May 1, 2024
Twelve years after his memoir, The Guttenberg Bible, actor Guttenberg returns with more Hollywood and family stories. Now 65, he reflects on the physical decline of his beloved dad, who ends up on dialysis, as he shares more upbeat stories. He spends a year at Albany State University but understandably leaves when he lands a role in The Boys from Brazil with Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier. Hollywood fans will enjoy hearing how he got life advice on the set of Cocoon from Hume Cronyn and his wife, Jessica Tandy ("Save your money"), and how he once ate dinner with Sting, Trudie Styler, Tom Cruise, and Mimi Rogers. Guttenberg's family members play colorful roles. His grandma teaches him when he is just seven how to blow smoke rings with Virginia Slims. His dad gives him a healthier lesson, "Friends are like flowers. You have to water them." Guttenberg is with his father at the end. As he poignantly writes, "He had a long, good life--it just wasn't enough for this son."
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