TeleTales #13…”Some Like It Hot”, 1959
TeleTales #13…”Some Like It Hot”, 1959
Did you know that when Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon first put on the female make-up and costumes, they walked around the Goldwyn Studios lot to see if they could “pass” as women? It worked, but just to make sure, they then tried using mirrors in public ladies rooms to fix their makeup, and when none of the women using it complained, they knew they could be convincing as women. There is a scene on the train recreating this moment.
Danny Kaye and Bob Hope were considered for the roles that went to Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Jerry Lewis was offered the role ultimately played by Jack Lemmon, but declined because he didn’t want to dress in drag. When Lemmon received an Oscar for the role that Lewis gave up, Lewis claims Jack sent him chocolates every year to thank him. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
Funny stuff
To clarify. Lemmon did not win an Oscar for the role. He was best supporting actor in “Mister Roberts” and best actor for “Save the Tiger.”
before it went to Tony Curtis. Billy Wilder offered the role to Frank Sinatra who says yes… then reconsidered. I interviewed him about the movie (currently on the DVD special edition) and he never mentioned Kaye nor Hope. It was the picture where Curtis infamously described working with Marilyn Monroe as “like kissing Hitler”. Perfect picture today, but a rocky road to get it shot. Facing the mimeograph deadline, they nabbed “nobody’s perfect” from another part of the script. After typing the famous last line, Iz Diamond asked Billy what he thought about it, “Not bad, we’ll leave it in until we think of something better”. Sometimes things are perfect.