As a kid in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise was more interested in sports and rock 'n' roll than reading or schoolwork. But when he impulsively auditioned for a school production of West Side Story, he found his purpose--or so it seemed. Within a few years Gary and a handful of friends created what became one of the most exciting and important new theater companies in America. From its humble beginnings in a suburban Chicago church basement and eventual move into the city, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company launched a series of groundbreaking productions, igniting Gary's career along with those of John Malkovich, Joan Allen, Gary Cole, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, John Mahoney, and others. Television and film came calling soon after, and Gary starred in Of Mice and Men (which he also directed) and The Stand before taking the role that would change his life in unforeseeable ways: Lieutenant Dan in the Academy Award–winning Forrest Gump. The military community's embrace of the character of the disabled veteran was matched only by the depth of Gary's realization that America's defenders had not received all the honor, respect, and gratitude their sacrifices deserve. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, this became Gary's mission. While starring in hits like Apollo 13, Ransom, Truman, George Wallace, CSI:NY, and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Gary has worked tirelessly on behalf of those who serve this country, entertaining more than a half million troops around the world playing bass guitar with his Lt. Dan Band, raising funds on behalf of veterans, and eventually founding the Gary Sinise Foundation with a mission to serve and honor America's defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. Grateful American is the moving, entertaining, profoundly gripping story of how one man found his calling: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten.
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★★★★☆
Growing up in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise always had a love for music. The passion for stage and screen work... well, that came a little later. Sinise's father served in World War 2 as a film editor, later opening his own film editing business once he was out of the military, providing editing services not only for independent jobs but also for major networks such as NBC. Sinise Sr's editing hand was in shows such as Miami Vice, Baywatch, Dawson's Creek AND, one day, Gary's directorial debut, the film Of Mice and Men, starring Gary himself and acting buddy John Malkovich.
That certainly provided the early exposure to the industry for young Gary, but didn't necessarily present anything that struck him as a possible life calling. Gary struggled with reading and writing throughout most of his childhood, so the theater world wasn't much on his radar until the day one particular high school drama teacher took the time to talk with then wild child Gary and encourage him to try out for the school production of West Side Story.
*NOTE: Spoilers for the end of WSS, if you haven't seen it. There are also spoilers for Cyrano de Bergerac, and the film that made Sinise famous, Forrest Gump (on the off chance you've never seen it, I'm mentioning spoiler warning here).*
Cast as one of the Shark gang members in West Side Story, Gary soon finds a sense of purpose and a new group of good friends within the drama club. This teen former stoner and petty criminal suddenly stops cutting classes, instead taking his studies quite seriously and spending more time with his bookish friends who become instrumental in Sinise discovering his love for history and literature.
"I was known as a kid who smoked a lot of pot and struggled to find his way in school. But in the past five weeks this play had morphed into a tent revival of sorts. Theater had pointed me toward redemption. The performers in the play had drawn me toward the river, plunged me under, pulled me up, and pushed me forward. Dripping and new. I'd been given a fresh start, and I felt hopeful. Grateful. I realized theater had become my second chance at life, and this second chance caused me to understand that I had a lot to be thankful for. A wide-open future. Boundless opportunity. My newfound bouyancy made me want to do something far more with my life than I had been doing.
After high school, at just eighteen years old, Sinise becomes one of the founders of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company (name inspired by the Herman Hesse novel) of Chicago, still in existence today. What started in a rundown church room, and later rented space in the Jane Hull House, is now successfully situated in a multi-million dollar facility. Steppenwolf was the initial launching pad not only for Sinise's career in entertainment, but also those of John Malkovich, Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Cole (boss Bill Lumberg from Office Space) and John Mahoney, just to name a few.
In 1982, Sinise sees the play Tracers performed by an Los Angeles theater group. The topic is the Vietnam War, a subject Sinise points out he found himself regularly drawn to over the years, having been a teen during the war himself, and later developing close bonds with his wife's brothers, both of them Vietnam veterans... as well as the husband of his sister-in-law. Just in his immediate circle, he was saddened to hear such stories of mistreatment of "veterans of an unpopular war" as he frequently refers to Vietnam. Tracers brought similar stories to the stage. Sinise knew he wanted to bring the production to his theater, but soon hit a pretty big roadblock: from its origin, this particular play had always been written, directed, produced and performed ENTIRELY by military veterans. Sinise's initial requests were politely shot down. But this book will show readers the man is nothing if not persistent when he has a goal! Sinise invites the theater director to see some of the other Vietnam-themed shows Steppenwolf performs. After seeing the group's work, being convinced the topic would be handled with respect and dignity, Sinise is granted rights to perform the play in his theater.
