Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Professional dreamer

The movie didn't exaggerate.

When you saw the small-town Illinois boy telling his incredulous father and dozen-plus siblings he'd one day play football for Notre Dame, that was Rudy.

When you saw the teenager reprimanded by his high school teachers for poor grades, that was Rudy.

When you saw the blue-collar worker knocking at the door of Notre Dame's president in the middle of the night, that was Rudy.

And when you saw the Fighting Irish walk-on finally step onto the football field and sack the quarterback with 27 seconds left in the last home game of his career, that was Rudy.

And that was his dream come true.

Today, you can see the squarely built, 5-foot-6 Rudy Ruettiger bolting from his exotically appointed Henderson home to the airport, off to make other people's dreams come true.

He speaks to professionals, sports teams and school kids around the country, imparting his feisty brand of inspiration and details of his experience as told in the movie "Rudy."

"It's amazing what a difference 27 seconds makes ... how you can relate the game of athletics with the game of life," a young fan wrote to Rudy.

Last year, Rudy also co-wrote a book, "Rudy's Rules" (WRS Publishing, $19.95), with New Jersey sports columnist Mike Celizic, in which he gives tips on how to make dreams come true.

At that, the 48-year-old Rudy has become an expert. But it took more than one dream chase.

Rudy spent his first 27 years fighting the odds stacked against him -- blue-collar background, size, dyslexia -- to be a part of Notre Dame's football legacy.

After those 27 seconds of fame, he was carried off by his teammates to the thunderous chanting of "RU-DY, RU-DY, RU-DY."

The thrill lasted until his graduation the following June (1976).

"And then reality smacked me in the face again," he says. "I didn't have a focus anymore. ... I hadn't yet absorbed the lesson from what I had done."

Now he has it in writing, as Rule No. 10: "When you achieve one dream, dream another."

"Getting what you want is only a problem if you have nowhere to go next," he says. "Dreaming is a lifetime occupation."

Making 'Rudy' reality

After spending a few years selling insurance and working for an auto dealership, he dreamt big once more -- getting a movie made about his life.

It was a 10-year series of hopes, mistakes and disappointments. But just as he did the first time, he never quit.

He began writing his own script -- "The worst screenplay you could imagine," he says.

He went to New York to find literary agents. But instead, on the sidewalk and on a whim, he gambled all his money away on what looked like a sure win -- a game called three-card Monte.

He fell for another scam when he hired a professional screenwriter who absconded with his credit cards and the script.

His first break came when he was talking to a friend in a South Bend, Ind., hotel lobby about his movie idea. Hotel Manager John Stratigos overheard and interrupted.

Stratigos' brother knew Angelo Pizzo, the screenwriter for "Hoosiers," and Rudy called him.

Through Don Stratigos, he connected with Pizzo, who liked the story. But, fearful of being labeled as an Indiana sports movie screenwriter, Pizzo declined the offer.

To convince Pizzo the movie would be worth it, Rudy arranged some time later to have lunch with him at a Hollywood restaurant. But Pizzo didn't show.

"I kept giving him five more minutes, 10 more minutes," Rudy says. "Before I knew it, it's two hours and my lasagna's sitting there cold.

"I remembered he said he didn't live far from the restaurant, so I went out looking for him."

As the movie depicted, Rudy talks to anyone, defies propriety and walks in any door at any time.

"I found a postman and started talking with him. After about 10 minutes, we had a little relationship going. So I asked him, 'Do you know where Angelo Pizzo lives? I'm supposed to meet him for lunch.'"

The postman directed him to Pizzo's house.

"I knocked on Angelo's door and said, 'This is Rudy and you're late for lunch, dude.'

"He found out I wasn't just any guy trying to get a story done. The rest is history."

But a history fraught with more challenges.

Luck with the Irish

The executive at Columbia Pictures who had agreed to do the movie changed studios, and Columbia dumped all his projects. It became a movie without a studio.

Tri-Star Pictures eventually bought the idea, but then Rudy had to get Notre Dame to agree. And the clock was running out.

"It was August, and we wanted to shoot in the fall. It was now or never."

By now, though, Rudy knew how to play the game. He once again went straight to Notre Dame's top echelon -- this time to Rev. William Beauchamp, the university's vice president.

"I tried to convince him that the movie would be about pain, human spirit, determination," Rudy recalls.

The priest agreed to see Pizzo and director David Anspaugh.

But Rudy warned them, "He wants to see why you are going to do this movie. He wants to test your integrity. Sell them in what you believe in, not on Hollywood.'"

