60 Fun Facts About Caddyshack

Caddyshack was released in which year?

It came out on 25 July, produced by Orion and distributed by Warner Bros.

Caddyshack was the directorial debut of its co-writer, who went on to direct which 1993 comedy?

He also co-wrote Caddyshack and played Egon in Ghostbusters.

What is the name of the exclusive country club where Caddyshack is set?

Bill Murray and his brothers later opened a Bushwood-themed restaurant at the World Golf Village in Florida.

Which teenage caddie is the film's protagonist, chasing the club's caddie scholarship?

He was played by Michael O'Keefe, fresh from an Oscar nomination for The Great Santini.

Who plays Ty Webb, the easygoing playboy golfer?

He was the only lead to return for the 1988 sequel, in what amounted to a glorified cameo.

Rodney Dangerfield plays which loud nouveau-riche property developer?

It was his breakout film role; until then he was known almost entirely as a stand-up comic.

Which Mary Tyler Moore Show actor plays pompous club co-founder Judge Elihu Smails?

He went on to star as Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort and died in 1986.

What is the name of Bill Murray's gopher-obsessed greenskeeper?

Murray was on the production for only six days and most of his lines were unscripted.

What does the greenskeeper plant around the course in his final attempt to kill the gopher?

The puppet gopher was built by John Dykstra's effects company, which added hydraulics so its ears could move.

How many days was Bill Murray on the Caddyshack set?

His lines were largely unscripted, and the 'Cinderella story' monologue came from two lines of stage direction.

In Bill Murray's improvised Caddyshack monologue, he fantasises about winning which tournament?

Ramis's only direction was to act like a child.

The bit where Ty Webb's ball crashes into the greenskeeper's shack was added late for what reason?

There were worries about the two ex-SNL stars' rivalry, but they stayed friendly and professional throughout.

Whose memories of caddying at Indian Hill Club in Winnetka, Illinois inspired the film?

He co-wrote the script and plays caddy-shack manager Lou Loomis; his brothers Bill and John also caddied there.

The moment when a drive hits Judge Smails in the groin was based on something that happened to whom?

Ramis said it happened on the second of the only two rounds of golf he had ever played, on a nine-hole public course.

Why did Ramis pick Rolling Hills Golf Club in Davie, Florida for the golf scenes?

The course was later renamed the Grande Oaks Golf Club.

An incoming pilot at which airport reported the film's climactic explosions, thinking a plane had crashed?

Carl's plastic explosives shake the ball into the hole and win the match.

The Fourth of July dinner-dance scene was filmed at a resort in which Florida city?

Danny and his girlfriend Maggie work the banquet as waitstaff.

Which storm delayed Caddyshack's eleven-week autumn 1979 shoot?

Supporting actor Peter Berkrot later called cocaine 'the fuel that kept the film running'.

Kenny Loggins' theme song for Caddyshack, released three weeks before the film, was called what?

It reached the top ten in late September 1980, and the gopher dances to it over the closing scene.

How many songs on the ten-track Caddyshack soundtrack were performed by Kenny Loggins?

The gopher's closing dance is to his hit single.

Roughly how much did Caddyshack gross worldwide?

It opened in 656 theatres to $3.1 million and made just under $40 million in North America.

How did critics receive Caddyshack on release?

Dave Kehr said the picture 'lurches from style to style'; TV Guide's rating crept up from two stars to three over the years.

Which sports network described Caddyshack as 'perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made'?

Rotten Tomatoes' consensus praises its 'endlessly quotable dialogue'.

Who plays Lacey Underall, Judge Smails' oversexed niece?

It was her first film; she went straight on to play Yori in Tron.

Why was Lacey Underall's dive into the pool performed by a professional diver?

The crew had to guide her up the ladder to the board before the diver took over.

In Caddyshack's improvised rub-down scene, Lacey's genuine 'You're crazy!' came because Ty Webb did what?

The whole scene was improvised.

What is the name of Danny's girlfriend, the Irish waitress at the club?

She was based on a real young woman the writers knew from Indian Hill Club.

Who is Judge Smails' regular golf partner in the climactic match?

They face Czervik and Webb, with the wager impulsively doubled to $80,000.

How much is the final match worth after Dangerfield's character doubles the wager?

Czervik then proposes double or nothing on Danny's final putt.

How does Danny's final putt, balanced on the lip of the hole, finally drop?

Carl slips away when he sees the wreckage; the gopher emerges unharmed and dances.

