Video: Steve Guttenberg Is Getting Ready to Tell His Story in TALES OF THE GUTTENBERG BIBLE
May 17, 2024
Performances have begun for George Street Playhouse's world premiere of Tales from the Guttenberg Bible written by and starring Steve Guttenberg at the Arthur Laurents Theater at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. In this video, Steve chats with Richard Ridge ahead of the start of performances!
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Hi, I'm Ritchie Rich, and I'm talking to the fabulous Steve Gutenberg
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He's unbelievable. He's got a show called Tales from the Gutenberg Bible
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It's fantastic. It's going to be at the Bay Street Theater out at the end of the island in Sag Harbor in August
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but he'll be at the George Street Playhouse in May for a whole month
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So please come here. He's wonderful. He's terrific. And when I see him, I'm going to be so angry
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He did an imitation of me. This is not how I talk. Anyway, I want to thank you very much
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I just had an eye operation. I just want to tell you that. Thank you. First of all, I am thrilled to be sitting with you, Steve
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Welcome back to New York. Thanks, Chris. Thanks so much. You are about to return to the stage with your brand new comedy
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How excited are you? I am. I'm really thrilled. At the very beginning, I had a ton of anxiety
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But now that we've been rehearsing and it's really coming together, I think it's a very
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funny, sensitive show, starting out when I'm 17 years old, and my parents let me go out
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to Hollywood on my own, which is pretty incredible. I stayed with my parents, family friend, and the story chronicles the adventures I've had
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as an actor for about my first 10 years. Okay, so you were brought up on..
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Borough Park, Brooklyn, Flushing Queens, and then Massapee, Long Island. Okay, so tell me about that conversation you had with your parents of saying, I want to go
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to Hollywood. Well, when I was 13 years old, I took the regents exam. I was a 65, average 65 student
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in algebra. My parents said, if you get 100 on the regents, so I studied my ass off, and I got
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100 of the regents. And they sent me out at 14, and I stayed with his family friend of ours, Michael
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Bell, who was a brilliant voiceover artist. He did butter parquet, butter, parquet. So he had a big
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mansion out there, and I just loved living out there with him two weeks. back and I said, you know, I think I want to be an actor. So I joined this great group called
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the Teen Repertory Theater in Long Island. Marilyn Rosen was the artistic director, and Mrs. Rosen
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took a liking to me and saw that I really wanted to be an actor, and I had some talent
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She nurtured it. Then I started taking classes here in the city, and then when I was 17
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three days after graduating high school, my parents let me go out to California to high. To
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Hollywood for two weeks, see if I become a movie star. And those two weeks became one year
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And I did a bunch of TV movies, some commercials. And my first year, at the end of it, I was really lonely
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I didn't have any friends. And young actors can be very competitive. I didn't make any friends out there
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So I quit and went back to Albany State, and I started to study just liberal arts and
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sciences. And then I got a call from my agent at the time to go do boys from Brazil with
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Lawrence Olivier, Greg Peck, and James Mason. I didn't want to leave school. I didn't want to be
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an actor anymore. It was just too, an extreme life for me. But I went down, had a meeting
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I got enamored again, and then I was off to the races. Okay. You just mentioned three of the biggest
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stars in the world, and you were like, I don't know if I want to do this. Yeah, you know, being an actor
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is a very unstable life. And it's a very unstable for everyone around you
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You're not home at 6 o'clock every night. And your moods can change with how you're doing in your career
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And it's very public. Everyone knows how you're doing. So I wasn't really sure if I wanted that kind of life
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It's been my chosen occupation for the last 47 years. And there are days when I don't want to do it
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And then there are days when I think it's just the greatest job ever. Like, what I'm doing this with you right now
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Yeah, totally. But it's, you know, it's a, it's, you see it, you see on lots of people, lots of actors, musicians, artists
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It's a challenge to be an artist. Yeah. Well, I'm sure that's one of the stories in your new comedy, right
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Yeah. Well, let's talk about it's tales from the Gutenberg Bible. Yeah
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So how did you come about to write it? Well, what happened was, I wrote, um
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story about my first 10 years in Hollywood. It was a book called the Gutenberg Bible
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And my dad, well, about eight years ago, this terrific producer named Julian Schlossberg
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who became my friend. We did, he actually had a radio show 30 years ago. And he mentioned
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me from the boys from Brazil. And my mom called in and said, that's my son. So Julie and I became
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friendly. And then when I did a play for him called Relatively Speaking, directed by John Tuturo
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we became much closer. And I would go out to his house in Catona and have lunch with him
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And at one point he read my book and he said, you know, I think this is a play
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It was about eight years ago. So Julian said, why don't you start writing it? And he was so good to me
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And such a good friend. And I wrote the play. And at one point
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it was sort of ready and there was a bunch of places we could have brought it
