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Comedian has Iowa on his mind

Gary Kroeger left Iowa to "make it big" in New York and, unlike most wide-eyed aspiring actors, he actually did. Kroeger worked on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985 and later hosted The Newlywed Game. Since then, his career has been a patchy series of appearances on television shows, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and L.A. Law, and voiceover work. After marrying and having a son, Kroeger decided the best place to build a career was not New York or Los Angeles, but Cedar Falls, Iowa. Kroeger spoke at Grinnell Monday night, encouraging students to consider living permanently in Iowa and to combat the undeserved "hick image" of the Hawkeye State.?

What did you think about [your friends and family] who stayed in Iowa while you were in L.A.?

When I left Cedar Falls, I kind of thought I was doing something special, like I am getting out of the rut. I didn't look down on my friends, but I thought, "Gee, why wouldn't they want to get out of here too?" But as the years went by, I would come back for Christmas [and] the Fourth of July and my life was somewhat of a struggle in terms of my career-because entertainment can be that way, I would look at my friends who stayed in Cedar Falls, who had good jobs and nice houses and were involved in school activities with their kids, and I would get very jealous. And I would think, "You guys did it right." I thought that there was this big world out there, fame and fortune, glitter and glamour, and it was so meaningful and important. But I would look at my friends and go, "You know what? You had it right. You are living good solid lives." And now when I hang out with them, I get to be one of those guys. It's like, "You know what? We took different routes, but here we are." And we share our kids, school issues, sporting events.

What did your friends think when they saw you on Saturday Night Live?

They made a big deal out of me. It left me a little embarrassed at times. They would always make a big deal out of how I went off into the world and pursued a very difficult career and had a reasonable amount of success, and they still make a big deal out of it, you know? And it embarrasses me a little bit, because I want to say, "Geez, come on guys, not this stuff again." But at the same time I enjoy it ? Iowa, Cedar Falls is very kind to me and allows me to speak at colleges and high schools. They want me to be in their organizations, things like that. And some of that's because of the fact that I went out and did these different things. I'm enjoying the attention.

A lot of Grinnellians are really committed to changing the world and social justice What do you recommend they do upon graduation? Do you think they should not pursue that big world?

The greatest minds and thinkers come from all over the world. I just want them to include Iowa as a choice. That's my only mission. I don't want Iowa to just be shoved aside ... I want to put it in the game and see it be a choice. Iowa's just a piece of the world, but what I found out is that I can't change the world. All I can do is change my part, and if I can affect the lives that surround me, maybe as big as the borders of the state, then I think it becomes a domino effect. My goal is to contribute to the community I live in, and if that contributes to the world at large, great. I'm not going to be president now. That dream's probably gone away. But anyone that wants to conquer the world-go for it. Maybe you can conquer it from here ... There was a time when if you wanted to write a script for Hollywood, you had to live in L.A., but now you can write from anywhere.

What sort of misconceptions do people in California have about Iowa and vice versa?

The main misconceptions Iowans have, particularly with L.A., is that they're just a bunch of jerky liberals out there. And that's really not the case. There are just as many conservatives, good people and bad people as here. The misconceptions they have about Iowa-and I hear them all the time-is that there's nothing to do here-that we're just kind of happy-go-lucky hicks. They're surprised to learn how educated we are. They're surprised to learn that there are world-class industries here ? The world at large doesn't know that. We haven't done a great job of marketing Iowa, but there's an Iowan snobbery, too. We don't like people who put on airs and seem to be false, and I think we tend to look at urban centers like Chicago, New York and L.A. as false and full of pretense. But they're just people.

That sort of seems to be the opposite of the Los Angeles actor type. How did you mix the two?

There were plenty of people like myself who just wanted to be good people and honest. The industry tries to steer you away from those qualities. My friends were all people who I barbequed with and joked with, and they were from all over the country. They were like me, just looking for the humanity in the midst of all of it. And that's all over LA. You really find your own, even in a big city like that.

What's going to happen if your kids grow up and want to move to L.A.?

You know if his passion is-whatever it is and wherever it takes him, I will support him. To be an actor you have to really have no choice. It's like, "I love performing so much. I don't care what the odds are. I'm gonna do it." That's the only way you'll make it, to just have that blind, crazy ambition, and if he has that, then begrudgingly I'll accept it. But I'd rather he be a doctor.

-Sarah Mirk and Abby Rapoport

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