Steve Guttenberg

Steve Guttenberg
Born	Steven Robert Guttenberg
Occupation	Actor/Comedian
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Denise Bixler (September 30, 1988 - 1992)

Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor and comedian. He became known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit. In 2008 Guttenberg was one of 12 contestants on the 6th season of Dancing with the Stars. On April 1, he was eliminated from the show.

Early life

Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Ann Iris (née Newman), a surgical assistant, and Jerome Stanley Guttenberg, an electrical engineer. He was in a family of five which included two sisters He had a Jewish upbringing and grew up in North Massapequa, New York, where he graduated from Plainedge High School in 1976. He attended The Juilliard School, State University of New York at Albany, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

Career

Acting career

His studies, which include years with teacher Herbert Berghof and with the improvisational comedy school, The Groundlings, took him to such theaters as the Helen Hayes on Broadway, where he created the lead role in Prelude to a Kiss and The Comedy in London's West End, where he starred in The Boys Next Door. He won kudos in the world stage premiere production of Furthest From the Sun, which Woody Harrelson directed and co-authored. Guttenberg has also appeared widely on TV. His television films include the critically acclaimed Miracle on Ice (1981), To Race the Wind (1980), Something for Joey (1977) and the controversial nuclear holocaust picture, The Day After (1983), which more than 20 years after its original airing remains the highest-rated made-for-television movie in history. Prior to his becoming well known, Guttenberg played the title role in the short-lived 1979 sitcom Billy as a teenage boy with a Walter Mitty complex. In 1980, he starred in a Coca-Cola commercial that featured him trying to help a non-English-speaking woman whose car had stalled. They share a common bond in their love of Coke.

Guttenberg has starred in three film franchises: Police Academy (1984), Cocoon (1985), and Three Men and a Baby (1987). As well as these he has also appeared in such films as Diner (1982), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Boys from Brazil (1978), and Short Circuit (1986). He also starred in "It Takes Two" with Kirstie Alley and the Olsen Twins.

Although Guttenberg is known as a film actor, his roots are in the theater. His first film as director/producer/co-screenwriter/star was the adaptation of a Broadway hit, the stage comedy/drama P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (2002) by James Kirkwood Jr., co-author of A Chorus Line. Steve Guttenberg also starred in the Cinderella pantomime at Churchill Theatre in Bromley, playing the Baron (father of Cinderella) in 2008.

Guttenberg had a recurring role on the second season of the television series Veronica Mars as Woody Goodman, a wealthy businessman and community leader. He also appeared as a lead in the NBC made-for-TV remake of The Poseidon Adventure, which aired on November 20, 2005, playing Richard Clarke, a failing writer having an affair with a massage therapist.

More recently he has starred in Mojave Phone Booth as Barry, and Making Change as Trafton. In Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus and its sequel Meet the Santas, he played the starring role of Nick. Guttenberg is working on a film with Jessica Simpson entitled Major Movie Star.

The sixth-annual Golden Wagon Film Festival honored Steve Guttenberg, with the 2008 Tony Randall Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the entertainment industry, as well as his numerous and generous community service efforts. The Tony Randall Lifetime Achievement Award was created in tribute to the first Golden Wagon honoree, Tony Randall. The award is given to a member of the entertainment industry who embodies the same love of Fire Island, independent spirit, and community service that Tony Randall shared.

On August 25, 2008, Guttenberg released a video titled "Steve Guttenberg's Steak House" on funnyordie.com. He has also been rumored to star as comedian Tony Martin in a movie adapted from Martin's upcoming book, A Nest of Occasionals

Other work

Guttenberg is involved with charity work aimed at improving opportunities for the homeless and for young people. He has created Guttenhouse, an apartment complex he funded to accommodate young people after their graduation from foster child status, with on-site social worker direction to assist their assuming adult responsibilities. The Entertainment Industry Foundation, Hollywood's charity arm, selected him to be Ambassador for Children's Issues because of his work on behalf of children and the homeless. In this capacity, he spearheads Sight for Students, a $7-million program in which, together with VSP and Altair Eyeglasses, he helps provide glasses for 50,000 underprivileged and visually challenged children throughout their school years. He also supports Plainedge school district, where he went to high school and often runs charity events.

