Jimmy Kimmel Live returned Monday (Jan. 13) for its first broadcast since being forced to evacuate due to the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires. The episode proved to be an emotional one as Jimmy Kimmel could not hold back his tears while he told viewers about the “very scary” week they’ve had before welcoming Police Academy star Steve Guttenberg, whom Kimmel said has emerged as an “unexpected hero” of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Not only was Guttenberg spotted on local news helping first responders, but he also phoned into Live Monday evening from the Pacific Palisades, where he said he was fighting small fires and rescuing stray dogs.
“I’m good. I feel so much for al the people here that lost their homes and are having so much trouble,” Guttenberg told Kimmel. “It’s a really really tough time right now, but I appreciate everybody and all that you’re saying… really, really rough time right now for everybody.”
He was calling in from a neighbor’s house that had been destroyed in the fire. The remnants of the house could be seen behind him as he explained, “I saw some smoke. I’m trying to put out some small fires, that’s what my neighbors and I are doing.”
Guttenberg continued, “It’s unbelievable how many homes have been lost and how many people have been affected.”
Kimmel playfully asked the network actor, “Steve, do you feel like your training in Police Academy helped prepare you for this?” As Guttenberg laughed and denied it, Kimmel continued cracking jokes, saying, “Has the mayor approached you about being the next Batman? Not the movie Batman, the real Batman.”
Guttenberg responded, “No, but I need clean underwear if anybody has clean underwear.”
Kimmel became choked up several times during his opening monologue.
“Very scary, very stressful, very strange week here in L.A. where we work, where we live, where our kids go to school,” he said through tears. “We had to evacuate Wednesday. Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry, some of our coworkers lost their homes.”
He later added, “It has been a sickening, awful, shocking experience but it has also been in a lot of ways a beautiful experience because, once again, we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other.”
But Kimmel managed some levity later on in the show when he welcomed Snoop Dogg and Roy Wood Jr.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs on weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.
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