What the Hell Happened to Steve Guttenberg?

In the 80’s Steve Guttenberg was a top-grossing movie star.  His movies from the decade grossed over $500 million dollars.  That’s over half a billion dollars not adjusted for inflation.  Guttenberg could do it all; comedy, drama, talking robot movies.  But something happened as the eighties came to an end.  When the nineties rolled in, a lot of actors who were best-known for their work in the 80’s suddenly found themselves struggling.  Just a few years after the biggest hit of his career, Guttenberg became irrelevant.  Or worse, a punchline.

What the hell happened?

When Guttenberg was just getting started, he began sneaking on to the Paramount lot.  In his autobiography, The Guttenberg Bible, Guttenberg says that when he was stopped by a security guard, he claimed to be the step-son of then-chairman, Michael Eisner.  Once he learned how to get on the lot, Guttenberg found an abandoned building and set up an office for himself.  He even requisitioned furniture from the prop shop by filling out a false requisition slip for the TV show Happy Days.

“It seemed to me that sneaking onto a lot and finding an office, it wasn’t premeditated. I never thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go get an office at Paramount.’ I just was walking around and walking around, and I found this old building, the Lucille Ball makeup building, that nobody was using. And I just thought, “How great.” I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to do that. Why not? It was empty for 30 to 40 years. Why not use it?”

Guttenberg’s first job was a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken featuring Colonel Sanders himself.  Guttenberg said he learned the secret to being cast in commercials was to smile.  Armed with that knowledge, he landed a lot of commercials including this one for the Welcome Back Kotter board game:

Guttenberg’s John Travolta impression got him cast as a look-a-like.  When he told his parents he got a job on a commercial for the Welcome Back Kotter board game, they thought he was cast on the actual TV show.

Steve Guttenberg - Rollercoaster - 1977
Steve Guttenberg – Rollercoaster – 1977

Guttenberg got his first film role in the disaster movie, Rollercoaster.  In an uncredited role, Guttenberg played a messenger who delivers plans for a rollercoaster to George Segal and Richard Widmark.  He only had one line to deliver, but Guttenberg’s nerves and inexperience got the better of him.  He was very nearly fired from his first movie, but Widmark intervened.  Just as James Goldstein was preparing to have Guttenberg removed from the set, Widmark protested:  “The kid will be banged up for life.  Lose his confidence.  Can’t fire him, Jimmy, not here, not in front of me.”

Goldstein said the crew needed to break for lunch or else they would face union penalties, so Widmark got the shop foreman to agree to waive the fee to give Guttenberg another chance.  About fifteen minutes later, Guttenberg finally delivered his line correctly.

Steve Guttenberg - The Chicken Chronicles - 1977
Steve Guttenberg – The Chicken Chronicles – 1977

Guttenberg’s first starring role was in a teen sex comedy called The Chicken Chronicles.  Guttenberg played a high school student trying to impress a cheerleader played by Lisa Reeves.  The story is set in 1969, so he is also worried about being sent to Vietnam should he flunk out of school.  The title comes from the fact that his character works in a fast food chicken joint.

Scenes from the movie were shot in the childhood home of Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.  According to Weiner, the film company “ripped his parents off”.  He says the production destroyed his families furniture and lied to them.

Early on in Guttenberg’s career, he was landing commercials left and right.  Thanks to the 21st century magic of YouTube, several of these have been preserved for our enjoyment.  Here is a commercial for Stanley Tools from 1977:

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Steve Guttenberg – The Boys From Brazil – 1978

In 1978, Guttenberg appeared in the 1978 Nazi-themed thriller, The Boys from Brazil in which he starred opposite Gregory Peck and Lawrence Olivier.  Quite an auspicious beginning, don’t you think?

After a fairly successful debut, Guttenberg considered leaving Hollywood to study dentistry.

