February 19, 2019
Back in the day this actor was A+ list. Mostly movies. He had a franchise that was long running and one that was shorter. Comic actor. He also had one of the first really funny viral videos. Anyway, some people recognized him last night and he signed and posed for photos and it almost seemed like he was going to invite everyone to dinner with him because he was so happy about being recognized.
Steve Guttenberg
Back in the day this actor was A+ list. Mostly movies. He had a franchise that was long running and one that was shorter. Comic actor. He also had one of the first really funny viral videos. Anyway, some people recognized him last night and he signed and posed for photos and it almost seemed like he was going to invite everyone to dinner with him because he was so happy about being recognized.
Steve Guttenberg
Who holds back the electric car?
ReplyDeleteWho makes Steve Guttenberg, a star?
WE DO
WE DO
WE DOOOOOOOO
Haha one of my favourite episodes!
Deleteomfg, the old ones are so good! I think the one I quote most is the soccer one. Whenever I’m picking arugula out of the garden I always say “arriaga! Arriaga 2! Barriaga! Aroooglia!!” and laugh like a hyena every time. Never gets old!
DeleteThere are so many good ones, I was thinking about the Australia one the other day when I was drinking coffee and my husband was drinking beer. When Marge tried to order coffee at the bar and the bartender couldn’t understand....lol. And the ass kicking boot.....lol I really really miss the Simpsons. I haven’t seen it in years!
He has a "I know you but not sure from where" kind of face.
ReplyDeleteI know he gets used as a punchline a lot, but I always liked Steve Guttenberg. He had a prettey good run of hits in the 80's.
ReplyDelete- Police Academy (1984)
- Cocoon (1985)
- Short Circuit (1986)
- 3 Men and a Baby (1987)
+1 Astra for the Simpsons reference :)
ReplyDelete+1 AJ, Police Academy and Short Circuit are classics.
ReplyDeleteShort Circuit was the best movie, I loved it as a kid (and I generally don’t like most movies).
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love the Gutt? as a child of the 80's he will always be a hero.
ReplyDeleteGood for him - going to see his movies were part of my teenage years, and he always seemed like a decent enough guy. Good blind!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a time I ran into Ted Lange (Isaac, Love Boat). Couldn't have been nicer and was such a nice guy. Really appreciated someone recognizing him and took the time to chat!
We never forget, at least in our hearts, the actors and actresses who made us laugh. Sometimes just a tiny bit of joy goes a long way on a bad day.
ReplyDeleteAww, Brayson! 💗
DeleteI was a kid in the eighties and every movie I remember has him in it. I even loved him in Veronica Mars as the perverted Mayor Goodman. The rollercoaster of he's a good guy no he's bad was brilliantly played. Best underrated actor ever!
ReplyDeleteHe was great in Can't Stop The Music.
ReplyDeleteHe was better than Adam Sandler yet he seems to be done and Sandler is still around. 😴
ReplyDeleteI assumed he died.
ReplyDeleteHe seems like a decent guy. I hope he gets some good roles again soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso good in Diner.
ReplyDeleteI always think there was something about him that made him go away. That something about his personal life or behavior made him persona non grata.
ReplyDelete@countervail
ReplyDeleteI think it's just because it was the times. Being someone who grew up in the 70s and lived in the 80s, I do remember that print media and network TV were king. Not even cable. You had the big 3 (maybe 4 if you count PIX!) and some glossy mags to help promote you. If you weren't knocking out hit after hit after hit you wouldn't be featured. That's like a downward spiral - once it starts you can't get out of it.
Today, people are used to the fact that celebrities can force themselves (and their views unfortunately) on you nonstop 24-7. Plenty of people who should have gone away don't. Plenty of people who never should have been famous, refuse to stop blasting themselves across all social media. It's such an overload.
Coupled with the fact that he never really had "leading man" type of charisma or looks meant that he wasn't strong enough to really lead a film.
Look at what people mentioned:
Police Academy was more about the fun ensemble cast. Yeah, he was the lead and slightly more charismatic, but really it's mostly about the cast. Everyone has someone they like best from the film and a lot of times, it's not him. Hell, for me it was always Tackleberry.
