We are so honored for this Off the Cuff to be graced with one of Hollywood’s most legendary voices, that of actor and voice-over king Peter Coyote, who stopped by to chat about his fascinating new book just out this month, The Rainman’s Third Cure.
Though he jokes that he is “just famous enough to get into any restaurant,” Coyote is still highly recognizable for movies he made since embarking on an acting career when he was already in his 40’s (E.T., Outrageous Fortune, Bitter Moon and A Walk To Remember might ring a few bells.) This all happened after Coyote had already made a name for himself as a leader of the Diggers counter-culture movement in 1960s San Francisco and as a champion for increasing arts funding as part of the California State Arts Council in the ‘70s.
In Rainman, Coyote takes us way back to the beginning, starting with a turbulent childhood that left him searching for mentors (and lovers) wherever he could find them. From the Jewish immigrant world of Manhattan to student protests in Washington D.C., from communal living in Haight-Ashbury to the Paris apartment of Roman Polanski, Coyote’s life often reads like fiction. But the reality is that he only barely survived it – especially the twelve years he spent using heroin.
“Last February was the first time in 45 years I’ve been free of Hepatitis C,” he says with much relief.
“It took me quite a while to put myself back together.”
Listen to Coyote’s full interview in this episode of Off the Cuff, and be sure to subscribe to #THRpodcasts on iTunes for all the latest episodes.