“When I was doing Boys From Brazil, I got done with it and I was going back to school, and I got a call from CBS to come do a television series in L.A., and I guess there was a little moment where I said, ‘Gee, I’m gonna go back there and try again, take some more. Go back there and carpetbag it again. Go out there and see what I can do and then come back.’  I don’t think I ever thought I was going to keep doing it. I always thought at one point, I just wouldn’t want to be in that atmosphere my whole life. I tried to quit after the first year. “

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Steve Guttenberg – Can’t Stop the Music – 1980

In 1980, Guttenberg starred opposite the Village People and Bruce Jenner in the infamous Can’t Stop the MusicCan’t Stop the Music was a musical retelling of the rise of the Village People, the disco-era music group known for including a cowboy, a biker guy and an Indian who sang about the joys of staying at the YMCA.

The Gute described the over-the-top atmosphere on the set:

“Money was no object, and it was this incredibly vulgar, exciting set to be on. Somebody wanted caviar from Japan, boom, it was flown in. Those people don’t feel good that day, boom, we’re not gonna film that day. There were allowances. I think when we made that movie, the budget was $23 million, which was one of the highest budgets ever in 1977 or ’79, and it was just fantastic to me to be in the company of the Village People—who I thought were all straight. But so did the country, right? So did everybody who bought their albums.”

Believe it or not, everyone did think the Village People were straight.  Well, straight people did.

You would think a Village People musical could ride the wave of disco mania to box office success, right?  It probably would have if it had been released a few years earlier.  But by 1980, not only was disco no longer popular, there was a huge “disco is dead” backlash.

As a result, the 23-million-dollar musical earned a paltry 2-million dollars at the box office.  The reviews were unanimously terrible.

Most telling of all, Can’t Stop the Music was the recipient of the first-ever Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture.  John J.B. Wilson was inspired to create the awards for bad movies after sitting through a double feature of Can’t Stop the Music and Xanadu.  Yep, that’ll do it.

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Steve Guttenberg – Diner – 1982

The next year, Guttenberg appeared in the TV hockey movie, Miracle on Ice.  He returned to the big screen in style in 1982 as part of Barry Levinson’s ensemble comedy-drama, Diner.

Diner was a dream job for a young actor in the 80’s.  Although it was only a modest success at the box office, critics lavished it with praise.  It helped that Levinson’s script was nominated for an Oscar.  And the cast was a who’s who of up-and-coming actors including Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin and Paul Reiser.  The Gute got top billing.

Although Diner was a small movie, it has had a lasting impact.  In 1983, it was adapted by Levinson into a short-lived TV show.  Reiser was the only returning cast member.  The cast of the TV show included Michael Madsen and James Spader.  Unfortunately, the show never got past the pilot stage.

Currently, Levinson is adapting Diner for Broadway with pop singer Sheryl Crow.

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Steve Guttenberg – The Man Who Wasn’t There – 1983

Diner gave Guttenberg’s career a bump.  But as part of an ensemble, Guttenberg had to share the spotlight with a talented cast.  In 1983, Guttenberg followed up Diner with a starring role in the invisible man comedy, The Man Who Wasn’t There.

The poster for The Man Who Wasn’t There included the tagline, “Being invisible will get you into spy rings, diplomatic circles and the girls’ locker room.”  I think this tells you everything you need to know about the movie. There are two upsides to starring in The Man Who Wasn’t There.  One, Guttenberg had the lead role.  Two, he was invisible for much of the film.

The Day After – 1983

Later that year, Guttenberg returned to TV for the ABC movie The Day After.  I usually don’t spend a lot of time talking about TV movies.  But The Day After scared the living crap out of me and every one I knew in 1983.

It seems quaint now.  But in the 80’s Cold War America was scared silly of nuclear war and the Russians.  When ABC aired The Day After it was seen as a realistic depiction of the aftermath of nuclear war which could happen without notice at any minute.

Check out what the Cold War did to the Gute:

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Steve Guttenberg – The Day After – 1983

I remember having classroom discussions about it in school.  We were encouraged to watch the broadcast.  And the next day every single kid in school was scared shitless.  Worst recess ever.

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Steve Guttenberg – Police Academy – 1984

In 1984, Guttenberg starred in Police AcademyPolicy Academy was one of the many slob comedies released in the 80’s in the aftermath of National Lampoon’s Animal House.

The movie assembled a cast of oddballs with Guttenberg as the straight man at the center.  It was Stripes-lite as Guttenberg’s blander Bill Murray enrolls in Police Academy instead of the army.

Roger Ebert had this to say about Police Adacemy, “It’s really something. It’s so bad, maybe you should pool your money and draw straws and send one of the guys off to rent it so that in the future, whenever you think you’re sitting through a bad comedy, he could shake his head, and chuckle tolerantly, and explain that you don’t know what bad is”.

I think Ebert is beating up on Police Academy unfairly.  Yeah, it’s dumb.  It’s supposed to be dumb.  And no, it’s not especially funny.  But as the sequels would go on to show, you can do a whole lot worse than the first Police Academy movie.

Against all odds, Police Academy was a hit that would go on to spawn a franchise that still has life in it today.  To date, there have been 7 Police Academy movies, a live action TV show and a kid’s cartoon!

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Steve Guttenberg – Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment – 1985

Of course Warner Brothers wanted a sequel to Police Academy as soon as possible.  The films were quick and easy to make.  So the very next year, Guttenberg and most of the cast returned for Police Academy 2.

Critics didn’t like the sequel any better than the original.  But audiences still flocked to theaters for cheap laughs.

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Steve Guttenberg – Cocoon – 1985

That summer, Guttenberg also appeared in Ron Howard’s sci-fi movie, CocoonCocoon tells the story of a group of senior citizens who reclaim their youthful energy after swimming in a pool filled with alien cocoons.

The cast was stocked with respected actors like Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley and Jessica Tandy.  But the closest thing it had to a box office draw was Guttenberg as a ship captain who unwittingly aids the aliens in an attempt to save some of their own.

Cocoon was an extremely unlikely hit.  How much credit for that belongs to Guttenberg is debatable.  I doubt many people bought a ticket to Cocoon to see Guttenberg.  But his amiable presence helped make a science fiction film starring senior citizens palatable to the masses.

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Steve Guttenberg – Bad Medicine

Guttenberg finished out 1985 on a low note with the Bad Medicine.

The Gute played a lovable loser who couldn’t get into med school.  So he goes to Latin America to learn medicine.  Alan Arkin plays an instructor, Julie Hagerty (Airplane!) was the love interest and Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds/Risky Business) played the comic sidekick.

Bad Medicine attempted to do for medical students what Police Academy did for police recruits.  However, without the wacky supporting cast of the Police Academy movies, Bad Medicine failed.

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Steve Guttenberg – Police Academy 3: Back in Training – 1986

In 1986, Guttenberg completed the Police Academy trilogy with Police Academy 3: Back in Training which finally answered all of the burning questions from the first two Police Academy movies.

Critics still hated it.  Audiences continued to ignore the critics.

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Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy – Short Circuit – 1986

Later that year, Guttenberg also appeared opposite Brat Pack refugee Ally Sheedy in John Badham’s talking robot comedy, Short Circuit.

Guttenberg and Fisher Stevens played scientists who invent a series of prototype robots.  One of the robots, Number 5, is struck by lightning and somehow becomes sentient.  He escapes the military facility where he is being held and meets an animal caretaker played by Sheedy.  She mistakes the robot for an extra-terrestrial life form (which is understandable because Short Circuit is an E.T. rip-off) and she introduces him to the pop culture of the mid 80’s.  When the military reclaims Number 5, he fears deactivation.  Slapstick robot escapes follow.

Reviews were mixed.  Some critics gave Short Circuit credit for being better than other movies in the same vein.  But Siskel and Ebert both gave Short Circuit thumbs down.  Ebert wrote the movie off as a “kid’s movie”.  He allowed that “quite possibly the kids will like it. But they’ll have to be fairly young kids.”

Short Circuit opened in first place at the box office and grossed over $40 million dollars.  That may not sound like a lot today, but it was enough to be the 21st highest grossing movie of 1986.  With a budget under $10 million, Short Circuit was a hit.

Two years later, Stevens returned for a sequel.  Sheedy had only a small voice cameo via a cassette recording.  Guttenberg said he was asked to reprise his role without seeing the script.  He declined but has said he regrets turning Short Circuit 2 down.   Plans for a third movie were canceled after the sequel disappointed at the box office.

de mornay - pecos bill
Steve Guttenberg and Rebecca De Mornay – Tall Tales and Legends – 1986

Also in 1986, Guttenberg appeared as Pecos Bill on Shelly Duvall’s cable TV series Tall Tales and Legends.   Rebecca De Mornay co-starred as Slew Foot Sue.  And that’sMartin Mull as the singing cowboy in a purple hat.

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Steve Guttenberg – The Bedroom Window – 1987

In 1987, Guttenberg was all over the place.  He started the year with the sexy thriller, Bedroom WindowBedroom Window was basically a rip-off of Hitchcock’s classic, Rear Window.  It was written and directed by Curtis Hanson who would go on to greater things like LA Confidential.

Bedroom Window got mostly positive reviews.  Unfortunately, it didn’t do much at the box office.  But it developed a cult following on video over the years.

guttenberg - police academy 4
Steve Guttenberg and Sharon Stone – Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol – 1987

Since Guttenberg’s Police Academy checks kept clearing, he starred in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol co-starring Sharon Stone.

It’s easy to look back and criticize Guttenberg for appearing in 4 Police Academy movies.  They were obviously crap.  But audiences loved them and they provided Guttenberg with steady work for four straight years.  Decades later, these are the films he is still best known for.

Police Academy 4 was Guttenberg’s last film in the franchise.  With hits like Cocoon and Short Circuit, he no longer needed the safety net they provided.

Rosanna Arquette and Steve Guttenberg - Amazon Women on the Moon - 1987
Rosanna Arquette and Steve Guttenberg – Amazon Women on the Moon – 1987

In 1987, Guttenberg was part of the star-studded sketch comedy movie, Amazon Women on the Moon.

The movie consists of twenty-one skits directed by five different directors;  Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis and Robert K. Weiss.

Guttenberg appeared in the sketch “Two I.D.s” which was directed by Horton.  He is on a blind date with Rosanna Arquette who subjects him to a few unusual tests.  You can’t be too careful when “the Gute” shows up at your doorstep.

Reviews were mixed to negative with critics complaining that the bad sketches outweighed the good ones.  The movie bombed at the box office.  It only played in 50 theaters and opened in 13th place.

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Steve Guttenberg – Surrender – 1987

He also appeared opposite Sally Field and Michael Caine in Surrender.  It didn’t make much of an impact with critics or audiences.

Rounding out 1987, Guttenberg also appeared in Micahel Jackson’s star-studded music video for the song Liberian Girl off the album, Bad.  The video features a cavalcade of celebrities from the late 80’s.  The celebs are gathered for a video shoot, but Jackson appears to be a no show.

There are too many celebrities for me to list them all.  Some of the bigger names include Whoopi Goldberg, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, Steven Spielberg, Billy Dee Williams, Danny Glover, Dan Aykroyd and Rosanna Arquette.

guttenberg - three men and a baby
Steve Guttenberg – Three Men and a Baby – 1987

Guttenberg ended 1987 on a high note with Three Men and a Baby.  Three Men and a Baby was a remake of the French farce, Trois hommes et un couffin.  Guttenberg starred opposite Tom Selleck and Ted Danson as three bachelors whose lives are turned upside down by a baby.

This is the kind of movie Guttenberg was born to do.  For a guy who made his name in comedies, Guttenberg was never especially funny himself.  But he was extremely likable.  He could flash his big, goofy grin as the baby wet her diapers or threw up on Tom Selleck.  Or he could make sad eyes when it looked like the baby might be taken away from them.

The reviews were mostly positive for Three Men and a Baby.  But more importantly, it was a monster hit.  It did so well, that it established Leonard Nimoy as a legitimate film director outside of the Star Trek franchise.

