Richard Gere has been a household name since his breakout role in the racy 1980 film, “American Gigolo,” but his early days in New York weren’t so glamorous.
“My go-to meal was eggs,” he recalled to Page Six of his early career as a struggling actor. “Going out to eat at restaurants was not even a real thing for me. Those were some hard desperate times.”
The star also said, “I was starving during the ’70s as an actor just at the start of my career, just trying to making it. I was lucky enough to work, but there weren’t many actors making any money back then. I was doing Broadway for the first time. I actually did off-Broadway, then off-off- Broadway.”
We spoke to “The Pretty Woman” star, 73, when he served as a co-chair for City Harvest’s 40th Anniversary Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street.
He further recalled that as an actor at the time: “In New York nobody made any money. Unfortunately, hungry was a normalcy.”
“Being hungry was the norm for many people, but especially actors starting their journey in New York. That’s why this organization is so important to me,” he said of food charity City Harvest.
He added, “Food is a life necessity and many do not have that need met in America. Everything is so damn expensive now. So I am happy to lend my hand when it comes to people getting a nutritional meal. It is a basic human right.”
Tyson Beckford also served as the host for the gala, which raised $5 million for New Yorkers in need.