Michael O'Keefe, who plays the caddie hero, had just earned an Oscar nomination for which 1979 film?

He later played Fred on Roseanne.

Bill Murray's older brother, who co-wrote the film, plays which character?

He is Bill Murray's older brother, and their brother John was a production assistant and caddy extra.

Co-writer Douglas Kenney, who co-founded National Lampoon, died weeks after the film's release; how?

He had become deeply depressed by the reviews; Ramis joked the film was 'a six-million-dollar scholarship to film school'.

Douglas Kenney had earlier co-written which 1978 hit comedy with the future Caddyshack director?

He also co-founded National Lampoon magazine in 1970.

Which effects house, run by the Star Wars effects wizard, supplied Caddyshack's lightning, flying balls and gopher?

His technicians added hydraulic ear movements to the puppet and built its tunnels.

Judge Smails invites Danny to the christening of his boat at a nearby club called what?

Czervik's own yacht then wrecks the judge's boat.

The Haverkamps, the doddering old couple who can barely hit the ball, were based on whom?

John and Ilma Haverkamp were longtime members that the writers had caddied for.

Which world figure, name-checked in Caddyshack's caddying story, did Bret Baier ask in 2016 if he had seen the film?

He said he had not seen it, had played badminton but never golf.

Which college encourages fans to 'Do the Gopher' at games because of its mascot?

Goldy Gopher makes the dancing-gopher ending an obvious fit.

Caddyshack II arrived in which year?

Only Chevy Chase returned; it was panned and bombed at the box office.

Which Borscht Belt comedian replaced Rodney Dangerfield as the lead of Caddyshack II?

His character, Jack Hartounian, was written to fill the Al Czervik role after Dangerfield walked away.

Who directed Caddyshack II?

Ramis co-wrote it but did not direct; the writers of Who Framed Roger Rabbit overhauled the script uncredited.

Chris Nashawaty's 2018 book on the film is subtitled 'The Making of a Hollywood ___ Story'. Which word?

It was published by Flatiron Books in April 2018.

Where did Bill Murray and his brothers open a Caddyshack-themed restaurant in 2001?

It is designed to look like the film's country club and serves mostly American food.

Rodney Dangerfield's stage name replaced which birth name?

He performed as Jack Roy before settling on the name that got no respect.

Bill Murray worked as a caddy in his teens to pay for what?

He also fronted a band called the Dutch Masters and did community theatre.

How much was the original wager on the climactic golf match before it was doubled?

It was doubled to $40,000, then Czervik doubled it again to $80,000 mid-round after Smails heckled him.

How does Al Czervik try to get the big match declared a draw?

Instead his team must find a substitute or forfeit, so Ty Webb picks a reluctant Danny.

Which cast member reprised their role in Caddyshack II?

The 1988 sequel flopped and is often ranked among the worst sequels ever made.

In how many theatres did Caddyshack open on July 25, 1980?

It grossed $3.1 million that opening weekend on the way to about $39.8 million in North America.

Which was the only country outside the United States where Caddyshack was initially a hit?

The local distributor cut 20 minutes to put more emphasis on Bill Murray's role.

Where does Caddyshack rank on AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list?

Carl Spackler's 'Cinderella story' speech also made AFI's list of the 100 greatest movie quotes, at No. 92.

On which TV show was Bill Murray working while being repeatedly recalled to shoot extra Caddyshack scenes?

His part was never intended to be large but 'mushroomed' as production went on.

Which golfer played Carl Spackler in an American Express commercial based on the film?

A 2023 Michelob Super Bowl ad also had modern athletes recreating scenes from the film.

Which Miami restaurant stood in for the Rolling Lakes Yacht Club?

The Bushwood gates were shot at the West Gate of Bel Air in Los Angeles.

Which supporting actor described cocaine as 'the fuel that kept the film running'?

The production became infamous for the amount of drug use on set.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give Caddyshack, praising Dangerfield as the standout?

He felt the three leads seemed to be occupying different films; Gene Siskel gave it three stars.

How did Harold Ramis, in 2009, say he felt about watching Caddyshack?

He said all he saw were compromises, such as everyone's poor golf swings apart from Michael O'Keefe's.

How many further Caddyshack restaurants opened after the original 2001 one near St. Augustine?

They were in Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Ponte Vedra Beach and have since closed, leaving the original as the flagship.

Which Florida golf course was used for the Bushwood swimming pool scenes?

The main golf scenes were shot at Rolling Hills in Davie, chosen because it had no palm trees.