FROM BENEATH THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Was there ever a more high-profile search to cast a role than the search for Scarlett O'Hara -- the fiery, stubborn, intrepid Southern belle heroine of MARGARET MITCHELL's popular Civil War novel Gone With The Wind? Because of the book's immense popularity, the general public --  particularly in the South -- felt protective of the Scarlett character, so casting the right actress in the role became a thing of national interest, if not a national obsession. Producer DAVID O. SELZNICK saw this as an opportunity, so he came up with the brilliant idea to turn the casting process into one of the greatest publicity stunts Hollywood would ever know. He fanned the Scarlett flames by engaging gossip columnists, journalists, women's clubs, and fan clubs to start campaigns for their favorite stars. To add to the fury, he sent talent scouts all across America to see if there might be an unknown actress who could play the role, creating the illusion that every debutante who'd ever taken a drama course could possibly play one of the greatest literary heroines ever written. It was sheer genius. 

Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, every female star besides SHIRLEY TEMPLE and LASSIE seemed to have been considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara. By now, Hollywood and the entire country had been whipped into a collective frenzy. A young LUCILLE BALL, LANA TURNER, ELLEN DREW, and SUSAN HAYWARD, ripe with her Brooklyn accent, tried out, as did Alabama-born theatre actress TALLULAH BANKHEAD, who was 36 years old at the time. (Scarlett started out in the book as a fresh-faced 16-year-old!) Film queens BETTE DAVIS, MIRIAM HOPKINS, NORMA SHEARER, LORETTA YOUNG, and JOAN CRAWFORD coveted the role. KATHARINE HEPBURN refused to screen test but offered to come in at the last minute if they "needed" her. Froggy-voice comedienne JEAN ARTHUR was seriously considered, as was JOAN BENNETT, the former blonde ingenue who'd dyed her locks black for the film Trade Winds and realized her potential. PAULETTE GODDARD, who was Selznick's initial choice, was almost cast, but her questionable marriage to CHARLIE CHAPLIN made her too much of a morality risk. (They were married at sea on a boat and it was questionable whether the marriage was legit!) But, in the end, as we all know, the role was given to a relatively unknown (at least in the United States) 26-year-old British actress named VIVIEN LEIGH. Selznick had been secretly negotiating to secure her for the role for months, despite his claims that the role was anyone's to win. 

They even made a TV movie about the search for Scarlett! In 1980, The Scarlett O'Hara War, based on the 1979 novel Moviola by renowned writer GARSON KANIN, hit the airwaves and was a rating bonanza. It was fun seeing all the major players portrayed by stars of the early 1980s! The standouts were SHARON GLESS, giving her spin on funny gal CAROLE LOMBARD, BARRIE YOUNGFELLOW as a haughty JOAN CRAWFORD, and, especially, CARRIE NYE as the Magnolia-tongued and very dramatic, TALLULAH BANKHEAD. The film also made a star out of MORGAN BRITTANY, who was cast as VIVIEN LEIGH. This was actually the third time the look-alike brunette actress had played Leigh, after appearing briefly as the iconic star in The Day Of The Locust (1975) and Gable and Lombard (1976). 

What if Leigh had not played Scarlett? Would the film have been as popular? In hindsight, she was the ONLY one who could have played the role, which shows us the power of great casting. This begs the question: What other iconic roles were almost filled by different actors? Let's take a look at who almost played these classic film roles. 

The casting shuffle game started early in Hollywood. The Jazz Singer was the first motion picture with both synchronized recorded music and lip-synched singing and dialogue. Produced by Warner Brothers, its release was a victory for sound pictures and was the beginning of the end for silent movies. The film starred AL JOLSON as a young singer who defies the traditions of his devout Jewish family and, to their horror, takes up singing jazz in beer gardens.  It was a massive hit with audiences. They couldn't get enough. The story was inspired by the real life of Jolson, but strangely, Jolson was not Warner Brother's first choice for the role. JACK WARNER originally wanted comedian GEORGE JESSEL in the part. But when Jessel asked for too much money, Warner balked and, naturally, offered the role to...EDDIE CANTOR! However, Cantor, a close friend of Jessel, declined. Finally, Al Jolson was offered the role, causing a rift between him and Jessel, who were also friends. Jessel said that Jolson was not to blame and that the Warners were the culprits who wouldn't negotiate a fair deal for him. 

It might be surprising that neither CLARK GABLE nor CLAUDETTE COLBERT were the first choice in the hit romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934), directed by FRANK CAPRA for Columbia Pictures. The role of spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews was first offered to MIRIAM HOPKINS, who rejected it. Next, it was offered to MYRNA LOY, along with ROBERT MONTGOMERY, who was to play newspaper reporter Perry Wayne. They both passed. In her autobiography, Loy said that the version of the script she was given was awful and didn't resemble the filmed script in the least. She said she caught flak for refusing the role for years -- especially from Frank Capra. CONSTANCE BENNETT agreed to take the part, but only if she could produce the film, which was rare for a woman in that era. HARRY COHN, head of Columbia Pictures, passed on that notion. (Cohn was never known for empowering women!) The offer to play Ellie then bounced from MARGARET SULLAVAN to CAROLE LOMBARD to LORETTA YOUNG. All either passed or had a scheduling problem that prevented them from accepting. Somewhere along the way, Cohn suggested CLAUDETTE COLBERT. Initially, she turned down the role because she'd had a very unpleasant experience working with director Frank Capra in her very first film For The Love of Mike (1927). However, she said she would take the role if her salary was doubled to $50,000 and the film was completed in four weeks to accommodate her vacation plans. Begrudgingly, Cohn agreed to her terms. 