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but he brought it to the George Street Theater, and David St. who was the artistic director, out in New Brunswick
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And they said, we'd like to do this. But my dad has been very sick for the last five years
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He passed in July. But they were maybe ready to do it
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but I wasn't going to leave my dad's bedside. My dad passed in July
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And then about November or something like that, Julian said, maybe you want to do it now
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And I said, okay. So it's very funny. It's sensitive. It's a story of a 17-year-old coming out to California, it's a Hollywood
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It's very much like Candide or Alison Wonderland or Tom Jones. You know, it's a story of a newbie in a world of all these interesting characters
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these exotic characters, and how he deals with it. And it's funny, and it's a meaningful show
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My parents are in it, my family, friends. movie stars, actors, directors, producers
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Bob Evans or Tom Selleck or, you know, really terrific people are in it
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And I had a great time. Alan Carr, the village people, just people from my diner
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Paul Reiser, these wonderful people who I've been lucky enough to get to know
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And some of them I've been able to call friends. Yeah. So it's like 90 characters
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90 characters, four actors, and one Steve Gutenberg, and we're doing it
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Okay, talk about working with your director, David St. David St. is a really talented guy, very low-key
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No drama. He has a wonderful way in the rehearsal room, keeps everybody calm and cool
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He has a steady hand on the tiller, knows where he's going, has done only about 1,000 plays
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So he's very, very well-versed in theatre. He's, you know, of course, he's got all his degrees
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and he been the artistic director of George Street for 25 years So I very very lucky to have him as a director And it just going to be terrific So let just talk about what you enjoyed the most about being back
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putting something live together, because we haven't had that in a few years. We were locked down with everything and no one knew what was going to come back
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So just being back in a room again with actors and a director and finding your way through this
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what you've enjoyed the most. Well, the first thing, the cast is Arnie Burton and Corrine Montreban and Dan
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and Dominguez, and they're all so talented, and I'm so lucky that they've joined this ride
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and we're lucky enough that they decided to join this ride. And it's been just wonderful to experience the rehearsal
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The rehearsal is just so terrific. My first draft of the play was 300 pages
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and we whittled it down to 68 pages. That's like that big 300, right
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That's amazing. Yeah, it's really, really. really fun. I'm sorry, your question was..
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What have you enjoyed the most about being back in a rehearsal room again and working with actors and just working on your craft
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My brain is busy. For the last five years, I've really been concentrated on my dad who's
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been ill. And when you're, I'm sure people understand this, when you're with someone who's
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very ill every day, it has an effect on you. I also wrote a book about caregiving
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and I'm hopefully finish it by September. You know, being a caregiver is very difficult
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on people. It really, it's a very weighty responsibility that you want to do. But being with
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someone you love who's not well really hurts. And it's a very singular preoccupation. It's
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you know, it's like being a film director or you never see other film directors. Actors work
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with other actors. Directors don't work with other directors. Caregivers don't work with other
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caregivers. It's just you and the patient. So it was me and my sister
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and my dad and my mom and it was tough. So now I feel just terrific about being creative
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and dealing with people who are positive and energetic like yourself. So it's just a great experience
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Was it cathartic for you with everything you've been through to sort of write this down and put this out there
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and celebrate all these wonderful people in your life? Yeah, I wrote it sitting next to my dad when he was on dialysis
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So I just sat there and I showed him the pages and he would read them and said, this is good or this stinks
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Well, this is not me. You're down, like, this is not me. I didn't say that
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And it's been terrific to be creative, and it's a risk. When you go on stage, it's risky
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So I'm excited, and it's enlivening and invigorating and creative and thrilling
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And something happens in your chemistry when you're creating and you're working
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Everything looks better. The food tastes better. The music sounds better. Your relationships at home are better
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Everything's better when you're creative. Yeah. You have this incredible fan base
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You know that, right? Not really. There are so many people who love all of your films
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love your energy, everything that you do. That's nice. I hope so. Yeah. You have such an incredible career
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I want to mention some of the highlights. And just tell me what comes to mind a fun story or a great memory
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And I'm sure some of these are in the show anyway. You talked about relatively speaking
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relatively speaking that was the last time you were on broadway yeah Woody Allen and
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John Tuturo and Marklin Baker and Carolyn Aaron and every day Carolyn