Having worked so hard to secure the original director's trust with the piece, the last thing Sinise wanted was for the Steppenwolf effort to be an utter disappointment. He needed to be sure his crew fully understood the seriousness of their roles. Sinise sets up a full on boot camp, with actor / former Chicago PD detective / Vietnam veteran Dennis Farina serving as drill instructor.
"Five weeks before we started rehearsals for Tracers, I gathered the ensemble to begin diving into the preparatory work. I knew we couldn't do this play in any half-hearted way. We had to fully empathize with and care about the content of this play, about what the veterans truly went through.
As a cast, we read books about Vietnam and discussed what we'd read. A thirteen-part series called Vietnam: A Television History aired on PBS, so we watched it together as a cast. We took Tai Chi classes to get physically fit. We traveled an hour outside of Chicago to meet with veterans who taught us about firearms, which we then fired so we understood what a loaded rifle felt like in our hands. We visited patients at the VA who were struggling with post-traumatic stress, undergoing any number of challenges because of their service... they shared their stories with us, their heartache, their pain... Many of the vets told us it was healing for them to talk. For us, it reaffirmed our commitment to get things right.
Dennis did his best to make our lives a living hell... Just what I wanted."
When it's suggested to Gary that he might give a career in Hollywood a go, Gary's father uses some of his industry connections to help Gary land a spot as an extra on the daytime soap General Hospital. No speaking part, just him groovin' on a dance floor in the background for a shot or two of a club scene while the primaries talk. From there it was a lot of uninspired "exposure" work, roles done either for free or gas money, basically... the first serious paid gig wouldn't come until Sinise lands the bit part of a teen doing some underage drinking on the beach for one Knot's Landing episode. It still wasn't much and Sinise notes his first attempt at finding his Hollywood footing was pretty disheartening. But he had his Chicago theater to fall back on!
Which is exactly what he did for a time, until the opportunity came about for the Of Mice and Men project. Inspired by Kevin Costner's all-in approach to Dances With Wolves -- acting / directing / producing --- Sinise decides he wants a similar project for himself. He'd served as director for some of Steppenwolf's productions, and being one of the group's founders, he certainly had experience with acting and producing pieces.... so why not give it a whirl?
above: Elaine & John Steinbeck
* Sinise credits John Steinbeck's widow, Elaine, for
"two projects that turned into career shifting opportunities" for him.
She was on set during some of the filming of Of Mice & Men.
Gary hires Oscar-winning screenwriter Horton Foote (To Kill A Mockingbird starring Gregory Peck and Tender Mercies starring Robert Duvall being just a couple in his portfolio) to work up a screenplay for the Steinbeck novel. As mentioned before, Gary's father served as film editor, and the sound mixing was actually done right in the middle of the LA Riots! Stressful as this first major project was, Sinise was thrilled to find out he'd been offered the chance to show the film at Cannes Film Festival... can you imagine?! Following the screening, this adaptation of Steinbeck's novel received a full 10 MINUTE standing ovation!
Emotions ran high, great things were expected for Sinise's directorial debut. But with the entertainment industry, you always seem to be up against timing, connections, just sheer luck of the draw sometimes. Of Mice and Men only ended seeing limited release in less than 400 theaters across the country, total box office draw just over $5 million. You know what else came out around the same time and with a similar tone? Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It starring Brad Pitt. Know what happened with that one? It went on to gross $43 million AND an Oscar. Sinise mentions that of course noticing this stung a bit at the time, thinking of how much of himself (and his family and friends) he poured into that film on a shoestring budget... but he later comes away saying he's glad his film is out there at all, a little star in the galaxy of Hollywood history, as he's still quite proud of the work and to this day continues to get thank you letters from teachers and high school students who have loved it and benefited from seeing it during Steinbeck based courses. Like many a movie before it, Of Mice and Men found it's audience in healthy DVD sales. This film ended up being the first AND last where Sinise stepped in as director.