Meanwhile, FREDRIC MARCH turned down the male lead role, and it was offered to CLARK GABLE, who was no fan of the script. However, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, his home studio, forced him to accept at $2500 a week. Unlike today, it seems male actors didn't always make more money than their female counterparts in Hollywood! Of course, the film would become a box-office and critical sensation. It swept at the Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, and Best Director (Capra), along with Oscars for Gable and Colbert as Best Actor and Actress.

When it came to picking movies, GEORGE RAFT was just lousy at it. After taking Hollywood by storm in the HOWARD HAWKS-directed gangster film Scarface (1932), Raft was a bonafide star. However, his poor judgment in scripts is probably why he isn't a household name today. In 1937, producer SAMUEL GOLDWYN approached Raft about starring in Dead End, a crime drama that would be the first film to feature an acting group known as the "Dead End Kids," which included LEO GORCEY, HUNTZ HALL, and GABRIEL DELL. Raft thought the part was too unsympathetic and passed, clearing the way for a young HUMPHREY BOGART to step in and make a strong impression on movie-goers and Hollywood power players. In 1937, when Raft was offered the role of detective Sam Spade in the film noir The Maltese Falcon (1941), he once again passed, indicating his hesitancy to work with first-time director JOHN HUSTON and that he had a clause in his contract against appearing in re-makes. Once again, Bogart stepped in, appearing opposite MARY ASTOR --  only after GERALDINE FITZGERALD rejected the femme fatale role of Brigid O'Shaughnessy -- and film history was made. Next, Raft was set to play bank robber Roy Earle in High Sierra (1941), but he didn't want his character to die at the end, so he took a walk. Bogart took over, starring opposite IDA LUPINO and an unlucky dog named Pard, and another classic was born. At some point, I hope Bogart thought to send Raft a nice thank-you note. 

When director HOWARD HAWKS started casting the screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), based on the play The Front Page, it was a foregone conclusion that CARY GRANT would play newspaper reporter Walter Burns. Casting the lead woman, however, proved quite difficult. Hawks originally wanted CAROLE LOMBARD to play Hildy Johnson, the intrepid female reporter and ex-wife of Grant's character. Hawks had directed Lombard to great success in another screwball comedy, Twentieth Century (1934). Lombard was now a freelance actress, but she was too expensive. The role was then offered to a succession of leading ladies -- KATHARINE HEPBURN, CLAUDETTE COLBERT, MARGARET SULLAVAN, GINGER ROGERS, IRENE DUNNE, and JEAN ARTHUR. They all turned it down. As almost a last resort, Hawks turned to MGM actress ROSALIND RUSSELL. Russell writes in her autobiography Life Is A Banquet that she got the call to appear in the film while visiting friends in Fairfield, Connecticut. On her way to New York to begin the journey back to Los Angeles, she saw an article in the New York Times announcing her casting and mentioning all the actresses who had turned down the role. The article also implied that director Hawks was "stuck" with her. She was humiliated. But Roz got the last laugh, as it proved to be the most memorable film role of her illustrious career. 

When Paramount Pictures bought the right to ERNEST HEMINGWAY's classic novel For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1942,  GARY COOPER was immediately cast as teacher-turned-fighter Robert Jordan. After an extensive search for a lead actress to play Maria, the earthy anti-fascist rebel, the role was offered to the German-born, Norwegian-raised actress VERA ZORINA. After a big publicity build-up, which included a much-ballyhooed haircut -- the character of Maria sported a boy's haircut -- where photographers captured her long locks being sheered, she was put through make-up and wardrobe tests. When she arrived on location in Sonora, California, in the Sierra Madre mountains, nothing happened. She sat in her room waiting to be called to set to work. When she was finally called to work, she shot one brief scene. According to Zorina's autobiography, two days after filming her one scene, she was told by production that she must return to Los Angeles because there was something wrong with her teeth, and they wanted to fix them. She was hurriedly rushed to a waiting car and whisked back to Hollywood, never to return to set again. Apparently, when the Paramount Pictures executives saw the rushes of her scene on film, they wanted her to be more "glamorous." Director SAM WOOD argued that her character, a poor peasant freedom fighter, didn't call for glamour. The executives responded, "Well, she ought to have glamour without looking like it." They capped her teeth, adjusted her make-up, and put her in more form-fitting clothes, but still, nothing made her glamorous enough to please the executives. In a heartbreaking move, Zorina was let go, and INGRID BERGMAN was re-cast in the role. So not only was Zorina out of the film, but she was also stuck with a crew-cut for a while! After that, Zorina only appeared in two unimportant films before her career was over. Show biz is hard, folks!

