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Steve Guttenberg

Steve Guttenberg

Although Steve Guttenberg is firmly established as the star not only of hit motion pictures, but of hit motion picture franchises, his roots are firmly in the theatre. As result, he has moved effortlessly between comedy and drama. His first film as director/producer/co-screenwriter/star, not surprisingly, will be the adaptation of a Broadway hit, the classic stage comedy/drama, P.S. Your Cat is Deadby the late James Kirkwood, co-author of A Chorus Line The searing black comedy with its frank exploration of sexual role-playing, has lured and defied filmmakers for a quarter of a century.

In two decades of stardom in both critical and box office hits, Guttenberg has been the above-the-title star of six films that earned over $100,000,000 in the United States, a feat accomplished by relatively few superstars. He has also starred in four film franchises, appearing in such sequeled smash hits as Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy and Short Circuit, taking his films' box-office grosses into the billions.

The comic timing and charm with which he illuminated those films and the dramatic invention which he displayed in such other major successes as Diner, Bedroom Window, The Boys From Brazil and a string of historic television films all derive from his firm theatre training. His studies, which include years with famed teacher Herbert Berghof and with one of the most fertile schools of improvisational comedy, The Groundlings, took him to such renowned theatres 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 recently won stage kudos again in the world premiere production of Furthest From the Sun, which Woody Harrelson directed and co-authored. Guttenberg has carved as vivid a body of work on TV as on the big screen. His television films include the critically acclaimed Miracle On Ice, To Race With The Wind, Something For Joey and the controversial nuclear holocaust picture, The Day After, which seventeen years after its original airing remains the highest-rated made-for-television movie in history.

Fiercely dedicated to improving opportunities for the homeless and for young people, Guttenberg is currently preparing the opening of Guttenhouse, an apartment complex he has 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 dedicated work on behalf of children and the homeless. In this capacity, he is spearheading Sight for Students, a $7,000,000 program in which, together with VSP and Altair Eyeglasses, he will help provide glasses for 50,000 underprivileged and visually challenged children throughout their school years.

Part of his unique ability to Pied Piper children to better lives comes from the fact that he is as affectionately regarded by young audiences as by adults, having starred in such kids' favorites as Casper: A Spirited Beginning, It Takes Two and Zeus and Roxanne.

His interest in the welfare of youngsters reflected in his work as a producer and director. He executive produced Gangs, a CBS School Break Special which earned an Emmy nomination, and he debuted as a director with another critically-acclaimed CBS School Break Special, Love Off Limits. Born in Brooklyn, NY (his production company, Plainedge Productions, is named after his high school) he grew up in Massapequa, Long Island.

Guttenberg's crowded spare time includes his charitable activities for such kids-oriented agencies as Friends of the Children/Bridges, The Starlight Foundation as well as the Entertainment Industry Foundation. He is also an avid surfer and golfer and a passionate devoted dog owner.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Steve Guttenberg Facts

Birth Name Steven Robert Guttenberg
OccupationActor, Producer, Director
BirthdayAugust 24, 1958 (65)
SignVirgo
BirthplaceNew York, New York, USA
Height6' (1m83)  How tall is Steve Guttenberg compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Heaven Is A Place on Earth
It Takes Two
Short Circuit
Three Men And A Baby
Lavalantula
Three Men and a Baby/Three Men and a Little Lady
Police Academy
Police Academy 1-7: The Complete Collection
The Big Green
Cocoon
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