Steve Guttenberg

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for playing Carey Mahoney in the Police Academy films from 1984 to 1987. He also acted in Three Men and a Baby (1987) and its 1990 sequel as well as the films Diner (1982), Cocoon (1985), Short Circuit (1986), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Big Green (1995) and A Novel Romance (2011).

On television, he started his career in the CBS sitcom Billy (1979). He has had recurring guest roles as Woody Goodman in the teen mystery series Veronica Mars (2005–2006), Wayne Hastings, Jr. in the HBO dramedy series Ballers (2017), and Dr. Katman in the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs (2017–2023). He was a contestant during season 6 of the dance competition series Dancing with the Stars (2008).

Early life and education

Guttenberg was born on August 24, 1958<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name=westsiderag>Guttenberg, Steve, in Template:Cite web</ref> He is the only son (he has two sisters) of Ann Iris (née Newman), a surgical assistant, and Jerome Stanley Guttenberg, an electrical engineer. Stanley served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and was an Army Ranger.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His godfather is actor Michael Bell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Steve had a Jewish upbringing<ref name="journal">Template:Cite news</ref> in the Flushing neighborhood of the borough of Queens.<ref name=westsiderag /> In 1976, he graduated from Plainedge High School after his family moved from Queens to North Massapequa.<ref name="Fischler">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet "@PLainedge1976".</ref><ref name="Carlson">Template:Cite news Note: Source says Guttenberg transferred to New York City's High School of Performing Arts for his final two years of high school.</ref> While still in high school, Guttenberg attended a summer program at the Juilliard School and studied under John Houseman. During that time, he auditioned for and won a part in an off-Broadway production of The Lion in Winter.<ref name="Fischler"/><ref name="Carlson"/>

After high school, Guttenberg attended the University at Albany, SUNY for a year. When he left SUNY, Guttenberg moved to California to pursue an acting career.<ref name="Fischler" /><ref name="Carlson" /> His parents gave him $300 and said he had two weeks to find a job.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite AV media</ref> Within two weeks, he was cast in a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial playing opposite Colonel Sanders.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Career

1977–1984: Early roles to breakthrough

After playing an uncredited bit part in the suspense film Rollercoaster,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Guttenberg had his first screen credit in the TV movie Something for Joey (1977). Next he played the starring role in the 1977 high school comedy The Chicken Chronicles, set in Beverly Hills in 1969. He appeared in the 1978 film The Boys from Brazil, based on the Ira Levin bestseller, and guest-starred on Family.Template:Citation needed

Guttenberg starred in the short-lived TV series Billy (1979), based on Billy Liar. He had a supporting role in a tennis romance film Players (1979). In 1980, a Coca-Cola commercial featured him trying to help a non-English-speaking woman fix a flat bicycle tire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He starred in the TV movie To Race the Wind (1980) playing blind lawyer Harold Krents. In the same year, he starred in the Nancy Walker-directed Can't Stop the Music, a semi-autobiographical movie about the disco group Village People.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Guttenberg played Jim Craig in the TV movie Miracle on Ice (1981). He appeared in Barry Levinson's Diner (1982) and starred in another short-lived TV series No Soap, Radio (1982). Guttenberg starred in the action-comedy The Man Who Wasn't There (1983) and had a supporting part in the post-apocalyptic television movie The Day After (1983). He starred in The Ferret (1984) a pilot for a TV series which was not picked up.Template:Citation needed

In 1984, Guttenberg played the lead role in Police Academy. It grossed $8.5 million in its opening weekend and over $149 million worldwide, against a budget of $4.5 million; it is the most successful movie in the film franchise which it launched.<ref name="block">Template:Cite book</ref> He became a busy star over the next four years, appearing in nine starring roles, tying with Gene Hackman for busiest actor.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1985–1999: Subsequent success

In 1985, Police Academy was quickly followed by a sequel, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment. Guttenberg then had the romantic male lead in Cocoon, another box-office success. A comedy in which he starred, Bad Medicine, was not particularly successful.

In 1986, Guttenberg played Pecos Bill in an episode of Tall Tales & Legends, then was in Police Academy 3: Back in Training. Also in 1986, he starred in Short Circuit opposite Ally Sheedy, another very popular film. In 1987, Guttenberg changed pace acting in the thriller The Bedroom Window , directed by Curtis Hanson. Guttenberg then made Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, his last Police Academy Film. He had a cameo in Amazon Women on the Moon and supported Michael Caine and Sally Field in Surrender. Guttenberg had the biggest financial success of his career to date with Three Men and a Baby with Tom Selleck and Ted Danson. In 1988, Guttenberg starred with Peter O'Toole and Daryl Hannah in High Spirits, which flopped. In 1989, Guttenberg appeared in the Michael Jackson music video "Liberian Girl".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Guttenberg also acted in Cocoon: The Return which was a commercial disappointment.

In 1990, he replaced Timothy Hutton in the lead role of Prelude to a Kiss at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway.<ref name="Zeitchik">Template:Cite news</ref> He also performed in London's West End, where he starred in The Boys Next Door. He appeared in the world stage premiere production of Furthest From the Sun, which Woody Harrelson directed and co-authored. In films, Guttenberg acted in Don't Tell Her It's Me and Three Men and a Little Lady. He directed "Love Off Limits" for CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1993. In 1995, he acted in The Big Green. He was among the ensemble in Home for the Holidays, and starred in It Takes Two with Kirstie Alley and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

In 1997, Guttenberg starred in Zeus and Roxanne, Casper: A Spirited Beginning and alongside Kirsten Dunst in Disney's Tower of Terror, based on the attraction at Disney World.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998, he acted in action films, Airborne, and Overdrive, as well as the comedy Home Team.

