Caddyshack is an incredible film. It’s beloved by many people across the world and has become one of the most-quoted films of all time, with some of the best movie quotes ever spoken. Nearly forty years later, we’re still enjoying it! How much do you know about the film though? Here’s 25 facts that may surprise you…
Bill Murray Improvised All Of His Lines
Despite having little experience as a no-name actor, Murray’s talent shone in Caddyshack. It was his first major film, but Murray is such a great comedian that even this early on, he ended up improvising all of his lines in the movie, including cutting the flower tops off with a grass whip. His lines have been called some of the greatest movie quotes of all time.
Doug Kenney Was Drunk When He Wrote Caddyshack
Writer and producer Doug Kenney (pictured, above) began writing at Harvard, where he co-founded the National Lampoon magazine. That’s an auspicious start in of itself, but he wasn’t happy. While working on Caddyshack, he was working through severe depression. He drank heavily, abused cocaine, misbehaved at press conferences, got into a drunken car-crash, and died after falling off a cliff in Hawaii.
The Studio Rejected The Movie Until Chevy Chase Was Cast
Scenes With the Gopher Were Shot After Filming
The producers decided to use the gopher as a uniting theme after the filming was already wrapped. Unfortunately, they realized they had only one shot of Bill Murray trying to catch the gopher. They ended up having to shoot a bunch of scenes post-production to insert later.
Dangerfield Thought All of His Jokes Were Terrible
Caddyshack was Dangerfield’s first big movie. He was used to getting live laughs on The Tonight Show and The Dean Martin Show. When nobody laughed at his scripted jokes, he thought he wasn’t funny and complained. The other actors and crew had to explain that they couldn’t laugh, because it would ruin the take, not because he wasn’t funny.
What two actors didn’t get along in real life? Click “Next” to find out.