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Steve Guttenberg – Cocoon: The Return – 1988

Seeing as how Guttenberg made 4 Police Academy movies, you can hardly blame him for appearing in the 1988 Cocoon sequel, Cocoon 2: The Return.  Just about the entire cast of the original film returned for the sequel.  Unfortunately, director Ron Howard did not.

Cocoon 2 received negative reviews and disappointed at the box office.

guttenberg - high spirits
Steve Guttenberg and Daryl Hannah – High Spirits – 1988

Guttenberg ended 1988 with the supernatural comedy, High Spirits opposite Peter O’Toole and Darryl Hannah.  High Spirits was written and directed by Neil Jordan.  It also co-starred a pre-fame Liam Neeson.  But the ghostly romantic comedy was a miss with critics and audiences.

Short Circuit 2 also came out in 1988.  And somehow, Guttenberg wasn’t in it.

Steve Guttenberg - Don't Tell Her It's Me - 1990
Steve Guttenberg – Don’t Tell Her It’s Me – 1990

Guttenberg entered the 90’s with a mullet in the romantic comedy, Don’t Tell Her It’s Me opposite Shelley Long and Jami Gertz.  I am going to let the picture speak for itself on this one.

guttenberg - three men and a little lady
Steve Guttenberg – Three Men and a Little Lady – 1990

Since Three Men and a Baby was such a run-away hit, it’s no surprise they attempted a sequel with 1990’s Three Men and a Little Lady.  And since Guttenberg can’t say “no” to a sequel until the fifth film in the franchise, it’s no surprise that Guttenberg returned for it.

As it turns out, a sequel to Three Men and a Baby completely misses the point.  That movie was all about seeing men in over their heads trying to take care of a baby.  It hinged on diaper humor.  Since the baby has now grown into a “little lady” the sequel lacked the main selling point of the original.  In other words, no one peed on Tom Selleck this time.

Amazingly, there is talk of a third film in the franchise!

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Steve Guttenberg – The Guttenberg Bible

After 1990, “The Gute” just disappeared.  After working steadily throughout the 1980’s, Guttenberg wouldn’t make another movie for 5 years!

“I decided I’d like to work when I want to work. Wanting to work is a luxury; having to work is not. If you’re an artist, an actor, and you don’t have to work, then you do work that you wanna do. So I did theater that I really wanted to do, and I did some small independent movies that I really wanted to do, and I wrote and I painted and I got to see my parents all the time.”

There aren’t a lot of reasons given for Guttenberg’s disappearance.  Although Guttenberg himself admits that he let fame go to his head.  In his autobiography, The Guttenberg Bible, Guttenberg admits to bedding hundreds of women and generally not being a very nice person.

I think most people are less surprised by Guttenberg’s disappearance than the idea that Guttenberg was ever a star to begin with.  The thing Guttenberg had going for him was that he was non-threatening.  He was just a goofy, somewhat handsome guy.  Men didn’t want to be him and although women apparently wanted to be with him, they’d have rather been with Tom Selleck.

guttenberg - the big green
Steve Gutten berg – The Big Green – 1995

In 1995, Guttenberg came roaring back out of nowhere.  First, he appeared in the soccer comedy, The Big Green.

guttenberg - home for the holidays
Steve Guttenberg – Home for the Holidays – 1995

Guttenberg also appeared in the 1995 holiday comedy/drama, Home For the Holidays.

The movie was directed by Jodie Foster who did not appear in the movie.  Holly Hunter starred as a recently unemployed woman who returns home for Thanksgiving.  Her eccentric family was played by Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Cynthia Stevenson and Claire Danes.

guttenberg - it takes two
Steve Guttenberg – It Takes Two – 1995

Finally, Guttenberg starred opposite Kirstie Alley and the Olsen twins in It Takes Two.

You may be surprised to learn that It Takes Two was not a direct-to-video release like so many other movies starring the Olsen twins.  It Takes Two was actually shown in theaters

Three movies in one year and none of them sparked a comeback for “The Gute”.

guttenberg - zeus and roxanne
Steve Guttenberg – Zeus and Roxanne- 1997

In 1997, Guttenberg starred in the dolphin/dog family film, Zeus and Roxanne.  Guttenberg and Kathleen Quinlan play single parents and neighbors who just might make a mismatched couple.

