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SALUTE TO "AMERICAN GRAFFITI"
T
"American Graffiti" Trivia
hese personal stories were graciously
provided by members of the film's
production staff, local residents
and owners of cars that were in
the movie:
Fo r d ’s c o w b o y h a t :
Harrison Ford wore a white
cowboy hat in the film because
George Lucas wanted him
to get his hair cut in ‘50s "flat
top" fashion. Ford refused
because longer hair was the
style of the times and he feared
that cutting it might affect his
opportunities for future acting
jobs. He convinced Lucas
to allow him wear the hat to
cover his hair, which actually
contributed to the ambiance
of Falfa’s rough and tough
personality.
"I want to be Carol":
Cindy Williams wanted to play
Carol and was even willing to
have braces put on her teeth for
better effect.
T h e w h i t e T- B i r d :
During filming, Clay Daily,
owner of the 1956 Thunderbird
that Suzanne Somers drives
was never more than a few
feet away from his prized
possession, constantly wiping
off the dust. Ms. Somers said
that he frequently barked
instructions to her, about what
to and what not to do.
Steve stays home:
After the drag race crash, the
scene in which Steve assures
Laurie that he is staying in
town and not going away to
college with Curt was recorded
in one take. Having been
released from filming for the
day and already in their street
clothes, Ron Howard and
Cindy Williams had to get
back into costume so this scene
could be filmed.
At the hop:
During filming of the hop
scenes, Ron Howard would
come up on stage every few
hours and give away door
prizes to help keep everyone
entertained. Most every time
he did, Flash Cadillac would
play the theme from the
Andy Griffith show. Although
he probably wasn’t thrilled
about this, he was such a great
natured person that he took it
in stride.
In front of the used car lot:
In the scene where Toad
(Charles Martin Smith) is
confronted by the overzealous
car salesman, Mr. Smith
tripped and fell during one of
the shoots. Also, although the
police had the street blocked,
a car slipped by and one of the
cops banged on its hood with
his flashlight as it drove by.
Cop car destruction:
The destruction of the
police car at Jerry’s Cherries
Used Car lot was carefully
orchestrated. The entire rear
axle was cut away from rest
of the car’s frame and body.
The cable attached to the axle
at one end had the other end
attached to the winch on a
heavy-duty 10-wheel tow truck
that was parked in the darkness
at the far end of the lot (not a
light pole as portrayed in the
movie). When the car sped
away from its parked location,
at the precise moment when
it crossed the sidewalk, the
winch was activated. Between
the pulling of the cable
and the momentum of the
forward moving car, the axle
was successfully yanked from
beneath the car. Until the scene
was filmed, the production
staff was concerned that the
car might actually flip over and
land on its roof.
The drag race:
Mr. Lucas had brought
donuts for the cast and asked
Eddie McCullough, owner of
one of the cars in the movie,
to keep an eye on them and
not to give them away to
anyone but the cast. A couple
of onlookers asked if they
could have a donut and Eddie
told them no. Harrison Ford,
inside the Winnebago motor
home where the cast changed
costumes, heard this and came
out and said, “Give ’em a God
damn donut!”
Filming was beset by
a series of misfortunes and
disasters:
• The day before filming
was due to start a key member
of the crew was arrested for
growing marijuana.
• On the first night of
shooting, it took so long to
get the cameras mounted onto
the cars that filming didn't get
started until 2 Am , putting
the crew half a night behind
schedule before they'd even
started.
• On the second night
of shooting a fire in a nearby
restaurant brought fire trucks
into the area. Their sirens
and the resulting traffic jam
preventing any filming.
• During the filming of
Milner's deuce coupe, assistant
cameraman Barney Colangelo
slipped off the trailer of the
camera truck and was run over,
suffering minor injuries.
• Paul Le Mat was rushed
to hospital after suffering an
allergic reaction to the walnuts
in the Waldorf salad he had at
dinner one morning.
• Paul Le Mat threw
Richard Dreyfuss into a
swimming pool, gashing his
forehead on the day before he
was due to have his close-ups
filmed.
• Richard Dreyfuss had
wardrobe complaints and
refused to wear the loud
Bermuda shorts and shirt Lucas
had chosen for his character.
• During the filming of
the drag race between Milner
and Falfa, one of the ’55
Chevy’s axles broke and was
replaced. On the second try,
the replacement axle broke.
On the third try, the car
failed to veer off the road as
planned, narrowly missing two
cameramen lying on the road.
Where the cast stayed:
Cast members roomed at the
Holiday Inn in San Rafael.
continued on next page
MAY 2015• 9