This week we’ll take you behind the scenes of movies and television. Here are some backstage facts and happenings you may not have known about regarding some very well known TV shows and movies. So, let’s go ‘Behind the Scenes”.
When “I Love Lucy” ended Lucille Ball wanted to do a spinoff series called “The Mertzes”. Vivian Vance, who played Ethel, refused to do it. She and William Frawley actually hated each other off screen and she refused to work with him again.
In the movie “Dick Tracy” starring and directed by Warren Beatty, only seven colors were used in the entire film. Beatty wanted only red, green, yellow, black, brown, blue and orange used in the costumes, sets and backdrops just as they were used in each issue of the comic book.
When the film “Gone With the Wind” was being cast the first choice for the role of Rhett Butler was Gary Cooper, but he was under contract to Samuel Goldwyn who refused to loan him out for a film he thought would be a ‘bomb’, so Clark Gable got the role. For the role of Scarlett O’Hara, Paulette Goddard was the choice, but the studio was not in favor of her marriage to Charlie Chaplin so Vivien Leigh was given the role.
In 1957, “Leave it to Beaver” would become the first TV show to actually show a toilet on TV. They couldn’t show the actual toilet bowl because station execs thought it was too “personal”. So, they showed the tank and even that was not easy to get past the network executives and censors. How times have changed!
Pamela Anderson was originally going to be cast as Agent Scully in the hit show “X-Files”. But creator Chris Carter changed his mind and instead of a sexy blonde, he went for a more serious character and chose Gillian Anderson for the role.
In the blockbuster film “Titanic”, the song “My Heart Will Go On” was disliked by Director James Cameron. Celine Dion did not like it and did not want to record it. But her husband convinced her it could be a major hit and after hearing the demo Cameron changed his mind.
One of the most popular shows on TV was “The Muppets” but here is a fact I bet you did not know, most of the Muppets are left-handed. Why? Most puppeteers use their dominant (right) hand to work the puppet’s mouth, which means they use their left hand to move the puppet’s left hand.
In the Humphrey Bogart classic film “Casablanca” in a scene at Rick’s Place, Dooley Wilson plays piano. While he was a legit musician and band leader, Wilson was a top notch drummer not a piano player and faked the entire scene. Then the song “As Time Goes By” was later dubbed in.
Did you ever notice in the opening credits of “Gilligan’s Island”, where all of the flags can be seen at half-mast. The reason for that was because the pilot for the show was shot right after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Actor Gene Hackman had bought the rights to “The Silence of the Lambs” and was going to star in it and direct it. But he backed off when he decided that the role was just too dark for him, so Anthony Hopkins took on the role instead.
That takes us to the end of this trip “Behind the Scenes”, but you can be sure we will do it again. In the meantime, we hope you have found out a few things you may not have known in television and the movies. Have a great week everyone!
