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’80’s Icon Reveals Heroic Act During Palisades Fires

Steve Guttenberg recounted how he rescued a stubborn elderly couple during the Palisades fires.

Police Academy star Steve Guttenberg, 67, didn’t just play a hero on screen—he apparently went full action-movie mode during the deadly Palisades fire last year. Appearing on Maury Povich’s On Par podcast Monday, Guttenberg recounted how he sprang into action during the January blaze that ravaged Los Angeles and destroyed more than 6,800 structures. He said he first started moving abandoned cars clogging the road after realizing emergency vehicles wouldn’t be able to get through. But things got even crazier when Guttenberg spotted an elderly couple calmly sitting in their living room watching TV as the fire approached. After knocking on the window and warning them to get out, he said the pair refused to budge, sparking a “big fight.” That’s when Guttenberg said he took matters into his own hands. “I had to break into their house through a window,” he said, adding that he landed on the kitchen floor with “glass everywhere.” Guttenberg said he then carried the couple outside so firefighters could get to them. The actor joked, the couple “hated” him for it, and the woman even hit him on the head during the rescue as he warned, “Your house is going to burn down.”