- Nickname
- Steve
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Steven John Janosco grew up in Lakewood with his parents and older sibling who, "California dreamin', on such a winter's day," moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1950. His father, John, was a union organizer, his mother, Bea, was an English teacher, pianist, and published poet, and his sister, Judy, was an actress in high school.
The Golden State native is known for his work on To Serve Ketchup (2007), Butterscotch (2010), Dare to Dream (2010), and To Pierce an Angel's Wings (2017).
With his Danube Blue 1965 Chevelle Malibu SS, he made his acting debut as a shade tree mechanic in 1986. Filmed in Sacramento, the title of the independent movie is lost to the ages. He appeared as a Trinity Control Center Technician in the TV mini-series War and Remembrance (1988) at Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert. And in 1990 he played a California Gold Rush Prospector in Something in the Valley, a musical staged near the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.
Following a 15-year hiatus he returned to acting and worked from 2005 to 2019 in Northern California including the Bay Area and Central Valley. From his home near Sacramento he traveled far and wide, from Tres Pinos to Sebastopol, Stockton to Magalia, El Dorado Hills to San Francisco, Grass Valley to Half Moon Bay, and to many locations in between. His theme song was "On The Road Again" by Canned Heat. His ride was The Silver Bullet, a Toyota Camry LE. Thanks to Colleen Kenneavy, Beau Bonneau Casting, his moment of fame occurred when he appeared in Moneyball (2011) with Brad Pitt. "I saw you, big as life, standing next to Brad Pitt in Moneyball. What a great shot," said his former colleague, Chris Davis, past president, California State Information Officers Council. "Went to the Moneyball opener and saw you plain as day on the big screen tonight Steve, hand on heart saying the pledge of allegiance. You looked good," said Rob Tillitz, his co-star in Butterscotch (2010). Recognition is nice, but as George C. Scott said in Patton (1970), "All glory is fleeting." During a dry spell a few years later he turned to writing. Right out of the gate he found success. Separate panels of judges at Access Sacramento and Nevada County Television selected his screenplay The Wrecking Yard (2019) as a winning entry in two film festivals, A Place Called Sacramento and Here in Nevada County. From there it was back to acting. In terms of output, 2015 to 2017 was his most prolific period in front of the camera. His best year ever was 2017. Thanks to Richard Falcon, the director, he even got a gig in live theater, Ed Begley Jr.'s Cesar and Ruben (2017). He was living the dream. As a sideline he sang and played acoustic-electric 6-string and 12-string guitars at sports pubs, wine bars, breweries, bars and grills, pizza parlors, restaurants, farmers markets, coffee houses and delis, and his favorite venue, Nicholson's MusiCafe in Folsom. The cafe closed permanently in May 2019, two months into the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. He performed songs by popular American and British rock bands of the 1960s such as Buffalo Springfield, The Kinks, and The Beatles. His repertoire included For What It's Worth, written by Stephen Stills, Tired of Waiting For You, written by Ray Davies, and from the UK and Australian soundtrack LP for A Hard Day's Night (1964), Things We Said Today, credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, written by Paul McCartney. As an actor and a musician, Steve had the time of his life, but "All things must pass," so say the lyrics of George Harrison.
Showbiz wasn't his only career. Inspired by Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, he worked in public service for 35 years. Most of his time as a soldier, guardsman, reservist, and civil servant was in public affairs, also known as public relations (PR). In the words of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (1935), "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
After 26 years of presenting external information to the news media, the public, and local communities, and internal information to fellow employees, he exited the PR arena and focused on helping homeless veterans. As part of his official duties, he conducted research for a legislatively-mandated report with the California Association of Veteran Service Agencies. The members included Vietnam Veterans of California, based in Santa Rosa, Swords to Plowshares, San Francisco, U.S.VETS, based in Los Angeles, New Directions, West LA, and Vietnam Veterans of San Diego. He felt honored and privileged to work with the executive directors, CEOs, and presidents - Peter Cameron, Michael Blecker, J.D., Stephen Peck, M.S.W., Toni Reinis, retired Navy Cmdr. Al Pavich, et al. - and their staffs, as well as other individuals and organizations including the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. He could not have done it without them, especially Steve Peck, Gregory Peck's son, whose contribution was invaluable. Subsequently, he submitted A Study on the Status of Homeless Veterans in California to the Office of Gov. Gray Davis and the California Veterans Board.
He returned to public affairs less than two months before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. The heartbreaking scenes of death and destruction on CNN motivated him to request as much annual leave from his full-time job as his supervisor would approve and volunteer for two weeks as a public information officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He requested New Orleans, but FEMA assigned him to hot and humid Texas where thousands of traumatized evacuees from Louisiana sought refuge. After two nights in Houston and a few days in Austin he served the remainder of his temporary duty in San Antonio. At the former Kelly Air Force Base he did some media relations, assisted a couple who lost everything except their car and the clothes on their backs, and, as part of a team, helped to reunite a husband and wife separated during the Superdome evacuation and bused to different states. "'Twas a humbling experience indeed," said Steve.