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Aaron would when Woody would come to the theater she would say the author is in
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the house I would go like oh my god I would be so nervous I had a great time and
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everybody in the play was wonderful and just being at the Brooke at's
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Atkinson's theater Brooks Atkinson yeah Brooks Atkinson theater who was a great
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film critic that That's why I'm not getting his name. He was a theater critic, so I got his name wrong
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And I love doing that play, and it was just a thrill, thrill every day
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Yeah. All right, working with Woody Allen, like you said, the author is in the building
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I mean, you think of the scope of the stuff that Woody has done for us. You're like, oh, my God, Woody's in the building
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Yeah. You have to do the play for him now. Yeah, and Woody was just wonderful to work for
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And he had a kind heart. He was very generous to me
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and I really like Woody a lot. I look forward to seeing him
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Hopefully when the play gets up, I'll be able to get to see him. Yeah. Well, of course, the Brooks-Akinson has now been renamed for Lena Horn Theater
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It's beautiful. You've got to walk by there. You've got to look at your old marquee where you were or whatever else
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Lena Horn. Oh, I've always been in love with Lena Horn. Who hasn't
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Oh, she's just her talent and her bravery. And she broke down so many barriers for all of us
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And I'm thrilled to be, you know, being Jewish, you know, you know what it's like to have some uphill battles
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So, and Lena Horn just, just one of the greatest, greatest characters and one of the greatest people and talented artists ever
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Yeah. You made your Broadway debut in Prelude to a Kiss. Yeah, I did
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How magical was that? They only happened once Broadway debuts. What do you remember about that opening night or that whole time
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I remember Craig Lucas coming backstage and he was such a good guy
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Yeah. And so supportive of me. And I loved doing that show
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It was a wonderful show. Yeah. Do you remember that night? Do you remember that
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I remember opening night distinctly that the rest of the cast were already set
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They've been doing it for a year. I think I took over from Tim Hutton. Yeah. And I came on
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And my first couple of minutes, I was a little jittery. And then I got into it
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And I just love. I loved my time on that show. What do you love the most about doing live theater
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What's really great is you can work on your project every night and get it better
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And you can never stop working on it. You always want to get better every day
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And you want to work with people who are wonderful and talented and have great creativity and kindness and an open heart
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And the idea, great part of theater, is that you can, get a rhythm with the audience and have a relationship with the audience
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And it's very much fulfilling to know that you're working on your craft and that you get the
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chance to hone moments and find moments that you didn't know yesterday
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It's a wonderful experience I find as an actor to make myself
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more vulnerable and give myself the opportunity to improve my talent. George Street is a beautiful theater
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Yeah. Because you start teching soon, don't you? Yeah. But you've been out to the theater
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Yeah. Isn't it beautiful? Beautiful theater. And I'm so glad that they've put that money into New Brunswick
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Yeah. And theater is important in every town because it takes you away and it gives you as an audience
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It's an experience that you can't get in film. You know, the great part of film is if you do something magical, it's captured forever
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The bad part is that you only have a few chances to get it right and then it done Whereas in theater you know every night you get to be better Yeah You have eight shows or whatever You have a double show coming up or on double double show days I got one You doing it tonight Yeah it also a it an athletic performance You know you have to keep yourself
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in great shape. Well, I want to talk about some of your movie highlights. Some incredible films you've done. Let's talk about cocoon. The cocoon series
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Look at the actors you were at Jessica Tandy, Yume Crone, I mean, Wilford Brimley. I mean
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Look at Dona Michi, Gwen Verdon, all these incredible people. And Maureen Stapleton was my neighbor
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We had condos next to each other, and I spent a lot of time with Maureen. And she was one of these people who was so alive all the time
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the way she would react to you. And she was, every inch of her was alive
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And it was like almost sometimes, like she had no skin. She was just so sensitive to anything
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I would come up and I go, hey, Maureen, I'm going to get coffee. Oh, what kind of coffee? Coffee? I go, we're going to get, what do you want in? Milk? No, half and half. No, maybe. Maybe I'll get skin milk. I don't know
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I go, you just tell me what you want. And I go, I'll get what you want to? Okay, what's your one? I don't know
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She was the best. Well, they were all great. Yeah. Is there a favorite memory of doing the cocoon films
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Oh yeah, I loved hanging out with Brian Danny He, you know, he was a very big guy
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And Brian was very, very generous to me. And we had some funny experiences together
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And he was very well read. And he was very big. And, you know, we'd have arm wrestles all the time
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And, you know, maybe once I got him halfway. You know, he's a big guy
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Yeah. But, I mean, you must have learned so much from those incredible, not only stage actors