Of course, For Whom the Bell Tolls was a huge success, earning nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), and Best Actress (Bergman). It won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for KATRINA PAXINOU. It makes you wonder where Vera Zorina's career might have gone had she not been replaced in the film. 

I have always thought one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time was FRED MACMURRAY, as shady insurance salesman Walter Neff in BILLY WILDER's masterpiece Double Indemnity. How was this man not nominated? His scheming hustler looking for an angle who meets his match with femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, played to perfection by BARBARA STANWYCK, should have been a slam dunk for the Oscar nod. As it turns out, Wilder had a difficult time casting the unsympathetic role of Neff. He was turned down by ALAN LADD, JAMES CAGNEY, GEORGE RAFT, SPENCER TRACY, GREGORY PECK, and FREDRIC MARCH. However, one actor was willing to take on the role. DICK POWELL, who was a well-known song and dance man in musicals and comedies, wasn't exactly the image Wilder had in mind for Walter Neff, but Powell was so anxious to change his film image that he offered to do the role for free. Still, Wilder passed on him. Of course, that same year, director EDWARD DMYTRYK cast Powell as detective Phillip Marlowe in Murder My Sweet, co-starring CLAIRE TREVOR, changing Powell's screen image and making him a film noir staple.  Wilder finally cast  FRED MacMURRAY as Walter Neff. MacMurray wasn't the obvious choice for such a dubious role, and he knew it. MacMurray had his reservations and told Wilder, "Look, I'm a saxophone player. I'm making my comedies with CLAUDETTE COLBERT, what do you want?" Wilder replied, "Well, you've got to make that one step, and believe me, it's going to be rewarding, and it's not that difficult to do." Despite not wanting to play a murderer, he finally agreed to play the role. It was, in my opinion, the finest performance MacMurray ever gave on film -- Oscar or no Oscar! 

Everyone knows that the film Mildred Pierce not only gave screen queen JOAN CRAWFORD the Best Actress Oscar, but it also served as a big comeback for her. However, it almost didn't happen. When Warner Brothers optioned JAMES M. CAIN's sexy script about the waitress turned successful businesswoman who'll stop at nothing to provide for her spoiled daughter, director MICHAEL CURTIZ wanted BETTE DAVIS to star in the title role. Davis, however, did not want to play a woman with a grown daughter, so she passed. He next went to BARBARA STANWYCK, but she was tied up with another film. In the meantime, JOAN CRAWFORD had gotten wind of the project and actively campaigned to play Mildred. Curtiz did not want her for the role. He suggested OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND or JOAN FONTAINE, but the studio found them too young to realistically have a grown daughter. Curtiz made Crawford screen test for the role, which was a form of humiliation, as stars of Crawford's stature simply did not screen test. However, test Crawford did, and she delivered a smashing performance that alleviated any doubt in Curtiz's mind. The rest is history. 

To Each His Own (1946) was OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND's first film in three years. She was suspended by Warner Brothers after she filed suit against the studio on August 23, 1943, claiming that her contract was covered under California law and could not go beyond seven years. It was common in those days for studios to suspend stars for turning down roles and adding the suspension time to their contracts. She won her suit on December 8, 1944, causing Warner Brothers to fire her. It has been reported that GINGER ROGERS was the first choice to play the lead role of Jody Norris, the unwed mother who is forced to give up her child and then secretly follows her son's life from a distance. Rogers read the script and thought it was a dull role, plus she wasn't keen on playing the mother of a man in his 20s. Paramount Pictures took a chance on de Havilland, returning her from exile. For her efforts, de Havilland won her first Academy Award as Best Actress. 

Ginger Rogers purportedly also passed on the lead role in ANATOLE LITVAK-directed drama Snake Pit in 1948, but only after GENE TIERNEY, the original first-choice, became pregnant and had to drop out. The role of the emotionally fragile woman placed in a mental institution in this gripping drama earned OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND another Best Actress Oscar nomination, only this time, she lost to JANE WYMAN in Johnny Belinda. 

When 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to the novel Quality, by CID RICKETTS SUMNER, it was made into the film Pinky (1949), a cutting-edge story about a light-skinned Southern woman who passed for white while studying to be a nurse up North. The title role of Pinky was an actor's dream. LENA HORN and DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, both light-skinned black actresses, wanted the role. But in 1949, the studio wouldn't allow a black actress to lead such a high-budget picture. The studio played it safe and cast their contract player, JEANNE CRAIN, in the role. And while Crain gives a credible performance that garnered her one and only Oscar nomination, I still can't help but wonder how much more powerful the film would have been with a black lead. Director ELIA KAZAN saw this as a wasted opportunity, too, and bemoaned the casting of Crain. In his autobiography, Kazan said that he was warned by studio head DARRYL ZANUCK that actress ETHEL WATERS, who was cast as Crain's grandmother, could be a "bitch." He said, "My Problem was not Ethel, who was talented, but my leading lady (Crain - whom he wouldn't even mention by name in his book!). She was a good soul, a pretty girl, obedient, gentle, yielding, and, I suspected, catechism-schooled. I required very little of her except her own submissive vacuity. There would be days when I longed for a bitch." Ouch!