Katrina and helping homeless veterans, his most rewarding assignments, left a lasting impression. As Phil Ochs sang, "There but for fortune may go you or I."- IMDb Mini Biography By: Robert S. Miles
- SpousesMarianne Rohn(1995 - 2005) (divorced)Geraldine Faye Abrams(1974 - 1981) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenStefani (pronounced Stephanie) Faye Janosco Marroquin Levine
- RelativesLuis Lennon Marroquin(Grandchild)Judith Ann Janosco Kahler(Sibling)
- U.S. Army Cold War Era veteran. Distinguished Honor Graduate, Broadcaster Course, U.S. Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Life Member, AMVETS. Served as an enlistee in the U.S. Army and a commissioned officer in the California Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. Final assignment in the Individual Ready Reserve was Mobilization Designee, Army Public Affairs, The Pentagon and Soldiers Radio & TV, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C. Honorably discharged as a major.
- While stationed on active duty at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, moonlighted weeknights as sports anchor, 11 p.m. news, WJCL-TV (ABC) and weekends as an announcer and Gates 55 automation system operator, 97.3 WXLM-FM Savannah, circa 1976 to 1978. Hired at Channel 22 by the news director and anchor, Doug Weathers who appears in the movie The Gingerbread Man (1998). Bought the blazers he wore on air at WJCL at Kmart. Played pop, light rock, and middle of the road album cuts from his personal record collection at WXLM to enhance the limited easy listening music library without notifying the program director, his immediate supervisor. No one, not even the general manager who monitored the station, ever said a word. One Sunday morning the station's restroom was locked and there was no key to be found, nor were any restrooms open at that early hour in the vicinity of the studios located on River Street. Thus, while a prerecorded reel-to-reel tape of a weekly faith-based program played, he drove quickly all the way home to his apartment, unintentionally scared his wife and their cat who were still asleep in bed as he literally ran down the hallway, used the bathroom, and then raced back to the station a few minutes before the tape ended. Submitted a written complaint to management at the end of his shift. From that point on, the restroom was never locked.
- Presented a letter on behalf of California Gov. George Deukmejian to Bob Hope during a fundraiser for the United Aerospace Workers and McDonnell Douglas Corporation Veterans Memorial. The letter commended Hope for his many years of entertaining U.S. troops overseas during three wars, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The gala affair, including dinner and star-studded entertainment, was staged in the main ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel near the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. on Oct. 22, 1990. Other attendees included Joey Bishop, the toastmaster, Bob Hope's wife, Dolores Hope, Lee Greenwood and his companion Shawn Southwick, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam from the 1960s TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show, Chuck Norris' younger brother Aaron Norris, NFL head coach George Allen, and other celebrities and distinguished guests. Military personnel, both officers and enlisted, and veterans also attended including commanders of statewide veterans service organizations. Due to the significant number of VIPs, there were four head tables on the two-level dais. The audience totaled nearly a thousand.
- As the California National Guard's deputy public affairs officer, interviewed Fred Silverman, president and CEO of NBC, during a California Broadcasters Association (CBA) semi-annual meeting in Monterey, Calif. in 1980. The subsequent story, published in Army Times, concerned satellite uplink and downlink time for the American Forces Radio and Television Service. Was invited to the meeting by Howard Smiley, president of CBA, and a friend of Maj. Gen. Frank J. Schober Jr., commanding general of the California National Guard.
- From his first marriage, one offspring, a daughter, Stefani (pronounced Stephanie) Levine (née Janosco). One grandchild, a grandson, Luis Lennon Marroquin, named after John Lennon of The Beatles.
- [Commenting about the adult music program at Skip's Music, Sacramento] Nothing can beat playing with other musicians. That's the real deal of Weekend Warriors.
- [Commenting about Moneyball (2011) I appear in one scene with Brad Pitt, just long enough for a few folks to acknowledge they saw me on screen. Recognition is nice, but as George C. Scott said in Patton (1970), all glory is fleeting.
- It's not the end of the world. The only thing that's the end of the world is the end of the world.
- [Commenting about the first time he heard The Music Machine's "Talk Talk," written by Sean Bonniwell] As though The Kinks' lead guitarist, Dave Davies, slashed my car radio speaker cone with a razor blade in a fit of rage, the song blasted through the dashboard and roared across the sonic landscape.
- [Commenting about helping homeless veterans in California and disaster victims in Texas after Hurricane Katrina] My lasting thought is, as Phil Ochs sang, there but for fortune may go you or I.
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