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April 20, 2006
John Guth, famed for "Star Wars" stunt
By Mark Rahner
Seattle Times staff reporter
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/obituaries/2002941357_ guthobit20.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/04/19/2002941081 .jpg
John Guth surfs the Web during the 4 1/2 months he and Jeff Tweiten
spent camping outside the Cinerama.
John Guth made news around the world by camping outside a Seattle
theater for months to see a "Star Wars" movie. Wednesday, friends and
family gathered to celebrate the spirit that led such a stunt and to
mark his April 13 death, a suicide.
Mr. Guth, 36, died of toxic asphyxia from inhaling carbon monoxide,
according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.
He had been president of the Seattle Star Wars Society, and in 2002,
he achieved planetary notoriety for camping outside the Cinerama for
4-½ months with club member Jeff Tweiten to be first in line for "Star
Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones."
"Not everybody's going to understand this," Mr. Guth said at the time.
"A lot of people, just because they're not doing it, they think it's
weird."
What he called their "performance-art project" landed Mr. Guth and
Tweiten on the "Today" show, CNN, "The Daily Show," and countless
radio broadcasts worldwide. While the stunt drew ridicule and even
pies in the face, Mr. Guth's upbeat attitude disarmed many, inspiring
stunning acts of kindness as well, and recognition from "Star Wars"
creator George Lucas. "It just amazes me how much global interest
there is in two guys sitting on a sidewalk waiting for a movie," Mr.
Guth had said.
Mr. Guth operated his own small multimedia-production company for a
living. He's survived by his partner, Bryan Barron. He was an animal
lover who called their three dogs and two cats their "kids"; a movie
buff who took pride in his decked-out home theater; a lover of good
cigars and Scotch whisky; and an aspiring actor who had landed bit
parts in a couple of sitcoms and had been active in theater
productions.
Mr. Guth also is survived by his parents, Barry and Janice Guth of
Greenville, S.C., and a brother, Chris Guth of Deltona, Fla.
Barron said the waiting stunt for which Mr. Guth was best known didn't
change his life, "because John was always doing it just for the
experience of it."
"One of the things that attracted people to John was his quality of
always being willing to try something new. It was a powerful way for
him to interact with the general public and work on one of the things
which he always prided himself on, which was the ability to change
people's perceptions."
Tweiten called the packed service Wednesday at Kent's Edline-Yahn &
Covington Funeral Chapel "uplifting."
"It just reminded me of all the good times I had with John and how I'm
going to miss him. He was one of the guys that made this city a
special place.
"For a short time when we were in line, the entire world saw that, and
he really enjoyed saying to the world, 'This is how you should be. Be
a nice guy. Be a nice human being.' John loved the zany. He loved the
extraordinary. He wasn't afraid to be bold."
The memorial service, Tweiten said, reminded him of their favorite
movies.
"I feel like Luke seeing Obi-Wan die by the hand of Darth Vader. I
know John's out there, you know? And now I kind of understand, and
will always look at that scene differently," Tweiten said.
Barron said he'll maintain Mr. Guth's personal Web site,
www.johnguth.com, because Mr. Guth said in a note that he wanted it to
stand as a lasting legacy "to prove my existence in this world."
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