Get Ready For A Book About The Making Of Caddyshack!
Caddyshack just might be one of the best sports movies ever. It still survives the test of time and is an immediate stop down when scrolling thru cable channels.
But the hidden gem is the backstory on how the movie was almost cancelled by the studio due to the heavy partying (drinking and drugs were huge players) and why Rodney Dangerfield’s classic character Al Czervik was nearly scuttled.
Well, you’re about to get the chance to read all about it.
Sports Illustrated posted an excerpt.
Here’s what Nashawaty says about casting Chevy Chase as zen-influenced playboy, Ty Webb.
“…the former Saturday Night Live star liked the idea of spending time on a movie set with kindred spirits who could make him laugh. Plus, Chase was keen on mocking the sport. “I’d never gone for golf; I was more of a tennis player,” he says. “My father told me to stay away from Republicans on golf courses; they just wasted the day so they could stay away from their families. I mean, what the hell was that? Walking around like it was some kind of aerobic sport!”
With respect to He Who Gets no Respect, Rodney Dangerfield, Nashawaty writes Rodney was in peak late-1970s form during casting.
“We brought Rodney in to the studio,” says Jon Peters, Caddyshack’s executive producer. “He comes in wearing this aqua-blue leisure suit and takes out a plastic bag and does two lines of coke…Dangerfield would end up getting $35,000 for his role. And though he would always credit Caddyshack for launching his movie career, he would often do so while complaining that he actually lost $150,000 on the film, having given up a month of headlining in Vegas to shoot it.”
“Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderalla Story” by Chris Nashawaty hits stores April 24.