Movie Fame and Misfortune
Most of us are aware of some of the great stories of Hollywood stars who passed or missed out on famous and memorable roles. You may recall that George Raft, a hard-nosed star of gangster films of the 1930’s, passed on the lead role in Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, both of which went to Humphrey Bogart. Even the youngsters remember or know of Humphrey, but Raft? Not so much. My case in point. When they were making The Raiders of the Lost Ark, the director wanted to cast Tom Selleck in the role of Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, Selleck had just committed to playing the lead in the television show, Magnum P.I. and felt that he could not back out of his commitment. The role went to Harrison Ford, and the rest is history. Ford should thank Selleck for being an honorable man. Also, for the part of Mrs. Robinson in the film, The Graduate, they originally wanted Doris Day to play that role. She turned it down and it went to Anne Bancroft. (This might be true, or I just made it up.)
Currently, I did hear of a rumor about a remake of Green Acres. It is to star Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro in the lead roles, and will still be a comedy, but with a greater emphasis on the GREEN in Green Acres and hype the environmental issues. Al Gore is being considered for the role of the local storekeeper, as he will also be a scientific consultant for the series. Stay tuned for more details on this.
So much for the regular movies and what ifs and what might have beens. There has been very little information available on similar situations in the field of animation history. In my studies and research, especially in Europe, I have come across the unpublished papers of Professor Giuseppe von Ponzi of the University of Taurusfoemus, in Tuscany Italy. With permission from the professor, I would like to share some of the research and interesting facts that I think movie buffs would appreciate knowing.
When they were casting the original Popeye cartoon series, the role of Popeye’s sidekick was originally offered to a young and upcoming cartoon character by the name of Elmer Fudd. Fudd, after seeing a few scripts, turned down the role, because he saw that his character did not have much dialogue and he was always eating hamburgers and doing not much else. So the role went to a gentleman by the name of Wimpy. Fudd, soon after tested for a role with Warner Brothers in the Looney Tune series and eventually became an established star of numerous pictures. A good move made by Mr. Fudd.
Staying with the Looney Tunes series, they were looking for a dramatic and comic foil to play against their star, Bugs Bunny. Looking for a duck, they decided to see if Donald Duck would fill the bill, so to say. After a number of screen tests, and doing some work opposite Bugs Bunny, they made a decision to go in another direction. Donald had a bit of a temper and with his speech impediment, the angrier he got, the harder it was to understand him. The Looney Tunes would be written with a lot of witty dialogue and they felt that Donald would not be able to hold his own versus Bugs. The job, we know, went to Daffy Duck who ran with the part and even made a number of pictures in a starring role. Donald went back to Disney and made a number of films, some with his erstwhile nephews. (Who were actually some former circus performers, and much older than their screen characters.) Donald was eventually completely overshadowed by Mickey. After the onset of the Mickey Mouse club and other Mickey highlights, Donald became a bit player and in bitterness was rarely seen again. He tried a comeback in Vegas, but the act was panned as he had become quite overweight and the audience was turned off by a fat, crabby duck.
Another interesting and amazing casting note. When MGM decided to get into the cartoon business, they were working to develop a cartoon with the two main characters being a cat and a mouse. They found their mouse star Jerry, almost immediately, but they were having a problem coming up with the cat. A little known fact, is that Sylvester of Looney Tune fame, decided to try out for the role of the Cat. He did a test, but when he looked over the scripts, he was quite astonished. He saw that each film would be without dialogue! There would be music and sound effects, but no words. Sylvester felt that his speaking voice was his strongest point and it would all be wasted in this effort. Also, he consulted his long-time buddy, Tweety Bird, who he had worked with in vaudeville for many years. Tweety advised against taking the role. So Sylvester turned it down and went on to a longstanding career with Warner Brothers and worked in many pictures with Tweety Bird as well. The cat role went to a cat named Tom, and he made numerous films with Jerry in that series. Most critics agree that the Tom and Jerry epics pale in comparison to the high energy, well written, Looney Tunes, but that argument can be saved for another day.
A little later in cartoon history a new show was being prepared as a television series. It was to be called Rocky and Bullwinkle. There were going to be about a couple of spies who would be confronting and dueling with Rocky & B in every episode. The casting call went out over Hollywood and one screen veteran showed up to try to rein in the male character part. His career had been waning for a number of years, but Yosemite Sam, badly wanted to reprise his role of a heavy and felt he was perfect for this part. In his screen test, he finally agreed to get rid of his cowboy hat and his boots and would wear a suit for the role. Unfortunately, the directors also wanted him to drastically trim his handlebar mustache. He was reluctant to agree to it. When he also could not change his southern accent to accommodate a Russian or at least a European accent, the directors sent him packing. They gave the role to a foreigner, a newcomer to Hollywood, by the name of Boris Badenov. They then looked around to find a veteran performer to play the role of the female character. Surprisingly, when they opened the door one day, there was Olive Oyl standing there, looking for one more shot at fame. Sadly, Oyl had been out of work for a number of years. She no longer had her girlish, slim figure. She had packed on the avoirdupois in recent years. Oyl had gone into business with Wimpy on a hamburger chain, and had become addicted to triple cheeseburgers with bacon. Olive ate her way through the profits into chunkiness. Out of respect for her, they gave her a chance, but she did not test well versus Badenov and that role also went to a foreign actress, who went by the name of Natasha Fatale. Olive Oyl has drifted from sight and has not been seen on the screen since that time.
Once again, readers of this blog and learning about things that you will not find anywhere else in the world.
copyright @2017
Love the recasting ideas for Bullwinkle and Popeye.
Looking forward to the next tale.
Love reading these!