2000–2009

His first film as director/producer/co-screenwriter/star was P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (2002), a film adaptation of a novel and Broadway play by James Kirkwood, Jr.<ref name="Fischler" /> Guttenberg starred in Mojave Phone Booth (2006) as Barry, and Making Change as Trafton. In Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus and then its sequel Meet the Santas, he played the starring role of Nick. He had a recurring role in the 2005–2006 season of the television series Veronica Mars as Woody Goodman, a wealthy businessman and community leader. He appeared as a lead in the NBC made-for-TV remake of The Poseidon Adventure (2005), playing Richard Clarke, a failing writer having an affair with a massage therapist. He guest-starred in a 2007 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He appeared in an According to Jim episode, "Two for the Money", in 2008. In the same year, Guttenberg released a video titled "Steve Guttenberg's Steak House"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on Will Ferrell's Funny or Die website. Guttenberg joined the 2008 spring season dancing on Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya, and was eliminated on April 1.<ref name="finn">Template:Cite web</ref>

A video which appeared to show Guttenberg jogging nearly naked through Central Park in New York City was released online in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During an interview on the British talk show The Paul O'Grady Show, Guttenberg said that he made the video for Will Ferrell's Funny or Die website, but then decided to release it virally "as if it were real"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as part of a challenge for the show. Guttenberg became the Guinness World Record Holder for preparing the most hot-dogs in one minute.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Guttenberg starred in the Cinderella pantomime at Churchill Theatre in Bromley (Greater London), playing the Baron (father of Cinderella) in 2008.<ref name="Times">Template:Cite news</ref> Celebrating his involvement, the local Empire Cinema screened Police Academy on November 19. He introduced the film and answered questions.<ref name="qa">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2010–present

Guttenberg played himself in a 2010 episode of the Starz comedy Party Down. He appeared on Broadway from late 2011 to early 2012 in Woody Allen's one-act play Honeymoon Hotel, which was part of the show Relatively Speaking.<ref name="Zeitchik" /> Guttenberg was on History Channel's 2015 miniseries Sons of Liberty playing Jack Bonner. In 2015, he was on SyFy Channel's Lavalantula and was featured in an episode of Community, "Intro to Recycled Cinema", which aired on Yahoo Screen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, he appeared on Holey Moley II: The Sequel. He also starred in the Lifetime film How to Murder Your Husband: The Nancy Brophy Story where he portrayed Daniel Brophy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, Guttenberg starred in the Lifetime film Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story where he portrayed John Edward Robinson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production company

Guttenberg's production company, Mr. Kirby Productions, is named after Gerald J. Kirby, his high-school drama teacher.<ref name="Fischler" />

In 1995, Guttenberg was name-checked in The Simpsons episode "Homer the Great" in the song "We Do", whereby a fictional ancient secret society called the Stonecutters (a parody of the Freemasons) claim it was them that made Guttenberg a star. He was reportedly flattered by the reference.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Marriage and relationships

Guttenberg married model Denise Bixler on September 30, 1988.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They separated in June 1991<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and divorced in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Guttenberg lived with WCBS-TV reporter Emily Smith starting in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They were engaged on Christmas Day 2016<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Smith, Emily, in Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and married on January 19, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple divorced in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Los Angeles wildfire rescue efforts

On January 8, 2025, Guttenberg was among the various citizens who have been volunteering their time helping first responders as devastating wildfires raged across the Los Angeles area of Southern California. Guttenberg even went unnoticed by the local media when interviewed. “This is the time for us to remember that we're part of a community" Guttenberg said and that people “have to help each other and be kind to each other. If you see somebody who needs help, help them. Ask them what they need.” In an interview with CNN, Guttenberg said that he hadn't “seen anything like this in my entire life, and I don’t think many people have.” Guttenberg also discussed helping to rescue pets belonging to a neighbor who happened to be out of town as the fires raged.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Philanthropy

Guttenberg is involved with charities whose goal is to improve opportunities for the homeless and for young people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, a trust in his honor was established to provide support services to the homeless population of Los Angeles.<ref name="LAT">Template:Cite web</ref> The Entertainment Industry Foundation, Hollywood's charity arm, selected Guttenberg to be Ambassador for Children's Issues for his work on behalf of children and the homeless.<ref name="look">Template:Cite web</ref> At the 2016 New York Walk to Fight Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases in Brooklyn, Guttenberg announced, via a pre-recorded message, that he had joined the Lymphatic Education & Research Network's (LE&RN) Honorary Board.

Acting credits and accolades

Template:Main The sixth Fire Island Golden Wagon Film Festival held annually, honored Guttenberg with the 2008 Tony Randall Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the entertainment industry, as well as his community service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The award was created in tribute to the first Golden Wagon honoree, Tony Randall; it is given to a member of the entertainment industry who embodies the same love of Fire Island, independent spirit, and community service which Randall shared.

Guttenberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014, he received a key to the city from Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine for his work with Fun Paw Care, raising awareness for animal rights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bibliography

• The Guttenberg Bible – A memoir published in May 2012 by Thomas Dunne Books
• The Kids from D.I.S.C.O. (September 2014)

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:IBDB name
• Template:Iobdb name