Short Circuit - He had the robot as a co-star. That robot was awesome.
Three Men and a Baby - he had Tom Selleck and Ted Danson to join forces with.
Cocoon - definitely a great feel good film and I remember it well but I also remember a lot of the hype being about having such an accomplished "older" cast. Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn. In fact I saw it in the theater and and remember the trailers on TV and the strongest thing is Wilford Brimley saying, "We won't get sick, we won't get old, and we won't ever die!"
I know this site makes you think that every actor has a dark secret but I think he just faded because he wasn't strong enough to really move into more serious stuff. Boyish good looks and a naive charm can only get you so far. Eventually Rugged and Charismatic is what gets you there. Or at least it did in the 80s.
Compare him with a superstar like Harrison Ford, for example. Hell, the only reason my family even went to see Blade Runner in the theater was because of him. We left the theater, everyone hated the film but kept saying how much they loved Harrison. I remember leaving Short Circuit, and on the way home from the theater talking about no one but the robot.
I had a big crush on Guttenberg! Glad he is a nice guy.
ReplyDeleteI love him! I hope to meet him someday! Although Tower of Terror the movie is the reason I am deathly afraid of elevators lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the viral video?
ReplyDelete❤️ him
ReplyDeleteWas he at the Blue Oyster?
ReplyDeleteI remember him going to dental school in case his acting career failed. Did he ever get his degree?
ReplyDeleteI'm happy for him. P.S. Your Cat Is Dead was criminally underrated (and if you can find the commentary, it somehow outshines the movie itself)
ReplyDelete@Brayson I must have pms cuz that almost brought a tear to my eye!!! 😔 lol
ReplyDeleteI wonder went wrong was he difficult to work with? I remember the 80's I would say he had a good 10 year run as A / A- list. Then he fell off the face of the earth. He could have had a Tom Hanks career.
ReplyDeleteIt's the comedians that are truly mourned when they're gone. And appreciated. Like the former actor that Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays in Along Came Polly ( he gave us "shart") the limelight is gone, but the shine remains. Gutenberg was in so many movies in the 80's-I recall one where he was a failing lawyer who made an argument over the word "asshole." He had a good run, difference today is that they go on a reality show.
ReplyDeleteIn 2001 he happened to sit down behind me in the bleachers at the Pacific Palisades 4th of July Parade. When the car came through with the Grand Marshal, a PP resident who was the first “space tourist,” he leaned over to his friend and said, “Sure, he paid $20 million to go to the Space Station with the Russians, but think of all the free pussy he’s getting on top of that, too.” I couldn’t help but laugh and turned and high-Fired him. He actually was a bit embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteThat also was the day I met Anthony Hopkins, the then honorary mayor of PP. Such a nice man with an appropriately aged, non-botoxed lovely significant other. And those eyes...gorgeous.
aww! I always liked him growing up :o)
ReplyDeleteI had some dealings with him in the mid-90s when the good work started to dry-up for him. I remember him expressing complete befuddlement. All I could say is that perhaps someone, somewhere thought he was somewhat overexposed. I encouraged him to get back into theatre, which he did and did well at. I must've made a positive impression on him because I was on the guest list at his wedding a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteOne of the nicest guys you'll meet in the business. Maybe if Hollywood had a few more Guttenbergs around, it wouldn't be such a damn toilet.
Awww I love Steve Guttenberg! Always nice to hear when celebs are actually nice and appreciate the recognition from fans! May have to give Three Men & a Baby another watch soon lol.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool. I loved him when I was younger ❤
ReplyDeleteSteve Guttenberg played himself in one of my favorite episodes of Party Down and he was delightful. If you have not watched Party Down you should binge watch it now!
ReplyDeleteEmmanuel Goldstein thanks for the good word on the Gutt. I had a crush on him back in the day...he always seemed so sweet and he was sexy in an understated way. Loved him in all those films mentioned here. Glad to know he is not a creep.
ReplyDeleteEduardo -- I was just going to make the same comment! Two days ago I actually read the script for that episode. So funny. Here's a clip -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxCQ95w8A1U
ReplyDeleteI loved him in an obscure movie called The Boyfriend School, I always thought he seemed like a nice guy, good for him.
ReplyDelete