On January 7, when the Palisades fire exploded, a man interrupted a reporter’s live shot. That was Steve Guttenberg, one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s. He was moving abandoned cars of people fleeing fires around the Pacific Palisades so emergency vehicles could pass.
“What’s happening is people are carrying their keys around as if they were in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot,” he told KTLA. “If you’re going to leave your car behind, leave your keys there so a guy like me can move it so the fire trucks can get there.”
He can’t remember how he got to safety.
Even though many days had passed and most of his hometown was in ruins, he was still there and helped defend his and his neighbors’ homes. He showed me a part of Sunset where cars were piled up. “Yes, it didn’t work,” he said. “So I was moving some of these cars out there, and a lot of them didn’t have the keys in them. They were locked.”
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I asked, “What compels you to stay here?”
“You know, there aren’t many times in life where you feel like you can make a difference,” he answered. “And I really feel like I can make a difference. Like, I’m fit, I’m strong, I have a heart, I’m compassionate. And this is what I have to do today. It must not happen.”
Anyone who knows Guttenberg knows he’s a helping hand. Seven years ago, he put everything on hold to care for the person he loved deeply: his father.
I said, “I lost my father, so I’m going to try to get through this interview without crying.”
Guttenberg asked, “What is your father’s name?”
“Douglas”
“Hello, Douglas!” said Mr. Guttenberg. “You know, when you say the name of someone who died, they come. I don’t think they’re with you all the time, because they have other things to do. But Douglas is here, and so is Stanley, my father.”
“My father was the greatest,” he said. “He was the first man to hold me, the first man to look into his eyes, and I fell in love with him.”
Guttenberg wrote a book about her journey as a caregiver for the men she calls her heroes. Its name is “time of gratitude”. “My father and his father were not close,” he said. “My grandfather was cold. He wasn’t the type of father who would kiss or hug my father. So my father was the opposite.”
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“Kissing and hugging dad” is a job that doesn’t involve much physical contact. “He was an Airborne Ranger. He was a New York City police officer. He was a powerlifter and weight lifter. And he did handstands for 20 minutes.”
Guttenberg’s father was a hands-on parent, so when Steve wanted to move to LA to become a movie star when he was only 17, he was surprised that he was allowed to do so. “My parents gave me $300 and said, ‘You have two weeks.’ Then I got a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial. And they let me stay for two more weeks. .And I stayed for another year. And I went back to school.”
He wasn’t in school long when Hollywood called him back. “I was at a party in a suite at Albany State University when I got a call from my agent. Everyone was a little…drunk!” he laughed. “And my agent said, ‘I’ve got an audition for you, and it’s called ‘Boys from Brazil,’ and Greg Peck and Larry Olivier and James Uta Hagen. Mason was going to star in it.”
“That’s hard to say no to, isn’t it?” I said.
“Yes! I asked my dad. He said, ‘Just go and audition. If you get it, I’ll decide. And I got the job.’
Guttenberg says it was Laurence Olivier who taught him humility, but it was his father who helped him get his big break with a small film about a group of misfits who join the police force. “I told my dad I had a screen test coming up for this movie ‘Police Academy,’ and he said, ‘Oh, you should wear my Police Academy shirt.’ Ta. I remember when I went to a screen test and I was up against another really talented actor and the director said, “Wait a minute, did you make that shirt?” And I said, “No, that’s my dad’s real police academy shirt.” And half a day later, my agent called me and said, “Okay.” And maybe it was because of the cadet shirt my father 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 television shows, including “Diner,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon,” and “Short Circuit.” . Meanwhile, his father was preparing to bring him back to reality, often calling before the rest of L.A. got out of bed, Guttenberg said, never missing a 6 a.m. call. 6 o’clock. Even if you go home at 5 or 6 o’clock! I had to answer that call. He was my anchor. ”
So when her father, who lived in Phoenix, was diagnosed with kidney failure, Guttenberg got in her car and drove 400 miles each week to care for him. “This drive really gave me time to think and be grateful,” he said.
Steve and his brother became home dialysis technicians, but he was the only one unable to accept the inevitable. “I hugged him, and something didn’t seem right. A nurse was also with him, and she put a stethoscope on him. And she said, ‘He’s gone. He’s gone.’” And I said, “No!” And I started giving him CPR, but I couldn’t accept it at that moment. ”
Asked when she would be able to let him go, Guttenberg said: “Probably in a year. I can’t believe he’s gone. I think he’s still here. ” he answered.
“He is,” I said. “Please say his name.”
“Stanley!”
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And now, Guttenberg thinks his father is giving him some helpful advice. “I feel like my dad is with me. Yes, I really do. I feel like my dad is here. And he’s saying, ‘Stephen, enough is enough. Get out of there.’ I think so.”
For now, his home is still under construction. But Steve Guttenberg says it’s time to listen to his father. “The truth is, no matter how big your house is, no matter how much money you have, no matter how expensive your car is, at the end of the day you’re walking down the street with a small suitcase filled with a few things.” “I’m looking for someone to tell me where to go with what you saved.” ”
Read an excerpt: “Time of Gratitude: Caring for My Heroes” by Steve Guttenberg
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Produced by Anthony Laudato. Editors: Steven Tyler and Lauren Barnello.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Check out our extended interview with Steve Guttenberg
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