One of Hollywood’s most adored and productive actors is John Goodman.
Goodman has had a tremendous career that is still going strong, starting with his breakout performance on the classic sitcom Roseanne and continuing with several other great movies.
For Goodman, that great woman is his wife Anna Beth Hartzog, to whom he has been blissfully married for more than three decades. Of course, behind every great man stands a great woman.
Through good and bad times, Anna has been a source of support for Goodman. At a difficult point in his life, she gave him the motivation to stop drinking, which eventually caused him to lose a significant amount of weight.
The pair is currently commemorating their 33rd wedding anniversary.
While shooting the 1988 movie Everybody’s All-American in New Orleans, Goodman first met the woman who would become his wife. The actor went to a Halloween party and fell in love with Anna there.
“I went to this Halloween party, and she came up and introduced herself. Goodman told Elle, “I couldn’t understand why anybody that attractive was talking to me.
The two didn’t begin dating right away, though; according to Goodman on Seth Meyers, his future wife “thought he was a zombie.” However, after he “stalked her long distance,” the two began dating.
In 1989, the two got hitched and moved to New Orleans. In 1990, Molly Evangeline Goodman, their daughter, was born.
John Goodman was also making a reputation for himself at this time, courtesy to his breakthrough performance in Roseanne. He was nominated for five Emmy Awards and received a Golden Globe for his performance.
But Goodman was having trouble in the background. The actor started drinking heavily, including on the set of the popular show, as the actor’s newfound stardom began to wear on him.
He told Today that it was initially exciting. When I lost my anonymity, things became frightening.
“I became ungrateful and complacent. I intended to leave the show after nine years—actually, eight years,” he said. “I managed it by sitting on a bar stool, just like I did with everything else. Thus, things became worse… I would have slurred speech.
After missing a rehearsal after partying with pals, things hit rock bottom and he recognised he needed help.
“I kept drinking, but I couldn’t stop trembling. According to The Sun, he claimed, “I had the clarity of thinking that I needed to be hospitalised.
He recounts that his wife ultimately saved his life by arranging for him to enter a rehabilitation facility.