It's hard to imagine anyone but GLORIA SWANSON and WILLIAM HOLDEN starring in Sunset Boulevard, BILLY WILDER's masterpiece about faded film star Norma Desmond and her complex relationship with a struggling writer, Joe Gillis. Still, it almost was a completely different cast altogether. Wilder initially wanted MAE WEST to play the washed-up and possibly insane diva, but when he presented her with the idea, she was insulted! Next, he approached America's Sweetheart, MARY PICKFORD. She also refused, not wanting to play such an aging diva. Silent star POLA NEGRI was next on Wilder's list. She said no, as well. Finally, he approached GLORIA SWANSON. It had been almost ten years since she'd made a movie. When Swanson read the script, she knew it was the part of a lifetime -- Vanity, be damned! She eagerly said yes and gave one of the finest film performances ever recorded. As for the role of Joe Gillis, much to Wilder's delight, MONTGOMERY CLIFT said yes after reading only 5 pages of the script. However, Clift had a sudden change of heart merely two weeks before the cameras were to roll, leaving Wilder to scramble to find a new leading man. FRED MacMURRAY, who had delivered a powerhouse performance for Wilder in Double Indemnity (1944), was approached but passed. The role finally fell to WILLIAM HOLDEN, who was in a bit of a career slump after a brilliant beginning in films like Golden Boy (1939) and Our Town (1940). The film became a classic and a cultural touchstone. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning Best Screenplay Oscars for CHARLES BRACKETT, BILLY WILDER, and D.M. MARSHMAN, JR., as well as Best Art Direction and Best Picture. Swanson and Holden, along with co-stars ERICH VON STROHEIM and NANCY OLSON, were nominated but (shockingly!) all lost. 

To this day, it is somewhat shocking that in 1950, comedienne JUDY HOLIDAY won the Best Actress Oscar for portraying Billie Dawn in the comedy Born Yesterday. It wasn't that she wasn't crazy-good; she was. It's shocking when you consider her competition -- BETTE DAVIS in All About Eve and (especially) GLORIA SWANSON in Sunset Boulevard. Two powerhouse performances that are perhaps the finest of these actresses' careers. Surprisingly, Holiday came to the role by default. The film was based on the Broadway play of the same name that originally starred notoriously nervous film actress JEAN ARTHUR. But before coming to Broadway, it opened out of town in Philadelphia. Everyone thought the play and Jean Arthur were brilliant. Everyone but Jean Arthur. She was so insecure about her performance that she dropped out of the production right before it came to Broadway, citing health issues. Judy Holiday was Arthur's understudy, and in a plot straight out of 42nd Street, Holiday went on and won over critics and audiences alike. 

On opening night on Broadway, KATHARINE HEPBURN was in the audience and was spellbound by Holiday's talent. She became a champion of Holiday. When it came time to cast the movie version at Columbia Pictures, director GEORGE CUKOR was not thrilled at the prospect of using Holiday despite the sensation she caused in New York. Cukor wanted the original star, Jean Arthur, or RITA HAYWORTH. To secure her the part, and at Katharine Hepburn's encouragement, studio boss HARRY COHN cast Holiday in a flashy role in the comedy Adams's Rib, starring Hepburn and SPENCER TRACY. Once Cukor saw Holiday in the film, he was convinced, and Holiday went on to film immortality. Interestingly, Holiday's co-star was WILLIAM HOLDEN, who also starred opposite GLORIA SWANSON in Sunset Boulevard. 

When 20th Century Fox obtained the film rights to MARY ORR's novel "The Wisdom of Eve," it was transformed into the classic film All About Eve, about Margo Channing, an aging Broadway diva whose life is upended by the arrival of a young woman named Eve. Casting Margo was no easy task. Director JOSEPH MANKIEWICZ originally envisioned SUSAN HAYWARD in the role, but studio boss  DARRYL ZANUCK vetoed her, saying she was too young. Other actresses, such as MARLENE DIETRICH and GERTRUDE LAWRENCE, were considered but dismissed. Zanuck wanted BARBARA STANWYCK or JOAN CRAWFORD in the role, but both were tied up with other movies. They finally decided on CLAUDETTE COLBERT as Margo. Two weeks before the film was to start shooting, Colbert suffered a severe back injury and was ordered to stay in bed for 6 weeks. Rather than wait for her to recover, director JOSEPH MANKIEWICZ decided to recast. Over the objections of 20th Century Fox studio chief DARRYL ZANUCK, Mankiewicz chose BETTE DAVIS for the role. And the rest is cinematic history. The meaty role of Eve Harrington, the ambitious young actress who sets out to take everything from Margo, was played to perfection by ANNE BAXTER. Still, the role was meant for Fox star JEANNE CRAIN, who had to bow out due to pregnancy. The rest of the cast included GARY MERRILL, HUGH MARLOWE, CELESTE HOLM, MARILYN MONROE, THELMA RITTER, BARBARA BATES, and GREGORY RATTOFF. 

