Didja Know That Harrison Ford Could’ve Been Meathead On All In The Family?

Now, I get skeptical when I see posts about how one actor was offered or considered for an iconic role, but someone else was chosen. Take for example, Bill Murray being up for Tim Burton’s 1989 BATMAN. Murray’s name was batted around for the part, but so were other major actors like Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Dennis Quaid (even Charlie Sheen). But Murray wasn’t offered the part, and claims he hadn’t heard about it until decades later.

 

“You know I’ve heard that story too,” Murray told David Letterman in 2014. “Really, I have. And God, I would have been an awesome Batman.”

 

But there are more valid stories of could-have-beens, like Tom Selleck (also considered for BATMAN), as Indiana Jones as he did screen tests, but had to turn it down because of commitments to Magnum P.I. 

 

This brings us to Harrison Ford being up for the role of Mike Stivic, better known as “Meathead” in the smash hit ‘70s TV show, All in the Family. There is validity to this story as he was actually offered the part, but is reported to have passed on it due to his disliking of the racism of its lead character, Archie Bunker. This is despite that Meathead was the ultra-liberal arguing against Archie’s pigheaded opinions.

 

Ford’s viewpoint about the show is cited in nearly every report of the casting of the program, and I recently watched a mini-documentary about All in the Family that relayed the same factoid. However, there is no quote (that I can find) from Ford on the matter.

 

Anyone who has seen him on talk shows know the he is curmudgeon who doesn’t like to talk about his past, even when it comes to his iconic characters like Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and Deckard in BLADE RUNNER, so a much smaller role (albeit an iconic character in its own right) would understandably not be asked about by Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, etc. 

 

All in the Family’s creator, Norman Lear, reportedly wanted Ford for Meathead, while he passed over Richard Dreyfuss, who actually sought the part (just a few years later, both Dreyfuss and Ford appeared in AMERICAN GRAFFITI). But the actor who got the role, Rob Reiner, was perfect for Meathead, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else paying the character. Reiner went on a successful career as a film director after his eight seasons on the popular CBS show, and did little acting. Reiner’s part as filmmaker Marty DiBerrgi, in his directorial debut, THIS IS SPINAL TAP, was his biggest role, and probably his best known character after Meathead.

 

It's also hard to picture Ford being married to Sally Struthers as Meathead’s wife, Gloria, but if he was cast, Lear probably would have cast someone else as Gloria as other actresses were up for the part as well. Mickey Rooney was also in consideration for Archie, but that’s another blog post.

 

As Ford was a charismatic, and attractive actor, if he had gotten the role of Meathead, he most likely would’ve gone from that to a successful career in the biz, but he might’ve missed out on his breakthrough in STAR WARS. Struthers had problems with being cast in a movie during the run of All in the Family, due to her contract, so Ford probably would’ve faced the same circumstance if he had been offered Han Solo. Of course, he may not have even been up for STAR WARS if he was well known as Meathead.

 

There we have it, a major could-have-been that’s amusing to think about. Notably Ford and Reiner have never worked together. They came close in talks for a thriller entitled YOU BELONG TO ME in 2012, but the project never came to be.

 

More later…

Full Frame 2016: Days 3 & 4

Despite the sunniness, it felt like the last gasp of winter on Saturday and Sunday with very chilly winds flowing through the buildings of downtown Durham. There was even a freeze warning on Saturday night. But why am I talking about the weather when I was warm and cozy inside the Carolina Theatre on both days watching what I could of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival roster? I'm not sure so let's just get to the docs.

First up, Roger Ross Williams' LIFE, ANIMATED, which focuses on the autistic world of Owen Suskind, the son Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ron Suskind.

Owen was diagnosed at age 3 with regressive autism and started speaking only in gibberish but over the years of watching every animated Disney film repeatedly, he began to communicate with his family through the dialogue from those classic cartoons. Williams, who won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject for his film MUSIC BY PRUDENCE, filmed Owen as he graduated school and moved out of his parents’ house to live on his own for the first time. Owen’s father, Ron, mother Cornelia, and brother Walt appear to provide their insights, while animation by Mac Guff brings to life both the families’ memories, and Owen’s own original story “The Land of the Lost Sidekicks” (there's also lots of clips from the over 40 classic Disney films that Owen has memorized).

Based on father Suskind’s 2014 book “Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism,” Williams’ film is a heartwarming, inspiring work that I could tell greatly touched the audience at Fletcher Hall on Saturday afternoon. That was strongly evident when Owen took the stage, with the filmmakers and members of his family, for a Q & A after the screening. Owen delighted everyone with his impressions of Disney characters, and his short to the point answers. Anybody who’s cynical about what effect Disney has on the world should see this film – it’ll make them change their tune for sure.

