ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT
Steve Bakunas Where Creative Energy Meets Philanthropy By Mike Shannon
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arely does someone come along who has an immediate positive effect on the world around him. Steven Bakunas is that guy. The artist, musician, actor, activist, world traveler and philanthropist is a newcomer to Guanacaste, where he and his wife have just purchased a home. Bakunas’s story is worth relating. His resume of life experiences reads like a grab bag of antidotes to new challenges. The formative years
CREATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Born in 1957 in Milford, Connecticut, Steve enjoyed a typical childhood surrounded by a brother and seven sisters. After his father’s untimely passing when he was 13, Steve continued living in a house
full of girls until the ripe age of 16. Then, feeling the need to “broaden my perspective,” he bravely ventured out on his own. His enterprising spirit and sense of adventure produced a laundry list of unusual vocations: driving a limo for the Grateful Dead, selling used cars, tending bar and becoming an upholsterer. At 21, he actually traveled with a circus. He even lived in a religious cult for five years. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up! And if any of those nuggets didn’t raise an eyebrow, in 2005 Bakunas tied the knot with the love of his life, Linda Lavin — better known as Alice on the ‘70s sitcom “Mel’s Diner.” Yes … Alice!
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Throughout Bakunas’s life, he has always gravitated toward the arts, activism, adventure and creativity in pursuing what he calls, “the thing.” And though he did not expound on the exact definition of that “thing,” this writer got the impression it is equal parts self-gratification in his artistic endeavors and genuine philanthropy. howlermag.com