His role as Stu Redman in the small screen adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Stand, ended up being the next big bullet point on Sinise's filmography. It was while he was shooting The Stand that he got the offer for the now legendary role of Lt. Dan in film Forrest Gump. Hearing that the film would be directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) and that Tom Hanks was already signed on to play lead, Sinise was excited to throw his hat in as well! He went through the audition process, but for some reason casting was dragging their feet giving him an answer. Weeks were passing by and, having yet heard a definitive yes or no, Sinise was forced to start sniffing around for other acting gigs in the meantime. Finally, he gets word that he's officially cast and shooting gets the official green light to start.
"Lieutenant Dan is a disabled Vietnam veteran who loses his legs in combat. He carries terrible guilt after leading his platoon into an ambush where many of his men are killed or wounded, and he wishes that instead of surviving with his injury he'd been killed along with his men. His post-traumatic stress buries him in alcohol abuse and dark isolation. His friend, Forrest Gump, also a Vietnam veteran, is a good-hearted and simpleminded man who receives the Medal of Honor for saving Lieutenant Dan's life, as well as the lives of other members of their platoon."
===> There's also a cute side story he shares about the neat connection between his role as Lt. Dan and Sinise's actual grandfather, Donato, a WW1 veteran who went by the nickname Dan.
Almost immediately after the release of Forrest Gump, Sinise finds himself very much embraced by the military community. Though previously he always did what he could to show support for armed forces, he describes that it never felt like quite enough. After his own experiences during the September 11th attacks, he feels compelled to make it his special mission to make sure service men and women receive the respect they're due for the sacrifices they make to keep our country protected. He starts with volunteering his time for USO tours overseas. There's a funny story he shares about how he calls USO headquarters repeatedly trying to get his name on the list for one of these trips out, but no one returns his messages when he calls as Gary Sinise. Only when he half-jokingly leaves a message as Lt. Dan, does he get a same day callback from them!
Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good
documentary trailer
Once Sinise starts his tours around the Middle East, he discovers virtually no one recognizes him by his real name, everyone only sees Lt. Dan. On one tour he shares with Wayne Newton, Newton makes the observation, "Lt. Dan is your 'Danke Schoen'," (the one song everyone remembers Newton for, even though he's had a decades-long recording career). From then on, Sinise happily just rolls with it like, "yep, Lt. Dan here!" It was also on this tour with Newton (along with singers Neal McCoy and Chris Isaak), that the guys see the deplorable conditions of the schools there. Virtually no textbooks to read from, only a few scraps of paper and pencil nubs to be shared among several groups of children... and with students so passionate to learn! Sinise decides this was unacceptable. He has to find a way to help these little ones.
Back in the States, he teams up with author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit, Unbroken) --- who'd been trying to get her book Seabiscuit translated and out to interested schools over there for quite some time --- to create Operation Iraqi Children (OIC). Later on, they meet up with Mary Eisenhower (granddaughter of President Dwight D) who ran People to People International, a humanitarian group founded by Dwight. With their combined superpowers of goodwill, the two organizations created a program that not only got school supplies overseas, but also set up medical clinics for teachers and students who could not otherwise access needed health services. With the quick success of the program, more supply runs are planned for other countries in need. It's later decided that the organization's name should be changed to Operation International Children to reflect the program's expansion, but conveniently leaving the acronym intact. That's some money saved on letterhead!
By 2011, primarily bankrolled by the success of his long-running role on CSI: New York, Sinise has the funds to start up the Gary Sinise Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to "serving and honoring America's defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need." He also puts together the Lt. Dan Band, which to this day serves as musical entertainment at all of the foundations functions. (*Sinise notes that while he's technically considered the band's leader, he's actually the bassist, while the vocals are primarily left up to others on a roster of rotating talented musicians who step in and volunteer as schedules allow).
above: Lt. Dan Band
performing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"
Because of all his amazing work aiding military and first responders, in thanks Sinise has had a slew of honorary titles and awards bestowed upon him, just a few being made an honorary Marine, the US Navy making him an honorary Chief Petty Officer, and FDNY making him an honorary battalion chief.
"I've seen firsthand our service members' extraordinary skill and dedication, and my life's mission and passion today are to shine a light on those who serve and defend, the true heroes who go into harm's way, volunteering to lay down their lives so we can have the freedom to make something real and good of our own lives."