CECIL B. DeMILLE's spectacular The Greatest Show On Earth, about the lives and loves of performers in a traveling circus, was a star-studded affair. I mean STAR-studded. There was CHARLTON HESTON, BETTY HUTTON, JAMES STEWART, CORNEL WILDE,  and DOROTHY LAMOUR. Well, if Columbia Pictures boss HARRY COHN hadn't been such an incredible asshole, the film might also have starred LUCILLE BALL as Angel, who performed in the elephant act. When DeMille approached Ball about the role, she was almost 40 years old. She knew this was maybe her last shot at a big, prestigious film role, and she wanted it badly. DeMille said yes, but Ball had to convince her boss at Columbia, Cohn, to loan her out to Paramount to do the part. Cohn, known for his controlling, stern-fisted rule, said no. Instead, as was his prerogative, he forced her to appear in a sub-par fluffy comedy film. Lucy was heartbroken and angry, but she didn't fight back. However, Ball got the last laugh. She ended up dropping out of the crappy comedy because she got pregnant, and CBS picked up her sitcom I Love Lucy. She never looked back. The role of Angel eventually went to GLORIA GRAHAME. In a head-scratching move, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Science awarded The Greatest Show On Earth the Best Picture Oscar, beating out two much worthier films, High Noon and The Quiet Man. 

When the popular JAMES JONES book From Here To Eternity was sold to Columbia Pictures, everyone in Hollywood clamored for a part in the romantic war drama that told the story of the men and women before and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The great FRED ZINNEMAN was brought in to direct. He was very interested in casting JOAN CRAWFORD as Karen Holmes, the wife of a captain having an affair with an enlisted man, First Sergeant Milton Warden. However, when told that her character would not be sporting designer dresses and furs, Crawford's enthusiasm waned. Zinneman informed her that Karen would be shopping at Sears-Roebuck, not Bloomingdales, based on her husband's military salary, The wardrobe dispute sent Crawford packing. In an inspired bit of casting against type, DEBORAH KERR was brought in to play Karen. Typically, Kerr played high-brow, noble, upper-crust types, so to see her play this middle-class, lusty military wife was a breath of fresh air. For her performance, she was honored with an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress that year. 

Several years later, in 1959, when OTTO PREMINGER was making the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder, he cast LANA TURNER as Laura Manion, the seductive wife of an army Lieutenant on trial for murder. According to Turner's autobiography, everything was hunky-dory until it came time to discuss wardrobe. When she learned that Preminger planned to dress her character in a suit off-the-rack, she wrote, "I have never favored 'ready-to-wear' clothing onscreen. So I suggested that my dressmaker run up the kind of suit she had in mind. The next evening, I happened to answer the phone myself, and I heard a male voice shouting at me, 'You bitch!' It was Preminger in his thick Viennese accent. 'You are to understand this is my production. You think you are a great star? You vill make the decisions? No! I vill choose your clothes, you bitch!' She slammed down the phone, called her agent, and told him to get her out of the picture because she could not work with Preminger. The role went to the much younger LEE REMICK, who was spectacular. 

"I coulda been a contender," former prize-fighter Terry Malloy, played by MARLON BRANDO, declares during an emotionally charged scene with his brother Charley, played by ROD STEIGER, in On The Waterfront (1954). It's hard to imagine anyone but Brando in this iconic role. However, that's not how it was intended to be. Purportedly, director ELIA KAZAN first considered MONTGOMERY CLIFT for the role, but mo offer was ever made. He then approached Brando about the role, but Brando refused. Brando was upset that Kazan, in a move to save his Hollywood career, had testified before the House On Un-American Activities Committee and offered up eight names of people he felt were Communist or Communist sympathizers. Among the artists Kazan named were playwright CLIFFORD ODETS and actors MORRIS CARNOVSKY, PHOEBE BRAND, and PAULA MILLER. Kazan was disappointed to lose Brando in the role. He went on to enter into a handshake deal with FRANK SINATRA to play Terry. Sinatra was hot off the success of From Here To Eternity (1954), for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. However, Kazan still secretly longed for Brando to play the part. Finally, when Brando's agent, JAY KANTER, convinced Brando to put his personal feelings about Kazan aside and reconsider, Brando signed a contract to perform the role. This left Kazan in the awkward position of telling Sinatra that he was out. Justifiably, Sinatra was furious. He insisted that, at the very least, he be given the role of Father Berry, but Kazan had to disappoint him again and tell him that KARL MALDEN was already under contract for the part. I'm sure Kazan probably fell off Sinatra's Christmas card list!

Director ALFRED HITCHCOCK was known for his obsession with his beautiful blonde female stars. It was no different with actress VERA MILES. After appearing in Hitchcock's television series and his feature film The Wrong Man (1956), along with HENRY FONDA, Miles was put under a personal contract to Hitchcock. When Hitchcock was all set to make Vertigo, based on the French novel D'entre Les Mortes by PIERRE BOILEAU THOMAS NARCEJAC, Miles was cast to play Madeleine, a woman of mystery and secrets who nearly drives JAMES STEWART's police detective character Scottie Ferguson mad. After modeling for an early version of the painting featured in the film and undergoing hair, make-up, and wardrobe tests, Miles was set to go. When production was delayed due to Hitchcock's gallbladder issue, Miles became pregnant and could not do the role once production finally began. Hitchcock was appalled that Miles actually had a life outside of his obsessive world and refused to further delay production to accommodate her pregnancy. He then approached the rather wooden KIM NOVAK for the role. At the time, Novak was under contract to Columbia Pictures, so studio boss HARRY COHN had to approve the loan-out of his star. Ever the shrewd businessman, Cohn approved the deal provided that JAMES STEWART would agree to star with Novak in their upcoming production of Bell, Book, and Candle. 

Hitchcock and Novak locked horns from the very beginning. She didn't like his choice in her wardrobe; he wanted her to shut up and do as he said. It was a rough production, but although the film initially received unflattering reviews and mild box office, it was endured as one of Hitchcock's most acclaimed films. And Vera Miles' thoughts? She later said, "He got his movie; I got my son."

When Warner Brothers chief JACK WARNER approached playwright EDWARD ALBEE about buying the film rights to Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, his bombastic play about a toxic marriage set against the backdrop of academia, Warner told him he wanted BETTE DAVIS and JAMES MASON to play the roles of Martha and George, the dueling duo. Albee was thrilled by the casting, expressing how James Mason seemed absolutely right and noting that in the play, Martha even references Bette Davis when she quotes her famous "What a dump!" line from Davis' film Beyond The Forest (1949). So Albee was happy, and Warner got the rights to shoot the movie. All was well in the world... for a while. As production drew nearer, director MIKE NICHOLS feared the talky, character-driven story might not go over with audiences. It would take stars with a certain magnetism to engage an audience for two hours of bickering, bitching, yelling, and cruelty. Nichols toyed with the idea of casting JACK LEMMON and PATRICIA NEAL. Lemmon dropped out over money negotiations, and Neal dropped herself from consideration to go play Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate -- a role she sadly never got to perform due to her catastrophic stroke. Finally, with the encouragement of the film's screenwriter, ERNEST LEHMAN, Nichols cast 32-year-old ELIZABETH TAYLOR to play 52-year-old Martha. Her real-life husband, RICHARD BURTON, was cast as George. Playwright Albee was not happy with the casting choices. He later said that while Tayor was good and Burton was fantastic, he still felt that "with [James] Mason and [Bette] Davis, you would have had a less flashy and ultimately deeper film."

Nichols knew that Taylor's casting was controversial and unorthodox. He felt that Taylor's immense talent as an actress mostly went unnoticed due to her exquisite beauty. Taylor worked hard to become Martha, gaining weight and letting her vanity go. Combined with whatever real-life emotional issues were going on with Burton, their performance together was big, bawdy, emotional, and perhaps a bit over-the-top for my taste. However, what do I know? The film was nominated for 13 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won Taylor new respect as an actress and a second Oscar for Best Actress. Co-star SANDY DENNIS, another over-the-top actress who is not always my cup of tea, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the film. The film's male stars, Burton and GEORGE SEGAL, were Oscar-nominated but did not win.

Coo-Coo-Ca-Choo, Mrs. Robinson, or so the famous SIMON and GARFUNKEL song goes. When director MIKE NICHOLS set out to turn CHARLES WEBB's novel about a young man who struggles to figure out his post-college life, he originally thought that the central character, Benjamin Braddock, and his family should be what screenwriter BUCK HENRY called "The Surfboards" -- tall, lean, hard, blond, all-American. He initially envisioned ROBERT REDFORD playing Benjamin and CANDICE BERGEN playing the object of his desire, Elaine Robinson. Redford wanted the role badly and screen-tested for the role with Bergen. However, after seeing the test, Nichols knew that he was all wrong for the part. There was nothing about Robert Redford that suggested he would be anything but confident, assured, and absolute about his future. Nichols told Vanity Fair magazine that after this realization, Redford visited him at his rented Beverly Hills home for the news. Nichols told Redford, "You can’t play it. You can never play a loser." Redford replied, "What do you mean? Of course, I can play a loser." And Nichols asked, "O.K., have you ever struck out with a girl?" and Redford looked blankly at him and said, "What do you mean?’" And according to Nichols, he wasn’t joking. He had no idea of Benjamin's plight.  

Nichols went on to test actors TONY BILL and CHARLES GRODIN. Grodin's dry wit was as close as Nichols had come to finding his Benjamin. He also screen-tested a short, Jewish, dark-haired theatre actor with a big nose named DUSTIN HOFFMAN. On paper, he was a joke, nothing like the character reads in the book. Hoffman's screen test was a self-proclaimed disaster. His test was with beautiful KATHARINE ROSS, who made an impression as JAMES STEWART's daughter-in-law in Shenandoah (1965). Hoffman was intimidated by Ross's beauty and during the screen test, to ease the tension, he later said, he gave her a pat on the rear and a little pinch. Ross screamed, "Don't you ever do that again!" After the screen test, Hoffman reached into his pockets, and some coins fell to the stage floor. A stagehand retrieved an NYC subway token from the floor handed it back to him, and said, "You'll need this." But the next day, when Nichols watched Hoffman's screen test, he knew he had his Benjamin. He said, "He had this thing that I'd only seen in ELIZABETH TAYLOR and that I'd certainly not seen in any of the other tests." He was also blown away by the chemistry between Hoffman and Ross. After considering SALLY FIELD, NATALIE WOOD, ANN-MARGRET, JANE FONDA, TUESDAY WELD, CARROLL BAKER, SUE LYON, LEE REMICK, SUZANNE PLESHETTE, ELIZABETH ASHLEY, YVETTE MINIEUX, PAMELA TIFFIN, HAYLEY MILLS, and PATTY DUKE, Nichols cast the little-known Ross in the Elaine Robinson role, and a star was born. 

For the pivotal role of Mrs. Robinson, Nichols had his heart set on PATRICIA NEAL, but her stroke knocked her out of the running. Next, he approached French star JEANNE MOREAU, whom Nichols admired greatly. He was all ready to re-write Mrs. Robinson as French, but Moreau passed on the role so Mrs. Robinson remained an American. At the encouragement of producer LARRY TURMAN, Nichols decided to approach DORIS DAY. It would have been a brilliant case of casting against type, as Day was known for her clean-cut reputation in frothy, romantic comedies. Nichols sent over a copy of Charles Webb's original novel to MARTIN MELCHER, Martin Melcher, her husband and super-controlling manager. Nichols told Vanity Fair, “I sent him the book, but he hated it—he thought it was dirty—and wouldn’t even pass it along to her.” 

He also considered faded screen queen AVA GARDNER for the role. Nichols went to see Gardner at her suite in the Regency Hotel in New York, a memory he now treasures, though “it was scary at the time.” When he arrived, Ava was surrounded by an entourage that Nichols described as “a group of men who could only be called lounge lizards: pin-striped suits, smoking in the European way—underhand—with greased-back hair." After Ava ordered everyone out of the room, she asked for the phone, saying, “I’ve been trying to call Papa all day!” Nichols thought to himself, I can’t do this. I don’t think I can do this whole thing, especially since Ernest “Papa” Hemingway, with whom Gardner had worked and been friendly, had died in 1961. The 44-year-old actress then told Nichols, “The first thing you must know is I don’t take my clothes off for anybody.” Nichols replied, “Well, I don’t think that would be required.” She then confided, “The truth is, you know, I can’t act. I just can’t act! The best have tried.” Nichols answered, “Oh, Miss Gardner, that’s simply not true! I think you’re a great movie actress." Nonetheless, Nichols quickly recognized that Gardner, as fascinating as she was, was not his Mrs. Robinson, so no offer was ever made.

He finally found his star in the unlikely persona of ANNE BANCROFT, who, at 36, was a decade too young for the role. She was also only six years older than Hoffman and only nine years older than Ross. It's a wonder, though, what a grey streak of hair and some animal print clothes can do!

In the classic GEORGE ROY HILL-directed western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, it was always a given that PAUL NEWMAN would play Butch, but the role of Sundance went through many incarnations. The role was initially offered to  JACK LEMMON, whose production company, JML, had produced the Paul Newman hit film Cool Hand Luke (1967). Surprisingly, Lemmon turned down the role because he didn't like riding horses and felt that he had already played similar roles. Next considered for the role were STEVE McQUEEN and WARREN BEATTY. Both turned down the part. Beatty thought the film was too similar to Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and McQueen backed out of the film due to disagreements with Newman. The two actors would eventually team up in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno (1974) and would fight then over billing. Sundance was ultimately played to perfection by ROBERT REDFORD. JACQUELINE BISSETT was a top contender for the role of Etta Place until KATHARINE ROSS, who previously was tied up with another production, suddenly became available. 

There's got to be a morning after... Who can forget those lyrics of portend from the 1972 disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure, directed by RONALD NEAME, and produced by the Master of Disaster himself, IRWIN ALLEN. Based on the PAUL GALLICO novel of the same name, the film is the harrowing tale of a handful of scrappy passengers who fight their way out of an ocean liner that capsized on New Year's Eve by a 90-foot tidal wave. The All-Star cast included Oscar-winning actors GENE HACKMAN, ERNEST BORGNINE, RED BUTTONS, SHELLEY WINTERS, and JACK ALBERTSON. It also starred CAROL LYNLEY, STELLA STEVENS, RODDY McDOWELL, PAMELA SUE MARTIN, ARTHUR O'CONNELL, ERIC SHEA, and playing the doomed Captain, LESLIE NIELSEN. 

It's well known that Hackman, coming off his Oscar-winning role as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971), was no fan of the film. In fact, he hated every minute of making it. Actor BEN STILLER, who was greatly influenced by The Poseidon Adventure, starred with Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).  He finally worked up his nerve to approach Hackman. As Stiller recalled, "I said, ‘Gene, I just want to say it’s just been amazing working with you – and I didn’t say this before, but really for me, Poseidon Adventure is probably one of the most important movies for me, ever, because it really made me want to be a filmmaker, to be in movies, and I saw it multiple times and it just really, really changed my life.” Hackman took a moment, then looked at Stiller. “Oh yeah. Money job,” he replied. He then walked away. Stiller was crushed. As it turns out, ungrateful Hackman wasn't even the first choice to play Reverend Frank Scott, the radical, progressive preacher who leads the passengers to save themselves. BURT LANCASTER was Allen's first choice for the role, but he turned it down, stating he didn't think the role was right for him. The offer went out next to GEORGE C. SCOTT, but he also declined. Finally, Hackman was cast. 