Following that was Jedd and Todd Wider’s GOD KNOWS WHERE I AM, about the troubling life of a mysterious woman whose body was found in an abandoned New Hampshire farmhouse. Next to her was a diary in which she documented her starvation and loss of sanity. The woman was identified as Linda Bishop, who had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals and served time in jail. Bishop's sister, Joan; and daughter, Caitlin Murtagh, alongside testimony from various therapists and social workers, appear to help tell her story, but its the voice-over readings from Linda's diary by actress Lori Singer (probably best known as the female lead of the 1984 hit FOOTLOOSE) that are most affecting.

GOD KNOWS WHERE I AM is a chilling, dark doc debut from the Wider brothers, who have learned well from producing several of ace documentarian Alex Gibney's project. I know that Linda's sad, haunting story will stay with me for some time.

Another promising doc debut I saw on Saturday was Margaret Byrne's RAISING BERTIE, which follows three young African American men - Reginald “Junior” Askew, David “Bud” Perry, and Davonte “Dada” - over the course of five years as they grow into adulthood in the rural county of Bertie, here in North Carolina. The trio attended The Hive, a school for at-risk students, together before striking out on their own, but when the alternative school closes , they have to return to the system that originally failed them.

Byrne's camera captures some intimate moments with these men as they struggle to find their place in adulthood in this unpretentiously framed narrative. There's a fly-on-the-wall feel to the proceedings as we witness such events as Davonte attending his senior prom, and Reginald visiting his biological father in jail. As RAISING BERTIE concentrates on the coming-of-age arc of its subjects, it raises some vital questions about what options and opportunities exist for young people in rural America. It doesn't have any answers to these questions but, through these men, it stirringly taps into the power of individual perserverance.

Saturday night, I took in Ido Haar's PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW, which was part of this year's Center Frame series. Having been previously clueless to its content, I was very taken by the tale of how its star, Princess Shaw (real name: Samantha Montgomery), became a viral sensation when a Israeli musician, Kutiman (real name: Ophir Kutiel) used her vocals in a mix with other “found” musical elements to make this striking song:

The doc follows Princess Shaw, who by day works as a nurse in New Orleans, as she finds out (and freaks out) about her internet stardom and travels to Tel Aviv to meet and collaborate further with Kutiman. Originally, Haar's project was supposed to be about the culture of YouTubers in general, but came to center around the infectious, bouyant personality and sympathetic backstory of Princess Shaw. It was a wonderful choice, as the film is quite possibly not just the most joyous doc of this year's fest, but the most joyous doc I've seen at Full Frame ever.

Princess Shaw herself appeared during the end credits to rapturous applause, and went on to give us a live performance of her signature song: 

In the Q & A, our lady of honor revealed that she is soon to be working on a proper album for release later this year, stressed that she's not a star yet as she's still working her nurse job, and repeatedly shared what was apparently her new favorite expression of excitement: “rock sausages!” Many complain of cyber disconnection in our modern times, but strong, passionate, and (again) joyous stories like this show that the digital age can bring people together. Rock sausages indeed.

Full Frame's closing night film was another major crowdpleaser: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU.

This biodoc of one of the most successful independent TV producers of time (at one point he had five different televsion shows in the top ten in the Nielsen ratings) ought to be mandatory viewing for Millienials so that they can get some understanding of how influential and game changing such sitcoms as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude were in the '70s.

The 93-year old Lear appears in insightful interview segments (which somewhat resemble the ones in BY SIDNEY LUMET but that's a doc given), alongside and overlapping with clips from his classic shows, while family members, friends and collaborators such as George Clooney, John Amos, Louise Lasser, Rob Reiner, and son Ben Lear appear to sing his praises. As a fan of the man who grew up on his shows (I really felt Jon Stewart when he said “you raised me!” to Lear backstage before a guest appearance on The Daily Show), I didn't learn much new, but still highly enjoyed the ride through Lear's rich career. But I had forgotten some of the juicy details about his fighting the Moral Majority in the '80s so the refresher there was very appreciative.

Lear's legacy is so considerable that, unless one didn't have access to footage from his TV library, it would be hard to make a bad doc about the man, but Ewing and Grady (makers of such fine docs as THE BOYS OF BARAKA, JESUS CAMP, and DETROPIA) have assembled an affectionate tribute that made me tear up throughout. Now I want to watch the entire run of All in the Family again.

Okay! So that's Full Frame 2016. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to this space for more Film Babble Blog Fun.

Postscript: LIFE, ANIMATED won The Full Frame Full Frame Audience Award at the Awards Barbecue on Sunday. Click here to see the full list of winners.

More later...