Reviews were mixed and the movie was ignored at the box office.

guttenberg - casper
Steve Guttenberg – Casper: A Spirited Beginning – 1997

Guttenberg’s descent into straight-to-video hell would have to wait until 1997’s Casper sequel, Casper: A Spirited Beginning.

Casper 2 answers the question, “Who do you call when Bill Pullman won’t come back for a sequel?”  The answer: Steve Guttenberg.  Since they stopped making sequels to movies he appeared in, he apparently started making prequels to other people’s movies.

Not surprisingly, Casper 2 also has a Full House connection in the form of co-star Lori Loughlin.  Somewhat more surprising are appearances by Rodney Dangerfield and Michael McKean.

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Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst – Tower of Terror – 1997

That same year, Guttenberg also starred opposite a young Kirsten Dusnt in the TV movie Tower of Terror based on the Disney theme park attraction.

The ride it is based on is themed to the Twilight Zone TV show.  The TV movie is basically just a commercial for the ride.  The ride is incredibly awesome.  The TV movie, not so much.  But the Gute sure does look happy to be collecting a paycheck, doesn’t he?

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Steve Guttenberg – P.S. Your Cat Is Dead! – 2002

In 2002, Guttenberg directed and starred in PS Your Cat Is Dead which was based on a novel and play of the same name.

Here is something I have learned writing these articles.  Once you have achieved a certain level of fame, you will always be able to find work if you want it.  It may be writing, directing and starring in PS Your Cat is Dead, but you will find work somewhere.  Even a good decade plus after Guttenberg passed his prime, someone was willing to fund a movie he wrote, directed and starred in!

guttenberg - the poseidon adventure
Steve Guttenberg – The Poseidon Adventure – 2005

In 2005, Guttenberg appeared in a TV-remake of The Poseidon Adventure.  Not to be confused with Wolfgang Petersen’s 2006 remake, Poseidon which starred Kurt Russell and was actually released in theaters.

This version starred Rutger Hauer, Adam Baldwin (no relation to Alec), Bryan Brown and C. Thomas Howell.

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Steve Guttenberg – Veronica Mars – 2005-2006

From 2005-2006, Guttenberg appeared on the cult TV show, Veronica Mars.  Guttenberg played a character named Woody Goodman which is definitely a name a character played by Guttenberg should have.  Guttenberg appeared in eight episodes.

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Steve Guttenberg – Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous – 2008

In 2008, Guttenberg finally bottomed out appearing in the Private Benjamin rip-off, Major Movie Star.  One can only hope the title was intended to be ironic.

It is also known as Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous.

With most of the subjects I have written about, it’s easy to forget just how big of a star they used to be.  But with Guttenberg, it has gotten to the point where people forget he was ever a star at all.  Even though Guttenberg appeared in a lot of big hits in the 80’s, he was never the most memorable thing about them.

He was the audience surrogate.  Audiences might not be able to relate to the zany characters in Police Academy, but they can hang with the Gute.  They may not be willing to buy robots who come to life or aliens who give the elderly eternal life.  But somehow, it’s easier to swallow when the Gute is there smiling and assuring the audience it’s okay to buy in to the premise.

Guttenberg wasn’t a big star in the sense that he sold a lot of movie tickets.  He was just a likable guy who happened to be in a lot of popular movies.  Like he wandered in off the studio tour and somehow ended up in the shot.  But then he took a break from the biz.  And when he came back, audiences had moved on.  He was no longer our 20-something buddy.  He was an old guy with a 90’s mullet.  He wasn’t cool any more except in the ironic sense.

Fortunately for Guttenberg, he knows how to take a joke.  And he continues to make the most out of his ironic brand of cool to this day.

Of course it should be noted that The Simpsons floated another theory on the rise and fall of Steve Guttenberg…

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seandaniel1966
11 years ago

Wow. Just wow. I have literally never heard of a single film you mentioned after 1990.
You used the two most important terms to describe Steve…likable and non-threatening. I can’t think of another attribute.
On a side note: Remember what created Johnny Five in ‘Short Circuit’? And how far movies have come in the last 20 years? The don’t have dumb premises like that anymore, right? Take a wild guess what caused EDI to become sentient in the 170 million dollar bomb, ‘Stealth’. Go ahead, take a guess.

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

I just did an article about Stealth, mainly because I paid 20 bucks for the DVD. I’m such a sucker.
I liked Fisher in his day, a lot more than Steve. He had a show set in Miami, and that blonde chick from ST: NG left the series to be in Fisher’s show…but I can’t remember anything other than that. Also, I didn’t know about him and Pfeiffer. Used to have such a crush on her.
Stealth crap movie below.
http://sdanielshortwintercom.blogspot.com/2012/08/film-cemetery-case-study-16-where-we.html#more

tbob1
11 years ago

Yeah, Gute was a mostly forgetable actor who made his money but never really qualified as a movie star per se. I did enjoy P.A. #1 though I have to admit. Just good, silly fun as I remember. Don’t have much to say other than that about Gute. Main reason I posted was to share this article I read today. Since we spend some time here talking about ‘A’ listers, I thought this was an interesting perspective on the stars of today. Don’t know if we can definitively say this article is correct yet, but I do have to agree… Read more »

tbob1
11 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

And the biggest problem with what you are describing is whomever is in charge of casting these days are only interested in the next pretty face and hot body. Forget acting skills and mastery of a craft. Result being you get Meagan Fox because she has fine tata’s and Shia Lebouf (sp?) because he is the next big thing and slap them in a lame series based on an average cartoon from the 80’s. Ugggg. Truth is I can name a handful of actors/actresses I do enjoy and think have chops but for everyone of them there are 10 wholly… Read more »

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

Well? How about an article about Fisher? Your post about Steve was very well done. The problem is he’s just not…interesting. The Gute is – was – about as vanilla as you could get.

spirlx
spirlx
8 years ago
Reply to  seandaniel1966

I think the word you’re looking for is “simpatico”. You can’t call Jack Bonner perving through a spyhole in Cocoon, “vanilla”. But even at that moment, you can smile at, or even with, him.

daffystardust
Editor
11 years ago

I am a big fan of “Diner,” so I’ve made every effort to ignore the rest of Guttenberg’s output ever since it became clear what it was going to be like. When did that happen for me? Hmmm… 1986? That’s probably not entirely fair, but it is the truth about what my relationship with his work has been.

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

I do the same thing, and it’s embarrassing when an older article starts to get attention, isn’t it? Volvo is thinking of advertising on my site, and what was the very first article they looked at? My very first CTWNM post about a Saab! Gads!
I personally like both the female and male posts that you do. Kilmer has always fascinated me, because he’s such a talented douche. On the other hand, I had serious crushes on Ryder and Shue. I honestly didn’t know you only stuck to A-list stars. Was Mia Sara A-list?

Joe Kindoll
Joe Kindoll
11 years ago

The real question to me is: what did he do to piss the Stonecutters off? I mean, something had to get them to stop making him a star.

daffystardust
Editor
Edward Hotspur
11 years ago

What about Johnny Depp? That guy was on TV and a couple of movies, and then just disappeared.
Seriously, you could take any of the ensemble movies of the 80s, like Rumble Fish, Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Lost Boys, etc., and find tons of stars to do. C. Thomas Howell, Anthony Michael Hall…. Patrick Swayze… um…. Corey Haim…. Dana Plato…

Mastro
Mastro
10 years ago
Reply to  Edward Hotspur

I think there are quite a few “missing” actors before we get to C. Thomas Howell (who I actually saw play a major villain on Criminal Minds)
Dana Plato? Well- I think most of us know that really sad story….

