Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Steven is best known for his screaming-queen antics in his role as the air traffic control assistant Johnny in the 1980 hit comedy Airplane!; among his many campy scene-stealing lines in the movie were:

(someone hands him a sheet of paper) "Johnny, what can you make out of this?"
"This! Why I can make a hat or a brooch or a pterodactyl..."
and, in response to the comment "The fog is getting thicker."
"...and Leon is getting larger."
and (referring to an airplane): "Well, it's a big pretty white plane with a red stripe, curtains at the windows, wheels, and it just looks like a big Tylenol!"

Stucker was one of the first actors to announce he was suffering from HIV. He died in Hollywood, California, of AIDS-related complications, at age 38. He was buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory.