When Steve Guttenberg’s father, Stan, was diagnosed with kidney failure requiring dialysis, the actor would drive 400 miles from Los Angeles to Phoenix every week to be with him during his treatments. Eventually, Steve and his sister, Susan, even learned how to administer dialysis themselves so Stan could have it done at home. Steve’s devotion to his father stems from a lifetime of love and wisdom that he shared in his Christopher Award-winning memoir, “Time to Thank: Caregiving for My Hero.”
During a “Christopher Closeup” interview, Steve recalled, “My dad loved to be with his family. At the end of the day, he left the office and came home, never went out with the boys. A guy who was always there for me, who was very gentle in his discipline, but firm. I was in love with my dad. He was my best friend.”
That relationship never faltered, even as Steve moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He shared a story about meeting a photographer who told him the town would eat him alive. But Steve credits both his parents with giving him the foundation to make it in Hollywood without losing his soul.
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He said, “I think that I was able to—and am still able to—navigate my business with a great deal of values. And that’s what it’s all about. Your values create your behavior. Then your behavior creates your habits, your habits become your destiny. So I was lucky to have a great mom and dad who taught me at our kitchen table, how to swim the river of life.”
Steve also grew up in a family that accepted God and the importance of faith: “[My parents are] both Jewish, and they both taught me the meaning of faith, of belief, that we are not alone here, that there’s another force in control…which is God. Whatever you believe, there is something else going on. You may not believe in gravity because you don’t see it, but it’s going on. Same thing with faith…I’m Jewish, and I’m quite religious. I think about God all the time…and I believe that God has a lot to do with my success.”
Though Steve treasures his acting career, it will always come in second when the needs of family arise. That’s why he did not hesitate to make the long weekly trip to his father’s side when he fell ill. “What I [and my family] went through with my dad,” Steve reflected, “taught us about love…Love is the most powerful form of integrity in the universe that will ever be. There’s nothing more powerful. So, when you love somebody or somebody loves you…you can stay up and show up more than you ever thought you could.”
For Steve, writing “Time to Thank” was both heartbreaking and joyful, so he hopes that readers take an important message from this Christopher Award-winning memoir. He concluded, “I’m so honored because the Christopher Awards are about books, art that expands the consciousness and creates a place where you can learn about people and incidents that you never knew existed. What I would love people to take away from my book…is that if you are called and you’re able to, don’t run from the situation. Run toward the situation and see what you can do and what you can contribute. There are two types of people in this world: the givers and the takers. And believe me, the givers are the winners.”
For free copies of the Christopher News Note, WHILE WE HAVE TIME, LET US DO GOOD, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, NY 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
