30 Behind The Scenes Facts About Our Favorite Famous Comedies

By:: Brian C. Miller; Cracked Writers

November 24, 2022

30 Behind The Scenes Facts About Our Favorite Famous Comedies

How hard is it to make a successful comedy? You get some likable characters (…or even deliriously unlikable ones!), get them into a series of misunderstandings and watch the goofs and gags fly! While it would be nice if that's all there is to it, it appears to be a significantly more complicated process.

“What's funny” can be a controversial enough statement on it's own, just as your parents what they think of the objectively very funny “I Think You Should Leave” – but sometimes disagreements even arise between the creatives and the people with the actual money. See: The studio basically trying to make seminal classic “Office Space” to be a worse movie on virtually every level.

Then there's all sorts of personal drama and moving pieces! Ugh! Some of the facts below aren't even bad or challenging, just fun facts about a bunch of funny movies and TV shows that we like.

30 Uncle Rico's Arm

BEHINO-THE-SCENES SFACTS That was a helluva throw from UNCLE RICO CRACKED.COM Не actually nailed bike-riding Napoleon in the face with Kip's steak. The impact gave Heder two black eyes that you can see in multiple scenes. The steak fling is especially impressive considering actor Jon Gries is a vegan. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

29 Nearly Lost a Nipple

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS Apatow worried that Steve would lose a BODY PART CRACKED COM We were looking for who was a professional waxer, says Apatow. Somebody said 'this is the person. And the woman who claimed to know how to wax I think lied. She put the wax over Steve's nipple and we almost lost a nipple. That's all I'm going to say. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

28 Ron Livingston Getting Skinny As Hell

The studio wanted Ron Livingston to be skinny as hell. CRACKED.COM Fox execs assigned him a 90's version of the Chris Pratt workout regimen leading up to his screen test. Не spent a weekend jumping rope, and got about halfway through the fast they recommended. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

27 What About Bob?

BILL MURRAY TOOK TO BEING HIS ANNOYING CHARACTER IN WHAT ABOUT BOB? A LITTLE TOO WELL. CRACKED.COM Murray went method with his character Bob Wiley in the film, seeking out ways to anger co-star Richard Dreyfuss, in- cluding yelling that everyone hated him and merely tolerated his presence. Не also playfully shoved producer Laura Ziskin into a lake. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

26 Spinal Tap & Ozzy Osbourne

This Is Spinal Tap Ozzy Osbourne thought Spinal Tap was a real band. GRACKED GOM One of the many people who didn't catch that the whole thing was a joke was The Prince of Darkness himself. When he figured out what was going on, he said They seemed quite tame compared to what we got up to. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

25 Linda Cardenelli's Age

LINDA CARDENELLI WAS 24 WHEN SHE PLAYED 16-YEAR-OLD LINDSAY CRACKED.COM She was the oldest teen actor in the show. John Francis Daley was the youngest, at 14. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

24 Dracula Puppet Musical

Jason Segel wrote a DRACULA PUPPET MUSICAL in real life. In his early twenties, Segel wrote songs for the super serious musical. WHEN НЕ PLAYED SOME OF THE SONGS TO JUDD APATOW, НЕ WAS TOLD TO NEVER EVER PLAY IT FOR ANOTHER HUMAN BEING AGAIN. BEHIND THE SCENES I FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

23 A Famous Director Penis

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE PENIS BELONGS TO A FAMOUS DIRECTOR. ? WALK HARD According to Judd Apatow, the guy whose penis is shown onscreen went on to become a famous director, however, he refuses to reveal who it is. CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

22 Jack Black and Parents

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS Jack Black scared the heck out of the PARENTS CRACKED.COM The moms were spooked by the rampaging wild man they knew from Orange County and Tenacious D. My mom was just terrified that he was going to be a terrible influence on me, says Jordan-Claire Green. But Black quickly won them over: Не was just amazing. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

21 That's Our Mandy

Mandy Patinkin identified with Inigo Montoya CRACKED.COM Patinkin said, I had lost my own father-he died at 53 years old from pancreatic cancer in 1972. I didn't think about it consciously, but I think that there was a part of me that thought, If I get that man in black, my father will come back. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

20 Spinal Tap's Tour

This Is Spinal Tap Every tour stop was actually in Los Angeles. CRACKED.COM They did a good job of hiding the City of Angels, but eagle-eyed fans have spotted palm trees in one scene set in New York. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

19 Napoleon Dynamite Made Bank

2013 BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS Low budget, BIG PROFITS CRACKED.COM The original budget was $200,000. It took $400,000 to finish the film for Sundance. Fox Searchlight saw Napoleon there and bought it for $4.75 million. The film grossed more than $46 million and made $130 million in DVD sales. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

18 Susan

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS THE MAIN CAST OF SEINFELD HATED WORKING WITH THE ACTRESS THAT PLAYED SUSAN, LEADING TO HER BEING KILLED OFF. GRACKED COM Heidi Swedberg was, by all accounts, a lovely person, but the cast had a hard time getting in sync with her on the show. After Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared some screentime with Swedberg, she remarked to Larry David, Don't you want to just kill her? — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

17 Chris Columbus Quits Christmas Vacation

CHEVY CHASE DROVE SLOWASEN.DS-3HL-ONI-38 CHRIS COLUMBUS TO QUIT CHRISTMAS VACATION. GRACKED.COM After shooting a few second unit scenes, director Chris Columbus met with Chevy Chase, after which Columbus walked away from the project. Columbus remarked, To be completely honest, Chevy treated me like dirt. If the term being Chevy Chased away doesn't exist, it needs to. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

16 Monty Python and the Holy Grail's First Shot

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS THE CAMERA BROKE ON THE VERY FIRST SHOT OF MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. CRACKED.COM First-time film directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones leapt feet first into the pro- duction of the movie, choosing an impos- sible location half a mile up Glen Coe in Scotland for their first days of filming. The camera jammed on the first shot, leaving them scrambling to make do. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

15 Roseanne's Enemy List

BEHINO-THE-SCENES SFACTS ROSANNE BARR DISPLAYED A LIST OF HER ENEMIES ON THE DOOR TO HER DRESSING ROOM ON ROSANNE. CRACKED.COM Not trying to hide her aggravation to- wards the crew, Barr prominently dis- played a memo addressing THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE FIRED IF THEY'RE NOT NICE TO ME. This included, EVERYBODY... ALL PRODUCERS, ALL WRITERS, ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

14 Office Space Cursing

The cast ramped up the cussing on purpose. CRACKED.COM During production, they heard the studio was angling to get a PG-13 rating. They started spouting more profanity to make that a much harder sell, and managed to keep the R rating. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

13 Forgetting Sarah Marshall

There's a real funny DELETED SEQUENCE of Sarah Marshall on a RUNAWAY HORSE. The horse is pretty tame as it veers off the horse trail and onto a golf course, but Kristen Bell's character can't ride a horse, so she freaks out when no one tries to help her. BEHIND THE SCENES I FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

12 A Friday Night Lights Reference

EASTER EGGSTRA MEANINGS AND REFERENCES Friday Night Lights EAST LLO ###### 5 LIONS FOOTBALL The Judge is wearing a T-shirt promoting the East Dillon Lions in the series finale. It's a callback to one of her early favorite shows she liked to binge. The Good Place CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

11 The Good Place's Stolen Signs

EASTER EGGSTRA MEANINGS AND REFERENCES The stolen signs DANGER OPEN PIT COMBUSSTIBLE Donkey Doug's apartment is filled with stolen signs from around Jacksonville. Among these, one from Parks and Recreation that reads, Danger: Open Pit. The Good Place CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

10 The Boy Meets World "Death Chair"

BEHIND-THE-SCENESPACTS BOY MEETS WORLD HAD A DEATH CHAIR OF FIRED CHILD ACTORS. CRACKED.COM Writers eventually gave up trying to fill the role of Cory's second best friend, since none of the actors seemed to fit and were fired one after the other. Since this character always sat in a certain seat in the lunchroom, it became known as the death chair by the cast. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

9 Fred and Ethel

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS THE ACTORS PLAYING FRED AND ETHEL MERTZ ON I LOVE LUCY HATED EACH OTHER. CRACKED.COM The odd couple, Vivian Vance and William Frawley, were always tossing insults at each other on screen, but it apparently didn't stop there. Vivian allegedly called Willian an old poop, and William responded creatively by calling her a bitch. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

8 Jessica Walters on Arrested Development

JESSICA WALTERS WAS YELLED AT ON THE SET OF ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. CRACKED.COM After Jeffrey Tambor went off script and was improvising in a take, Walters tried to reset the scene and take it from the top - her being a more traditional actress. Tambor went off on her and she apologized, but she was clearly shaken, later saying it was the first time she was yelled at like that on set. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

7 Coming to America

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS EDDIE MURPHY GOT PLASTERED TO DEAL WITH THE TOXIC ENVIRONMENT ON THE SET OF COMING TO AMERICA. CRACKED.COM Eddie Murphy and director John Landis clashed a lot on set due to Murphy coming into this movie already such a huge star. After some weirdness between them, co- star Arsenio Hall gave Murphy vodka to calm his nerves, and he immediately downed the whole quart. Murphy later said, That was the first and last time I'll ever drink. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

6 Seinfeld's Theme

The theme song was different every episode. Jonathan Wolff re-recorded the song to match Seinfeld's monologue. And that slap bass was actually a synth. CRACKED.COM — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

5 Sonic Youth's Studio

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS The kids recorded at a studio owned by SONIC YOUTH CRACKED.COM We would go from set every day to to rehearse at the Sonic Youth studios, says Весса (Posh Spice) Brown. Black would come along to jam. We felt like rock stars, says Kevin (Spazzy McGee) Clark, pledging allegiance to the band of Mr. Shneebly. — Source: 29 Easter Eggs And Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Iconic Comedies

4 Todd Phillips Quit Borat

BEHIND-THE-SCENES SFACTS THE FIRST BORAT DIRECTOR QUIT THE PRODUCTION AFTER 11 DAYS DUE TO THREATS ON HIS LIFE. GRAGKED.COM After they shot the rodeo scenes of the movie, where Borat gets an entire arena of 2nd amendment loving southerners on his bad side, the crew started to receive threats. The director, Todd Philips, left after 11 days in fear for his safety and Larry Charles was brought in to replace him. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

3 SNL Writer's Room

THE WRITER'S ROOM AT SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE IS FULL OF PEE. CRACKED.COM According to Tina Fey, the (extremely male) writers room at SNL was full of pee cups, as the writers were apparently too lazy to make their way to the very close bathroom. Even the slightly more mature Weekend Update offices had their own pee jar, proudly displayed to whomever walked in. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

2 Bruce Willis and Kevin Smith

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS AN UNCOOPERATIVE BRUCE WILLIS AND A HIGH KEVIN SMITH MADE COP OUT A NIGHTMARE ON SET. GRACKED.COM Willis was apparently dead-set on sabotaging the production of the movie, or at least making Smith's job as director more difficult. Не would intentionally miss his mark, one time walking over to the catering table during a take. Kevin Smith was also reportedly using too much weed during filming, and would sit behind his monitor not interacting with the actors. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

1 Kelsey Grammer's Intervention

BEHINO-THE-SCENES SFACTS THE CAST OF FRASIER HAD TO STAGE AN INTERVENTION FOR KELSEY GRAMMER. CRACKED.COM Kelsey Grammer's alcohol abuse had gotten so bad during the run of the show, that his co-stars had to force him to check into the Betty Ford Center. John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane, said it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and that It's going to somebody's house whom you love, who's down, and just beating him down even further for his own good. And it was... horrifying. — Source: 13 Comedies With Not-So-Funny Behind The Scenes Stories

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