HELP BOB AND STEVE

On behalf of the movie & television industry friends of Bob Miller and Steve Howard, we are humbly asking you for any amount of a donation you can spare, from extremely small to medium to generous, in order to help our beloved Emmy award-winning Costume Designer and friends, Bob and Steve, get their feet back on the ground and avoid immediate eviction, getting their phones & electricity turned off, pay their monthly bills (both life and medical) and somehow get them through the next several months financially due to the cancer diagnosis, current radiation/chemo, upcoming surgery and overall horrific medical journey of Bob's for whom Steve has remained sole caretaker of during this painful and scary time.

Please help our friends get through this excruciatingly scary time and get them back on their feet so that once Bob is back well, they can continue the magic and work that they so cherish and love. And that WE all love as well. We just need to get them through the current month and the upcoming several months ahead. As the song goes, they just need a little help from their friends.

Here is the story of Bob and Steve (The Bob and Steve Show) below:

Bob and Steve met as undergrads in the Theatre department of California State University, Northridge. Bob was the stage manager of a play called Noah. Steve had just been cast as the Monkey. After a four hour conversation over coffee Bob and Steve made a commitment to spend the rest of their lives together. They were legally married in Rockport , Massachusetts in 2007 a few months after Bob’s heart transplant. 49 years later their love and commitment to each other has only become stronger.

They have had many ups and downs. Bob who was born with a heart defect and literally died at Steve’s feet during their time designing costumes together for Sacramento’s Music Circus. They were packing their suitcases to take a short flight to LAX for their gig coordinating costumes for both The American Music Awards and Dick Clark’s New Years’ Rockin’ Eve, a job they did for sixteen years. Bob had collapsed. Finally, the third attempt the paramedics made with the paddles brought Bob’s heart beat back. Bob had a heart valve replaced and life went on

A few years later Bob’s pacemaker was recalled, this time in NYC. A few years later the pocket that the pacemaker was in Bob’s chest became infected this time back in Sacramento. Another risky surgery to remove the pacemaker from the infected pocket. In 2005 Bob began having problems with heart failure. In 2007 Bob had an emergency heart transplant at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Bob and Steve have conquered all of these obstacles while continuing to achieve substantial recognition for their accomplishments.

In 2001 they were both awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from their alma mater, Cal State Northridge for their years of mentoring students in the Theatre department. They frequently were asked to be guest costume designers at CSUN and taught in the CSUN Theatre department relieving a regular faculty member while they were on sabbatical.

Bob and Steve have a combined total of nine Daytime Emmy Awards (all for consecutive years) while they were the Costume Designers for the daytime drama, General Hospital as well as for the spin-off Port Charles.

They have lived and worked in NYC, Boston, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.

In between costume gigs they both worked as temps at the Javits Center in NYC.

No matter what the challenge they got through it and succeeded.

In 2019 after completing a feature film in Nantucket, Bob fell down an unlit stairwell and had a serious leg break that took him off his feet for several months. Steve continued to support them by doing temp work.

In January of 2022 Bob and Steve were fortunate to meet Autumn Federici and Jake Helgren producing/writing partners who own Ninth House Films in Sherman Oaks, California. It turned out to be a perfect match and since January of this year Bob and Steve have designed the costumes for seven feature films for The Ninth House including one shot on location in Hawaii.

Just before going to Hawaii Bob began to develop what was thought to be a stubborn hemorrhoid. While in Hawaii the pain and discomfort became worse. On their return to Los Angeles they were already signed to design another film after which they were scheduled to do two more right after the first of the year.

Once back in Los Angeles, Bob had tests which revealed that it wasn’t a hemorrhoid, but a cancerous growth. In addition a pre-cancerous mass was discovered in the colon which will require surgery. Bob and Steve had to quit the film that they had already begun to prep in Los Angeles and will not be able to do the other films in the first of the year.

Bob and Steve work as a close-knit design team. While Bob is out of commission Steve is his sole caregiver.

At the moment Bob should finish his radiation and chemo near the end of January. After that comes the surgery which will require 4-6 weeks of recovery.

They have been striving for years to find a production company that they could consider home. Now they, actually have two, The Ninth House and MarVista Entertainment who they have had the good fortune to do several films with this past year.

So, now everything has come to an abrupt stop. They were late on their rent for December and have been told they will be evicted if they are late again. As of this writing, their cell phones are due to be disconnected along with their internet and cable service. The electricity is extremely past due. They have a car payment that is coming due as well. Bob and Steve have always prided themselves by paying all of their financial obligations on time. They are 69 years old but it is essential that they keep working every month to make ends meet. They will probably not be able to return to work until April or May. They need funds to pay their monthly bills, buy food and for additional expenses incurred dues to Bob’s illness.

Please help Bob and Steve with any donation you can spare.

We humbly thank you,

Friends of Bob and Steve