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film actors, stage actors, the combination. of having them all in that movie with you
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Yeah, I learned take your time. Take your time. And I learned something else that everybody counts
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whether it's the music, whether it's the sound man whose hobby is physics
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or the wardrobe designer who's a world-class archer. The crew are not grunts
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Yeah. And I learned that. And I actually put that in my play. I love that
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But take your time. Take your time. Take your time. even on a film when it's so fast
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Take your time. But take your time. Okay, Police Academy films. I used to watch this all the time with my nephews who I visually can watch them just howling through these movies
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Oh, I had a great time. We were laughing day and night, day and night
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One of the things, though, that really impressed me about Police Academy, as well as the, you know, the broad humor, was that it had a diversity
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a theme of diversity I hadn't seen in a broad comedy. And Bubba Smith and Michael Winslow and Marianne Ramsey
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had characters that addressed the racial inequality and the tension that permeated society
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It's very, very proud of that. And Bubba Smith and I, he was the Yoda
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and we became very good friends. And his generosity was far larger than his physical stature
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and we became just great friends. Any craziness happened on that Saturday
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Oh, all day and night. You know, I mean, I can't say, you know, Bubba and I, I mean, there were things that went on
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and I just said, Bubba, we got to go home and he'd say, you're like, Goob, we're staying out
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I go, oh, man, Bubba, what am I doing here? He goes, you're with me
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Don't worry about it. Settle down. You know, we went to some crazy places
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And then I went to his house all the time at Baldwin Hills. And Michael Winslow, you know, Michael Winslow is a brilliant mimic
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and he would make noises and people would not, you know, your shoes are squeaking
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or make noises or something. And actually, he came over to our house last year
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and my wife made spaghetti and meatballs. And while he was eating, he was making noises
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And my wife said, you know, we've got rats. And I would say, rats, what do you mean rats
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And Michael would go like, and she would say, there's rats in the ceiling
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And I go, no, there's no rats in this. I don't know
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Where's that coming from? I go, Michael, I go, my wife thinks there's rats in the house
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He's going, sorry about that. So she makes a good spaghetti meatballs
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All right. And Marian Ramsey was such a good friend of mine. She passed away
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We were good buddies. And she was on Broadway. Oh, a lot of shows. Dream girls, I think
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Oh, yeah. I saw her in a lot of stuff on Broadway. She had a Tony, right? Tony nomination
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Tony nomination. Tony nomination. Tony nomination. And, oh, gee, and my, I became good pals with
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my palin, Kim Ketrell, who was such a wonderful lady, talented actress, wonderful
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wonderful actress, talented actress, and such a good lady. And the director is Jerry Parris, who is a very, very funny guy, and Paul Moslansky
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great producer, and Hugh Wilson, great director, so I've had great time on Police Academy
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Yeah, and then there's three men in a baby. Oh man, I fell in love with Tom Selleck and Ted Dancing
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We were just good buddies, and I still adore those guys. And Leonard Nimoy, our director, who was wonderful to me
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And we just had a ball on that show. That show was a really, from day one, we had a great time
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A lot of laughter on that set, too, I got right? Oh, my God, just laughter night and day, and Ted is such a funny guy
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And Tom has an incredible sense of humor. Makes really great faces
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If you ever meet him, tell him to make his monkey face. It's unbelievable. and such a good man
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And I love Tom's parents. He lost both his parents, but they're really wonderful people
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I love hanging out with them and his whole family and his wonderful wife, Jilly
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And Tom is one of the nicest men you would ever meet. And I hope that Tom, Ted and I get to work together again
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And maybe one day we'll do a play together or something. They're both just great guys
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And Ted is such a generous fellow and such a wonderful, wonderful man
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And we lost Leonard. I spent a lot of time with Leonard
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I really enjoyed his company. Great stage actor. Leonard on Equis. That's right, yeah
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I saw him in Equis and he's a great acting teacher. Yeah. And a great photographer and artist, a poet, terrific guy
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And, you know, he made a great deal for, I'm so glad he made a lot of money on the Star Trek movies
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Because in the first Star Trek, the television show, he was not paid for his merchandising
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So when they did the movies, they had to pay him a lot of money, which I was. very glad about. That's great. You had famous babies in that movie, didn't you, three men and a baby
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Yeah, we had two terrific kids who were only babies when we first met them. And Tom had a great
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idea. He said, let's put money away for their college education. So now there must be 35 years
21:53
old. But when they were 20, the money accrued so they could go to college on the money that we
22:00
put aside for the two girls. And it was Tom's idea. Wow, what a great thing
22:05
Yeah. Because I know that Elton John and them did that during Billy Elliott. But I've never heard that being done for a..
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Did he? For a film? Yeah, for all the Billy Elliot's. There was money put aside for all these kids to sort of, yeah
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That's really good. It was the Billy Elliott Fund. Diner, another incredible
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I mean, look at the movies you made. Barry Levinson. He changed my life
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Yeah. And to work with him was such a wonderful experience. And then you got Mickey Rourke and Kevin Bacon and Paul Reiser and Timmy Daly
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Danny Stern Ellen Bark and you know you go on and on and on you know just everybody was just so wonderful to work with And so we were all competitive And you know when you get seven hungry young actors all vying for camera time with friendly razors
22:46
you either have a mess or an all-star team. And Barry asked us to do the scenes as written and then let us play
22:54
And a lot of good stuff came from that. You know, the one rule in improvisation is yes
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And yes is we're flying all over the set. That's interesting. You're right
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you were all about the same age and everything else. Starting out, sitting at these tables together
23:08
It's like, where's the camera? And then we were friends. Barry was very smart
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He got this one trailer. We had little holes to live in. Then we had a trailer that we'd all hang out in together and get to know each other
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And we went out to dinner and became fast friends. Very smart. I just saw Tim Daly the other day
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He's such a wonderful guy. And Danny Stern and Paul Reiser, we were at Danny's house about a year ago
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And then we had a reunion with Kevin and Timmy. And Danny, no, not Danny, wasn't there
23:36
Paul and myself. And we had a reunion about a year ago
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or not last November. That's great. Okay, now one of my favorite movies of yours
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it may not be one of yours, but many people love this movie. Can't Stop the Music
23:49
Oh, my gosh, the Village People, Alan Carr, Nancy Walker directing. Yes
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And the great Bill Butler, who just passed away at 101, who did Jaws and all these great movies
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a cinematographer. He was a cinematographer. And I had a great time on that
24:02
I was 20 years old. I was roller skating down Broadway. You are
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I got to work with Caitlin Jenner, who was Bruce Jenner. And Valerie Parine
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Okay. And it was just a great time. Let's talk about working Valerie Prine
24:19
One of my all-time favorite people. I know she's not well now. I know, you know, there's GoFundMe's for her and everything else
24:25
What are my all-time favorite people? What was it like working with Valerie Parine? Valerie was so good to me, so generous to me
24:30
Also, she was such a stupid. and this looking person, you know, carved out of marble
24:36
And she was so gorgeous that I, you know, my eyes popped out of my head
24:39
And she was very generous to me, very kind, and I really, and she let me ask her a million
24:45
questions about Dustin Hoffman and Lenny. So she was very good to me
24:50
I love her very much. That was such a love song to New York City
24:56
That movie was really, really great. I mean, anybody could watch Can't Stop the Music and be like, I'm moving to New York City tomorrow. Yeah
25:01
All the people in it were wonderful and the way they photographed it
25:05
And it really was like a love letter to New York City. And June Havoc played your mom
25:10
And June Havoc, oh my God. Yeah, right. Baby June. Yeah, totally. The real baby June
25:14
The real baby June. Oh, they would say to her, you're baby June. I can't believe you're baby June. You're the real thing
25:18
And she lived in this beautiful farm in Connecticut. And so sweet to me and just a lovely lady
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Do you ever watch the movie again? Do you ever watch Can't Stop the Music? I haven't seen it in years, but every once in a while
25:29
I run into Felipe or the... Some of the village people, Alex and David Hoto and great people
25:36
Randy, his nephew I've seen once in a while, and Randy's a great guy
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No, Marilynne Sokol, Barbara Rush. Oh, Marilynne Sokol. Yeah, who's got a lot of time with you too