SINISE FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
* Snowball Festival --- days-long event of fun, games, music, food and a trip to Disneyland for children of fallen veterans
* Invincible Spirit Festival --- appreciation day of music, food and games for military families
* Soaring Valor --- program to support and honor WW2 veterans and their families; foundation funds historians to travel around the country documenting the personal stories of still-living veterans; provides flights for veterans to WW2 museum in New Orleans, LA
* Serving Heroes --- free lunch events for active and retired military, meals are offered at VA locations around the country as well as various other locations, SH events set up overseas as well as domestically. Sinise himself works the food serving lines as often as his schedule allows.
* First Responder Outreach Program --- In Sinise's words: "Like our nation's defenders, our police and firefighters work hard to protect our cities. It's dangerous work, and we want to do everything we can to make sure they're not forgotten. Through our First Responder Outreach Program, we reach out and support police, firefighters, and EMTs in any areas of specific need." (This covers anything from equipment needs to support for families).
* Relief & Resilience Outreach --- support system services for military families struggling with the emotional effects of trauma, injury or loss; there's also another program, a "mentoring" service" provided under Relief & Resilience; includes emergency relief fund for families, retreats, uplifting family events, counseling sessions, etc.
*Steppenwolf Theatre also hosts Veterans' Night for every production they do. Service personnel who attend a production on Veterans' Night receive dinner and a show completely free.
* The foundation also funds the construction of homes specially designed for wounded veterans with mobility constraints.
"One of my foundation's main initiatives is to build smart homes for severely wounded veterans, completely free of charge. Each house is individually designed and equipped with anything each severely wounded vet needs to make life more manageable. Adaptive smart technology, ADA-accessible restrooms, sometimes, if necessary, wheelchair ramps or elevators, whatever can help to restore functionality and independence to the veteran and his / her family.
The mortgage for the house and land is completely underwritten. The veteran can select what part of the country he / she wants to live in. When needed, we also provide adapted vehicles and mobility devices such as wheelchairs, Trackchairs, and Segway personal transporters. Our director of operations oversees all aspects of the foundation's home-building process. We average 10-12 houses per year, sometimes more.... I've been blessed to have supported the building or refurbishing of more than 70 smart homes to fit the needs of wounded veterans... Several of these homes were built in partnership with other organizations, but about 50 of them were built solely by my foundation and our great team.
Aside from his entertainment career and his work with military and first responders, Sinise also shares some tough stories regarding struggles within his personal life: family members battling cancer, alcoholism, or other kinds of debilitating illness. To the reader, it brings in the reminder that at the end of the day this is just a regular guy who happens to have a line of work with high visibility. He also has struggles just like anyone and had to work like a beast to get where he wanted to be in life. But the important takeaway is right in the title .... he's grateful. Life has left him roughed up some days, but it hasn't made him bitter. Anything but, actually. He's fueled by a need to be of service, and to dedicate himself to personally thanking as many others as he can for THEIR service. The man just wants us, as the collective humankind, to take better care of each other already. Start small... you'll likely end big (in terms of endeavors)! Y'all know the saying, "Think globally, act locally."
It's easy to take the freedoms we have in this country for granted, get caught up in the petty inconveniences of a day and declare in outrage how unfair our lot is. Sinise is here to share his personal experiences from traveling the world and remind you that you actually have it pretty damn good, even on your worse day. So make it a point to thank those that keep those freedoms safe for you, including the freedoms to complain about our government without fear of death, the freedom to pursue any profession our hearts desire, form relationships with anyone we choose, embrace any beauty or fashion choices that tickles our fancy, etc. These are all things that for generations we've just taken as a given, but Sinise's stories of his tours around the Middle East remind readers that there's a good chunk of the world out there populated by people who can still only dream of such comforts of individualism. And we have those freedoms here BECAUSE of fields of service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure current and future generations could live in the comfortable reality of those freedoms. Return the favor the best you can, whether it's through a dedicated life of service yourself, or even just a simple yet heartfelt thank you to the next military or first responder person you see. Whatever path you take, make it a point to live in a space of gratitude.
"Ronald Reagan once said, 'Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.' Those words have stuck with me. As I have traveled around the world, sometimes visiting countries that have not known the blessings of liberty, I have realized more and more the high cost of preserving that freedom, and is not something all human beings simply get to have and enjoy. A price must be paid, and I am grateful to those who are willing to pay that price, sometimes the ultimate price. Because of these special Americans, I have been able to live out my dreams, succeed at my chosen career, and turn that success into something positive for others."
FTC Disclaimer: BookLookBloggers.com and Thomas Nelson Publishers kindly provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
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