His interest in the welfare of youngsters is reflected in his work as a producer and director. He executive-produced Gangs, a CBS School Break Special which earned an Emmy nomination, and debuted as a director with a CBS School Break Special, Love Off Limits (1993). Guttenberg's spare time is taken up by his charitable activities for such kids-oriented agencies as Friends of the Children/Bridges, The Starlight Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. He is also a surfer, golfer and devoted dog owner.

His production company, "Mr. Kirby Productions", is named after Gerald J. Kirby, his high school drama teacher.

In early November 2008, allegedly Guttenberg was filmed jogging semi-naked through Central Park, New York. On November 12, Guttenberg appeared as a guest on British Channel 4's The Paul O'Grady Show, he said he made the video for Will Ferrell's Funny or Die website, but then decided to release it virally "as if it were real". As part of challenge set on the show, he then went on to become the Guinness World Record Holder for preparing the most hot-dogs in one minute.

From Friday 5 December 2008, he appeared in the Pantomime "Cinderella", at The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, England. To celebrate the star being in Bromley that year there was a special screening of Police Academy at the local Empire Cinema on the 19th November, which Mr Guttenberg introduced and had a Question and Answer session, where he came across as a very pleasant man.

Dancing with the Stars

Guttenberg starred in the 2008 spring season of Dancing with the Stars, although he was eliminated on April 1.

As part of his casting in Dancing with the Stars, Guttenberg was scheduled to perform a stand-up comedy show, followed by a small dance number to help promote himself for the show. This was a "mini" tour, and as such, he chose many towns of a smaller venue to perform in. Some of these smaller towns included Evansville, Indiana, Edwardsville, Illinois, Springfield, Missouri, Marshalltown, Iowa, Jacksonville, Illinois, Salina, Kansas, Blytheville, Arkansas, and Middletown, Ohio.

Performances

Week #	Dance/Song	Judges' score			Result
		Inaba	Goodman	Tonioli
1	Foxtrot/ "(Up a) Lazy River"	6	6	6	N/A
2	Mambo/ "I Got a Girl"	6	5	5	Safe
3	Tango/ "Jalousie"	7	7	7	Eliminated

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Rollercoaster	Messenger	uncredited
	The Chicken Chronicles	David Kessler
	Something for Joey	Michael Cappelletti
1978	The Boys from Brazil	Barry Kohler
1979	Players	Rusty
1980	Can't Stop the Music	Jack Morell
1981	Miracle On Ice	Jim Craig
1982	Diner	Edward 'Eddie' Simmons
1983	The Man Who Wasn't There	Samuel 'Sam' Cooper
	The Day After	Stephen Klein	TV movie
1984	Police Academy	Officer Carey Mahoney
1985	Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment	Officer Carey Mahoney
	Cocoon	Jack Bonner
	Bad Medicine	Jeff Marx
1986	Police Academy 3: Back in Training	Officer Carey Mahoney
	Short Circuit	Newton Crosby
1987	The Bedroom Window	Terry Lambert
	Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol	Officer Carey Mahoney
	Amazon Women on the Moon	Jerry
	Three Men and a Baby	Michael Kellam
1988	Cocoon: The Return	Jack Bonner
	High Spirits	Jack Crawford
1990	Don't Tell Her It's Me (aka The Boyfriend School)	Gus Kubicek
	Three Men and a Little Lady	Michael Kellam
1995	The Big Green	Sheriff Tom Palmer
	Home for the Holidays	Walter Wedman
	It Takes Two	Roger Callaway
	Zeus and Roxanne	Terry Barnett
1997	Casper: A Spirited Beginning	Tim Carson
	Tower of Terror	Buzzy Crocker
1998	Airborne	Bill McNeil
1999	Home Team	Mr. Butler
2002	P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!	Jimmy Zoole
2004	Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus	Nick
2005	Meet the Santas	Nick
	The Poseidon Adventure	Richard Clarke
2006	Mojave Phone Booth	Barry
2008	Major Movie Star	Sidney Green
	Cornered!	Morty
	Jackson	Businessman
	Heidi 4 Paws	Sebastian	voice only
2009	Shannon's Rainbow	Ed

External links

• Steve Guttenberg at IMDb