25:44
Oh, Marilynne Sokol was so good to me. Yeah
26:00
that movie had opened six months earlier, it would have been a monster hit. But Disco had died during the editing of that movie, but it's a really good movie
26:08
So anybody watching out there can't stop the music. Yeah, we had a brilliant editor too, so it was just great
26:13
So finally, what are you looking forward to the most with getting ready to open your show at George Street Playhouse
26:20
Looking forward to enjoying every moment. I'm looking forward to not being nervous and enjoying and know that everybody in the audience wants me to do well
26:29
everybody wants to see a good show. I'm looking forward to my wife is coming tomorrow
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I haven't seen her in a while. She's coming out, so thank God. I'm looking forward to my life
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I'm looking forward to becoming a better person every day. I'm looking forward to working with great people
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I'm looking forward to liking myself more every day and knowing what's important in life
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And what's great about this play is I get to be with my family every night on stage
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I get to be with my dad who passed away, and Arnie Burton plays my dad
27:04
And I get to look in my dad's eyes every night. And I get to hug my dad through Arnie
27:09
And it's a wonderful, selfish, terrific experience. And every night I get to relive this life I've had
27:18
and see all these nice people that I've known who've helped me and all the crazy characters
27:23
And I get to be innocent again. and I'm looking forward to living every moment, being a better person every day
27:34
That is great. One quick thing that I wanted to talk about, you do a lot for philanthropy, you do a lot for charity
27:41
what that means to you personally. Yeah, you know, it's a funny story. I opened up this place called Guten House for foster children who are emancipated
27:50
Enacitated means at 18. Sometimes the people that they live with, their foster parents, don't have enough to keep them
27:56
because the state of the federal government will not support them. So they have to go out on their own
28:00
A lot of these kids find themselves on the street. So years ago, I was able to build Gutenhouse
28:05
which has two apartments, four bedrooms, and girls who are emancipated get to live there
28:10
So anyway, about I wanted to have lunch with them every month
28:14
So I'd go every month, and we'd go out to lunch, and I'd talk to the girls. They either had to have a job, be sober, or be in school
28:21
That's the three rules. So we'd go out to lunch once a month. So one day I showed up to the house
28:26
and a girl who I didn't notice, but they're always new people, came to the screen door
28:30
She had a baby. I said, hi, I'm here to have dinner, lunch with all the girls. She goes, come in, I want to talk to you
28:35
I said, what's going on? I said, where are the girls? They said, well, they're not here. I go, we're all going to lunch
28:40
She said, that's what I want to talk to you about. They don't want to go lunch with you anymore. I go, why
28:44
She goes, they think you're boring. You ask the same questions every time
28:49
How's school? How's your job? Staying sober, everything okay. They don't want to hear those questions anymore
28:55
They don't want to have lunch with you anymore. I was furious. This is Gutenhouse
28:58
You know when I've learned something anymore? I called my Aunt Vera is 94 years old, and she said, you know what
29:04
You gave them this gift of the house. It's not your house anymore
29:08
It's their house. When you give a gift, it's not yours anymore
29:13
So that was my... And I love... And, you know, even here in New York City, I'm always giving out money to the homeless
29:20
I have a real connection with homeless people, and it really breaks my heart
29:26
to see people living on the street. So I'm always going out with a lot of cash and giving out cash
29:31
It's very hard to live on the street. So all I can say is I want to say people
29:36
if you see people on the street in New York City, don't pass them by like they're just inanimate objects
29:43
Or don't be angry that they're not working or they're taking. It's really hard to be on the street
29:48
It's really hard to live that life. So whatever you can give them, food, a few dollars
29:55
a dollar, a few cents, or just say hello to them and treat them like people
30:00
It's really tough to be on the street. Thank you for doing what you do, my friend
30:04
We will see you at George Street. Thank you. April 2050 start, right? Thanks, and thanks for all the great energy
30:09
The best. Appreciate it, buddy
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