They walked away with approval to do the movie. Like in his pursuit of Notre Dame, Rudy's bulldog determination led the way.

A success story

During the filming, he was a consultant.

"I was part of everything in the movie, but smart enough to allow directors and producers and writers to do their jobs," he says.

"This was the icing on the cake. I knew when to back off and go in. My role was to walk around every day and inspire people."

Don Stratigos speaks of Rudy's tenacity. And his humility.

"People say this guy has got to be an ego-maniac to have a movie made about himself. There's not a speck of that in Rudy. He wanted this movie to be made for the good of humanity. It's a heart-touching story that sends a positive message to young people: Don't give up on yourself."

In 1993, the movie was completed. For the first two months after its release, it was listed among the top five movies at the box office.

'I wanted it more'

Then Rudy began chasing another dream. He always wanted to be a coach, but on his terms.

"Talent doesn't win football games," he says. "But talent, heart and desire do. A good coach will recognize what's inside."

Speaking to large groups would enable Rudy to coach that way.

Yet he understood his own limitations. His dyslexia is the reason he had done so poorly in high school.

And he doesn't have a natural bent toward eloquence. He uses simple phrases and talks with a slight lisp and scattered malapropisms.

But he had learned that limitations can be opportunities. At Notre Dame, he overcame his dyslexia by taking detailed notes and studying his material over and over.

Despite his size and the blue-chip competition, he made the football practice squad "because I wanted it more and worked harder than anyone," he says.

Millions of Rudys

Public speaking calls once more upon his "I can do it if I work hard enough" reflex.

Audiences see he's authentic and they relate to him. He speaks from his heart, not from a note card in his pocket.

"I talk to the millions of Rudys out there -- the regular people," he says.

He motivates all ages, but he's at his best with the younger crowd, says Cheryl Loverde, his business partner and fiancee. To many, he's their hero.

Reader's Digest sponsors school fund-raising programs throughout the country and brings Rudy into several schools a week as an incentive speaker.

From children who are moved by his story, he receives at least 10 letters a week.

A neatly penned fan letter reads: "Dear Mr. Rudy, I really enjoyed listening to you today. Not only because you got me out of science class, but because I think you're right. We are helping the people that make fun of us when we ignore them. Your friend, Jill."

And Shelley writes: "... I want to thank you for being an inspiration. Now I know that I, too, can make my dream of going to Notre Dame a reality. ... Go Irish!"

Rudy answers each letter. And all the while, he continues to chase more dreams.

Rudy gets animated

Another movie is on the horizon -- an animated, kids version of "Rudy's Rules," which are "everybody's rules," he says.

He and Cheryl are collaborating with another couple on a children's book series.

"(The books) will be done in a cartoon fashion, about an eagle who falls out of his nest and gets into trouble along the way," Cheryl says. "It will teach underlying lessons of 'Rudy's Rules' on a children's level."

Rudy and Cheryl are also planning the Rudy Foundation, a center for children from dysfunctional families.

"It will be like a Disneyland in Las Vegas for children to come for self-esteem," Cheryl says. "Through activities, speakers and productions, we'll teach them to believe in themselves."

Rudy may be a "lunch-box guy" with a simple message. But his dreams soar. As do his tastes.

He and Cheryl thumb through ideas for the facade of their children's center.

Cheryl points to a photo in a Lexus brochure. In the background is a castle-like structure with an ornate golden entrance.

They agree to use an eagle theme, with wings of gold on similar gates.

You see that wing-spanned motif throughout their home. In their living room is an eagle mural, which Rudy calls "Boundaries of Heaven."

"It represents the eagle's strength, the power of a horse and an angel who's saying, 'Come on in,'" Rudy says.

Eagle statuary sits on table tops and on his desk. And an old church bench has been transformed by a painted eagle on its backrest. Beside it stands an American flag.

'Castles in the air'

Inside and out, Rudy and Cheryl's home is filled with jungle-like plants. Their tiger-like cats, Buddy and Champ, wander about the marble and purple-carpeted floors.

Yet Rudy insists life isn't about mansions.

"Learn to work with the integrity of your vision, not for how much money you can make and the big house," he says.

While fighting to get the movie made, Rudy shoveled snow and mowed lawns and did janitorial work at night.

Today he wears $2,000 suits.

"If (my audiences) see that I'm successful enough to dress that nicely, they'll realize that they can get there, too."

He looks up at a balcony above his living room, where he has placed mementos from the film: a movie poster, chairs from the coach's office, a sports locker, a director's chair, a football helmet.

"It starts with building castles in the air," he says.

"Then knowing the difference between a fantasy and a dream. And finally making it come true."

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