Facts About ‘Caddyshack’ You Never Knew Before

The Fictional Illinois-Based Film Was Shot In Florida

There were two problems with filming in California. The movie was supposed to be set in Illinois. There are no palm trees in Illinois. Director Harold Ramis also wanted to get away from studio execs while filming. So, he suggested moving the filming somewhere else. Florida was his first choice, but the golf course in Florida had palm trees, too. Rami decided he’d rather take the palm trees and avoid the studio executives, so the movie was filmed in Florida, palm trees and all.

Bill Murray Was Supposed To Just Cameo

When cast, Harold Ramis had only planned for Murray to cameo in Caddyshack, but he impressed the director so much that Harold Ramis asked him to stay on for six more days. The film launched Murray’s career, and the pair went on to star in several other comedies together.

The Pitchfork Scene Was Improvised

The scene where Bill Murray’s character tells the story about caddying for the Dalai Lama while threatening Peter Berkrot with a pitchfork was completely off-script. Peter was uncomfortable the whole scene, making for an incredibly genuine performance.

Caddyshack Was Henry Wilcoxon’s Last Movie

Henry Wilcoxon played the role of Bishop Pickering after having starred in some of Hollywood’s most classic films, such as Cleopatra (1934) and The Greatest Show on Earth in 1952. After Caddyshack was done with filming, he never did another film. He died in 1984, just four years after Caddyshack.

It was the 1980s. Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield were put on set together. So, you can imagine there was a lot of partying. They partied so much, in fact, that filming often would have to wait until they finally stumbled onto set.

Who was not having fun on set? Click “Next” to find out,