Synopses & Reviews
The hilarious, insightful memoir of the highs and lows of Hollywood by the actor who starred in multiple iconic blockbusters: Diner, Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby "Forget being an actor. You dont have the look, you dont have the talent, and your name is ridiculous. You are the last guy I would ever pick to be a movie star." This was the first piece of advice Steve Guttenberg ever received from an agent. Like many other times in his life, he didn't listen. In this honest, charming memoir, Guttenberg tells a Horatio Alger story of how he became the star of some of the '80s most successful blockbusters. He spent his early days sneaking onto the Paramount lot (he pretended to be Michael Eisner's son) and meeting more celebrities and casting agents than most aspiring actors ever would. Even before the hit Police Academy (which his agent said would be a flop), he had already worked with everyone from Sir Laurence Olivier to Mickey Rourke. Perhaps it was his charisma or perhaps it was his dogged persistence, but his life was filled with unexpected run-ins and connections with dozens of Hollywood hitmakers. Guttenberg has lived through the addictive pull of show business and worldwide celebrity (You're no one until you have a stalker, he learns). With a wide-eyed appreciation for the one-of-a-kind experiences that the high altitude celebrity lifestyle has to offer, he knew that his family would keep him grounded and never let him forget where he came from. His self-awareness and sense of humor about the ups and downs of fame make this one of the most sympathetic and unguarded Hollywood stories to date.
Review
"Steve Guttenberg has written a wonderfully funny memoir of his coming-of-age in Hollywood. The Guttenberg Bible is an on-the-money account of what an actor's life is really like."
--MARLO THOMAS, New York Times-bestselling author of Growing Up Laughing
Synopsis
“Forget being an actor. You dont have the look, you dont have the talent, and your name is ridiculous. You are the last guy I would ever pick to be a movie star.”
This was the first piece of advice Steve Guttenberg ever received from an agent. Like many other times in his life, he didnt listen.
In this honest, charming memoir, Guttenberg tells the unique story of his first decade in Hollywood, as he went from being a complete unknown to starring in some of the most successful blockbusters of all time. He spent his early days sneaking onto the Paramount lot and meeting more actors and casting agents than most aspiring actors ever would. Even before the hit Police Academy---which his manager said would be a flop---he had already worked with such luminaries as Lord Laurence Olivier, Richard Widmark, and Gregory Peck. Later he shared the screen with actors such as Mickey Rourke and Sharon Stone long before they became household names.
Guttenberg has lived through the addictive pull of show business and worldwide celebrity (youre no one until you have a stalker, he learns). With a clear-eyed appreciation for the one-of-a-kind experiences that the celebrity lifestyle has to offer, he knew that his family would keep him grounded throughout it all. And his self-awareness and sense of humor about the ups and downs of fame make The Guttenberg Bible one of the most candid Hollywood stories to date.
About the Author
STEVE GUTTENBERG has starred in more than fifty films over the course of his career, including three successful series:
Police Academy, Three Men and a Baby, and
Cocoon. He has also appeared in such acclaimed work as
Diner, The Boys from Brazil, and
The Bedroom Window. On television, his work includes
The Day After, To Race the Wind, and
Miracle on Ice, as well as
Gangs and
Love Off Limits, which he directed. As a feature filmmaker, he adapted and directed
P.S., Your Cat Is Dead. He produced and starred in the indie film
A Novel Romance, which won best feature at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.
His theater credits include his Broadway debut in 1984, Prelude to a Kiss, The Boys Next Door in Londons the West End, and Furthest from the Sun at the Juene Lune Theatre in Minneapolis. He recently appeared on Broadway in Relatively Speaking, a collection of three one-act comedies, starring in Woody Allens “Honeymoon Motel.”