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

I agree about Kilmer…what a waste. As for site hits, I get a lot of ‘Amanda Bynes fat face’ and ‘Kiera Knightly’s tits’. This is in response to a post I did stating I didn’t to see these actresses boobs because I watched them grow up on screen. Weird, eh? My most popular posts are Batman’s machines. By far. But Film Cemetery is doing very well, too. I make it a point to never poach ideas…or compete with friends like you or Jalopnik. As for advertising, I thought, why not? I work hard, and try to improve every time I… Read more »

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

I like what I see…but I don’t know what Fetch means. And you mentioned Eric Bana in the post about Daniel Craig. Please do something on him! I just watch a doc on his racing career…talk about a guy that God gave every single gift…and he’s modest and very nice.
By the way, just finished a post in which ‘The Gute’ is a form of currency

cinemarchaeologist
11 years ago

Honestly, Guttenberg seems a bit out of place in this series. He was never really a big star. The POLICE ACADEMY franchise raked in a lot of dough, and he was there for it, but that’s pretty much it. Guttenberg just missed the end of the disco trend with CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC, and almost missed the heyday of the slob comedy, too, but the first POLICE ACADEMY hit right before it ended, and became its last big hurrah. Ebert can sneer at that one all he likes–it was a damn funny movie, and of a breed of comedy that,… Read more »

Mastro
Mastro
10 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

A good Guttenberg comparison might be Paul Rudd- not identical- but both likable guys who have been in funny movies- they also can play the romantic lead a bit. No one goes to the theater to see a Paul Rudd movie. Hopefully Paul Rudd won’t have his career fall off a cliff like Gutes- I think he has more dramatic range.

Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  lebeau

I read a comment elsewhere from somebody who said that the main problem with Steve Guttenberg is that he had a certain facile, shallow, insecure quality as an actor.

Another observation in that same conversation stated that while Steve was a good looking guy, he was more “cute”. What I mean is that he didn’t really have what you could call a leading man type of face or personality. I guess that’s what the remark about women being more drawn to Tom Selleck while watching Three Men & a Baby then they would with Steve Guttenberg.

Last edited 3 years ago by Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Terrence Clay (@TMC1982)
Reply to  Mastro

I do wonder how Steve Guttenberg would’ve fared as Scott Lang had an Ant-Man movie been made during his prime. I mean, Guttenberg did have that sort of rouge-ish charm, which I think the Scott Lang character has.

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

Yeah, bad way to start the week. Tony Scott really was my very favorite director. I feel awful for ripping on his films, but it was all in fun. I still feel really, really bad today, though.

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

I agree about the style over substance. But I have always said that films should entertain us. That’s why we go to the theater…for a couple of hours of escapism. I just did a post on Con Air. There is really nothing redeeming about this movie, except that it’s mindless fun. Sometimes, mindless fun is not such a bad thing. Tony Scott was the king of empty-headed escapism…kinda like Michael Bay, but with a plot.

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

You put that better than I could. To take my mind off of things, I’m working on a post about the Tatra 603 in Lemony Snicket. I don’t mind talking to you about Tony, but I’m not going to post anything else about him. It doesn’t seem right. We’re about the same age, right? Do you remember being shocked by the little girl’s potty mouth in ‘Last Boy Scout’? And afterward, Tony’s films took on a much more reverent tone, it seemed, like he was sorry he’d done that. It also seemed that he was asking deeper and deeper life… Read more »

Rolland
Rolland
11 years ago

Now I’m left wondering which actor/actress in today’s crop of A-listers will be getting a whatever happened to article in 10 years.

Paul S
11 years ago
Reply to  Rolland

Kristen Stewart?

Paul S
11 years ago
Reply to  Rolland

Definitely!

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

What? Why? Seems like a funny guy. I liked 21 jump street

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

Ms. Stewart will be with us for decades to come, I hope. Her performances heartfelt, sincere, and….sorry…laughing too hard

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

You should check out Jump Street then, because I was sincerely surprised. The guy can poke fun at himself, and not many meatheads can do that

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

21 Jump Street dialogue sample:
Tatum: (to biker meth dealer) “Come on! I”ll beat your dick off!”
Biker: “Umm…what?”
Hill: “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.”
Tatum: “Come on! I’ll beat your dick off with both hands!”

seandaniel1966
11 years ago

Sorry about that. Tell the kids to cover their eyes

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