For the showy and important role of Belle Rosen, the Jewish grandmother who, along with her husband Manny (JACK ALBERTSON), is on her way to meet her grandson for the first time in Israel. She ultimately saves the day because of her youthful days as a swimming champ. She rescues Reverend Scott and clears the way for the others to ultimately be saved. Director RONALD NEAME toyed with the idea of casting former MGM swimming sensation ESTHER WILLIAMS in the role. It would have been very interesting casting, but when her controlling husband FERNAND LAMAS heard of Neame's interest, he blew a gasket. In her autobiography, Williams wrote, "Fernando didn't even give me the chance to say no. I was angry -- I wanted to be able to say whether or not I wanted to do the film." Of course, the part went to SHELLEY WINTERS, who made it her own. Winters received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.   

For the role of Linda Rogo, the ex-prostitute wife of Bognine's NYC cop, Irving purportedly offered the role first to SALLY KELLERMAN, who was hot off the success of M*A*S*H* (1970). In her autobiography, Kellerman wrote, "The Poseidon Adventure: Pass. Why? From the script, it didn't seem that I'd have enough to do in the picture. Poseidon was apparently good enough for Gene Hackman, one of my acting heroes, and for Shelley Winters, whom I adored, but it was not good enough for me. The studio kept offering me more and more- more money, back-end profits, and I just kept saying no. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to turn things down. But if you're going to build a career, you have to say yes sometimes. And I was becoming very stubborn."

As the almost-comatose singer Nonnie Parry, Allen originally offered the role to KATHARINE ROSS and then to singer/actress PETULA CLARK. Both passed, paving the way for non-singer CAROL LYNLEY. In the film, the Oscar-winning song "The Morning After" was dubbed by session singer RENEE ARMAND. Pop singer MAUREEN McGOVERN released a version in March of 1973 to further promote the film, which was breaking box office records worldwide. The single became a number-one hit.

In what I still consider one of MARTIN SCORSESE's finest films, ELLEN BURSTYN scored a well-deserved Academy Award as Best Actress for portraying Alice Hyatt, a struggling singer who is forced to find her way in life raising her young son after the death of her husband. It's a masterclass in acting, and it's hard to imagine anyone other than the sublime Burstyn in the role. The role was originally offered to SHIRLEY MacLAINE, who turned it down. She later admitted in a 2005 interview that she had deep regrets about passing on the part. Next, Scorsese went to BARBRA STREISAND, who (thankfully) passed. Finally, Burstyn stepped into the role and made it one of the most memorable performances of a generation. 

The film A Star Is Born, the classic tale of crisscrossed lovers set against the backdrop of show business, was originally produced in 1937 with JANET GAYNOR and FREDRIC MARCH. It was remade in 1954 with JUDY GARLAND and JAMES MASON, with musical numbers added. It was remade again in 1976, starring BARBRA STREISAND as the singing sensation whose rising career eclipses the waning career of her movie-star husband. Streisand and her then-partner, JON PETERS produced the film. For the role of the husband, Streisand and Peters wanted ELVIS PRESLEY. They even had discussions with Presley, who wanted to do the role. However, when Presley's manager COLONEL TOM PARKER got involved, things went South quickly. Parker wanted an insane amount of money and wanted to make creative changes that didn't jive with the vision of Streisand and Peters. KRIS KRISTOPHERSON ended up with the role and absolutely killed it! The film was remade for a fourth time in 2018 with LADY GAGA and BRADLEY COOPER. 

In the 1979 tear-jerker Kramer vs. Kramer, DUSTIN HOFFMAN starred as an ad executive going through a contentious legal battle with his ex-wife Joanna for custody of their son. Originally, director ROBERT BENTON offered the role of Joanna to actress KATE JACKSON. At the time, Jackson was starring on ABC-TV's hit cop show Charlie's Angels, alongside JACLYN SMITH and CHERYL LADD. Jackson went to producer AARON SPELLING to see if they could work out the schedule in a way that would allow her to accept the role. Spelling said no, causing Jackson to lose out on a role that might have changed the trajectory of her career. And in case you are interested, the role of Joanna was ultimately played by someone named MERYL STREEP. Oh, yeah, Streep won an Oscar too. It also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, and was a critical and box-office smash. That must have been such a bitter pill for poor Kate Jackson. 

Currently, there is a movement to create an Academy Award category that recognizes outstanding casting in a motion picture. As we look back on the casting choices that could have been, it makes us realize what an incredible art form casting really is. When it's done well, it's magic. When it's done poorly, we end up with JOHN WAYNE playing Genghis Kahn in The Conquerers (1956), ROSIE O'DONNELL as Betty Rubble in The Flintstones (1994) and MERYL STREEP, GLENN CLOSE, WINONA RYDER, and VANESSA REDGRAVE playing generations of Chilean (!!) women in the god-awful 1993 film The House of Spirits. Don't let bad casting happen to good actors. And let's give some Oscar love to those talented casting directors who have made such an impact in Hollywood. They definitely deserve it.