Steve Guttenberg on assisting during the Pacific Palisades wildfire, and caring for his personal hero
January 7, with fence fire After the explosion, a man interrupted reporters’ live filming. He was Steve Guttenberg, one of the greatest movie stars of the 1980s and 1990s. He’s been moving cars – abandoned by people around Pacific Palisades fleeing the spreading fire – so emergency vehicles can get through.
“The reality is, people carry their keys with them, just like in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot,” he told KTLA. “If you forgot your car out there, leave the keys in there so someone like me can move your car so the fire trucks can get there.”
He couldn’t remember how he made it to safety.
Many days later, when much of his hometown was in ruins, he was still there to help protect his and his neighbors’ homes. He showed me a part of the Sunset District that was packed with cars. “Yeah, couldn’t get through,” he said. “So, I moved some of those cars over there. And then, a lot of these cars didn’t have keys. They were locked.”
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I asked: “What is the power in you that compels you to stay here?”
“You know, in life, you don’t often feel like you can make a difference,” he responded. “I really feel like I can make a difference. Like, I’m able-bodied, I’m strong, I have a heart, I care. That’s what I’m supposed to do today.”
If you know Gutenberg, you know he was a helper. Seven years ago, he dropped everything to take care of the person he loved deeply: his father.
I pointed out, “I’m going to try not to cry through this interview because I lost my dad.”
Gutenberg asked: “What is your father’s name?”
“Douglas.”
“Hi, Douglas!” Gutenberg said. “You know, when you say the name of a person who’s passed away, they come over. I’m sure they’re not always with you because they have other things to do. But Douglas is here, my dad Stan Lee is here too.
“My dad was the greatest,” he said. “He was the first man to hug me and the first man I ever looked into his eyes. I fell in love with my dad.”
Guttenberg wrote a book about his journey as a caregiver to a man he calls a hero. it’s known “It’s time to give thanks.” “My dad and his dad weren’t close,” he said. “My grandfather was very cold. He was not a kissing, hugging father. So, my father was the opposite.”
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A “kiss-and-hug dad,” his job isn’t exactly touchy-feely. “He was an Airborne Army Ranger. He was a New York City police officer. He was a powerlifter and a powerlifter. He did handstands for 20 minutes.”
Guttenberg’s father was a hands-on parent, so it was surprising to Steve that when he wanted to move to Los Angeles and try to become a movie star at just 17, he was allowed to do so. “My parents gave me $300 and said, ‘You have two weeks.’ I got a KFC commercial, and my parents let me stay for two more weeks, and then I got more commercials, and then I I resigned. Then I went back to school.”
He hadn’t been in school long when Hollywood called him back. “I was at a party in my suite at Albany State and I got a call from my agent. Everyone was a little…drunk!” he laughed. “My agent said, ‘I’ve got an audition for you. The movie’s called The Boy From Brazil. Starring Greg Peck, Larry Olivier, James Mason, Uta Hagen Starring.'”
“It’s hard to say no, isn’t it?” I said.
“Yeah! I asked my dad. My dad said, ‘You know, go audition. If you get it, you’ll make a decision. And I got the job.'”
Guttenberg said Laurence Olivier taught him humility, but it was his father who helped him get his big break in a small film about a group of misfits who join a police force. “I told my dad that I was about to audition for this movie, ‘Police Academy.’ He said, ‘Oh, you should wear my Police Academy shirt. ” I remember going to the audition and I met another really talented actor and the director said, “Wait a minute: Did you make that shirt, kid?” ” I said, “No, that’s my dad’s real police academy shirt.” ” Half a day later, my agent called me and said, “You got it. “Maybe it’s because of that cadet shirt my dad gave me.”
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Guttenberg went on to become one of the busiest actors of his generation, appearing in more than 100 films and TV series, including “Dinner,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon” and “Short Circuit.” As his father prepares to bring him back to reality, often calling before anyone else in Los Angeles wakes up, Guttenberg said he never misses a 6:00 a.m. call, “No, I always have to be home at six.” . Even though I’m home from 5:00 to 6:00! He’s my anchor.”
So when his father was diagnosed with kidney failure while living in Phoenix, Guttenberg got into his car and drove 400 miles a week to care for his father. “This drive really gave me time to think and it gave me time to be grateful,” he said.
Steve and his siblings even became home dialysis technicians, but only he couldn’t accept the inevitable. “I hugged him. Something didn’t sound right. We had a nurse with us and the nurse put a stethoscope on him. And she said, ‘He’s gone.'” I said, ‘No!’ I started on him. CPR, I couldn’t take it at that moment. ”
Asked when he might finally let him go, Guttenberg responded: “I’ll probably let him go in a year. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. I still think he’s still here.”
“He is,” I said. “Just say his name.”
“Stanley!”
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Now, Guttenberg thinks his father is offering some helpful advice. “I feel like my dad is there, yeah, I do. I feel like my dad is there with me. I think he’s also saying, ‘Steven, that’s enough. Get out of there.'”
At this point, his own home stood. But Steve Guttenberg says it’s time to listen to his father. “You know, the truth is, no matter how big your house is, no matter how much money you have, how expensive your car is, at the end of the day, you’re walking down the street with a little suitcase that has something in it. You’ve saved It, and you’re looking for someone to tell you where to go.”
Read the excerpt: A Time for Gratitude: Taking Care of My Heroes by Steve Guttenberg
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Produced by Anthony Laudato. Editors: Steven Tyler and Lauren Panelo.
