Growing Up Above the Washington Crossing Inn: Steve Zettler on Vietnam, Broadway & His New Memoir
Most kids in 1950s Bucks County grew up on a farm or down the street from one.
Steve Zettler grew up upstairs from an inn whose real business was selling booze.
On this episode of the Bucks Townies Podcast, we sit down with Steve Zettler — author, actor and Marine Corps Vietnam veteran — to talk about his new memoir, "Leave the Kid Alone: A Fractured Remembrance," and a life that has gone from Washington Crossing to the DMZ, New York stages and Hollywood sets.
Three Sisters, Three Inns
Steve's grandfather came over from Germany around 1910 with three of his sisters and set each of them up with an inn: one at the Doylestown Inn, one at the Pipersville Inn and one at the Washington Crossing Inn.
That last one is where Steve grew up — upstairs from a restaurant and inn that, back then, was a getaway for New Yorkers — Broadway actors, directors and producers.
His great-aunt ran the place, made a living selling booze out the front door and wouldn't let the kitchen staff touch a drop out the back. She also kept Steve's father away from his own mother — which is how Steve didn't find out he had a grandmother until his great-aunt died.
Why Seven Years Old?
"Leave the Kid Alone" is told from Steve's point of view at seven and eight years old. That was deliberate.
At seven, he explains, the drinking, the fast driving and the grown-ups doing ridiculous things all seemed funny. By nine, you start to realize those people are drunks, and it isn't funny anymore. The book lives in the window when it still was — and there are plenty of laughs in it.
The Kitchen Crew That Raised Him
Steve spent most of his childhood in the inn's kitchen, where the crew was mostly World War I, World War II and Korean War veterans who came out from Philadelphia for room, board and a chance to dry out.
Their war stories — always the funny ones — along with the famous Washington Crossing the Delaware painting he stared at in a local church, helped point him toward the Marine Corps. At 18, facing the draft, he and a friend enlisted rather than wait to be sent into the Army.
From the DMZ to Coming Home
Steve served as a field radio operator near the DMZ, within range of North Vietnamese artillery. He talks about the letters he wrote home — which his mother saved and he later shredded — and how his feelings about the war changed completely over 17 months.
His welcome home in December 1968? A ticket agent at San Francisco's airport tossed his military standby ticket back across the counter and told him to wait his turn behind the people paying full fare.
Broadway, Hollywood and a Young Samuel L. Jackson
After the Marines, Steve headed to New York, bartending and waiting tables while working as a photographer and stage manager before finally stepping on stage himself. His first part came with a sword fight he had one day to learn.
He went on to perform in "A Soldier's Play," the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the segregated Army in World War II — a production whose cast included Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson. Steve toured with it for three years and says Sam Jackson is exactly who you see on screen: one of the funniest people you'll ever meet.
From there it was Los Angeles, network TV and films, including a seven-week shoot on "Defenseless" that was supposed to last one.
Writing for a Living
Steve and his wife wrote 12 mysteries together. He's since written thrillers, and "Leave the Kid Alone" is his first memoir — and, he says, it's doing better than any of his fiction. He's already working on the next one, about the road trip he took the day he got out of the Marine Corps.
We also get his honest take on book tours, publicists, scam "promoters" and why Andrew thinks Steve should start a storytelling YouTube channel.
Watch the Full Episode
Watch the full conversation with Steve Zettler on the Bucks Townies Podcast on YouTube and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Find Steve and his books at stevezettler.com.
Bucks Townies features conversations with the entrepreneurs, creators and personalities who make Bucks County such an interesting place to live and work.
The Bucks Townies Podcast is presented by Revival Building Group — We Are Your Builder™.
