I get asked about him more than anyone I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with almost everyone.”

These days, Matheson is working north of the border, where his hit Netflix show “Virgin River” is filmed.

It’s just the latest in a very long line of roles the California native has taken on in his prolific and long career.

“I was lucky. I know that,” Matheson writes. “I’ve always found a place where I can tell a story.”

And now he tells us his stories. We should be damn glad he did.