50 Fun Facts About Revenge of the Nerds

At which fictional college is the film set?

Faber is Animal House's college; the nerds' school was played mostly by a real Tucson campus.

Which jock fraternity torments the nerds throughout the film?

Their sister sorority is Pi Delta Pi; the jocks burn down their own house and take over the freshman dorm.

Which national fraternity reluctantly accepts the nerds on probationary status?

U.N. Jefferson leads the historically Black fraternity and grants full membership only after the nerds fight back against the jocks.

Who plays Lewis Skolnick, the film's lead nerd?

He is part of the Carradine acting dynasty and later co-hosted a TBS nerd competition with a fellow Tri-Lamb co-star.

Which future ER star plays Gilbert Lowe?

Two years later he was Goose in Top Gun; he did not return for the third film, so Gilbert was recast with Mike Greenwood.

By what nickname is Curtis Armstrong's lewd nerd character known?

He is the one who brings cannabis to rescue the nerds' dull first party.

Which actor plays Alpha Beta leader Stan Gable?

The director spotted him on the cover of a 'Men of USC' calendar; he later joined Married... with Children.

What is the full name of Donald Gibb's hulking Alpha Beta character?

Gibb also played the Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in Bloodsport; Ogre is inducted into the Tri-Lambs at the end of the sequel.

Which future Roseanne star plays Coach Harris?

He backs the jocks' takeover of the freshman dorm and berates them after they lose the carnival.

Which former NFL wide receiver plays Tri-Lamb national leader U.N. Jefferson?

He played for the 49ers and Rams before becoming a blaxploitation leading man, and later turned up in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Which future Babe star plays Lewis's father, Mr. Skolnick?

He returned for Nerds in Paradise as well.

Which future thirtysomething Emmy winner plays Arnold Poindexter?

He was later Danny Concannon on The West Wing and Mark in Field of Dreams.

Which nerd character is a child prodigy?

Andrew Cassese played him in the first two films; Sean Whalen took over in The Next Generation.

Larry B. Scott's Lamar Latrelle is notable as what kind of character for a 1984 studio comedy?

Scott later played Tasty-Taste, a Flavor Flav parody, in Fear of a Black Hat.

Brian Tochi (Toshiro Takashi) later voiced which Ninja Turtle in the live-action films?

He was also Cadet Nogata in the Police Academy sequels.

Betty Childs is played by Julia Montgomery, previously known for which soap opera?

She played Samantha Vernon from 1976 to 1981 and returned as Betty in the third and fourth films.

Who directed Revenge of the Nerds?

He had edited Ordinary People and went on to direct Gotcha!, Tough Guys and Troop Beverly Hills.

The film was inspired by a Los Angeles magazine article about whom?

The article shared the movie's title.

Where were most of the film's exterior scenes shot?

Administrators revoked permission two weeks after granting it, then relented on condition the crew avoid anything 'of a questionable nature with regards to taste'.

Where were the film's interior scenes shot?

The nerds' gym home was really the university's Bear Down Gymnasium.

Roughly what was the film's budget?

It grossed about $40.9 million domestically after opening on July 20, 1984.

How do the jocks and the Pi Delta Pis sabotage the nerds' first party?

The nerds retaliate with hidden cameras in the sorority house and liquid heat in the jocks' jockstraps.

How do the nerds outsell the jocks at the Homecoming charity fundraiser?

The photos came from the surveillance cameras they planted in the Pi Delta Pi house.

Which sorority of nerdy women, led by Judy, allies with the Tri-Lambs?

They fill in when the Pi Delta Pis stand the nerds up, and team up again for the carnival competitions.

How do the nerds finally clinch the Homecoming carnival?

Their song 'They're So Incredible' was written and performed for the film by Ollie E. Brown under the name Revenge.

Which of these songs appears in the film but not on its soundtrack album?

Talking Heads' hit is joined by Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and Queen's 'We Are the Champions' as songs heard on screen but absent from the album.

A Revenge of the Nerds scene at a Tri-Lambda convention in which city was cut because a Fox executive felt mocked?

Producers Ted Field and Peter Samuelson also fought off calls for a more violent ending, citing Gandhi's passive resistance as the nerds' model.

Why did the director cast Matt Salinger as an Alpha Beta brother?

Salinger later played Captain America in the unreleased 1990 film.

A real Tri-Lamb fraternity inspired by the film was founded in 2006 where?

Unlike the film's version it is open to all races and orientations, with chapters in Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Washington state.

A remake slated for 2007 was cancelled after two weeks of filming; which of these actors was in its cast?

Kristin Cavallari, Katie Cassidy and Jenna Dewan were also cast; Emory University pulled out after reading the script.

Which Family Guy creator announced plans in 2020 to reboot the series with the Lucas Brothers?

Kenny and Keith Lucas were to write and star for his Fuzzy Door Productions.

Curtis Armstrong and his Lewis Skolnick co-star later hosted which TBS reality competition?

Their idea was first rejected because Beauty and the Geek was on the air; it ran for three seasons from 2013.

Where does the United Fraternity convention take place in Nerds in Paradise (1987)?

The nerds are bumped from the Royal Flamingo Hotel and end up at the dilapidated Hotel Coral Essex.

Which future West Wing star plays Alpha Beta villain Roger Latimer in Nerds in Paradise?

Courtney Thorne-Smith got an early starring role as receptionist Sunny Carstairs.

Which band recorded 'Back to Paradise', the title track of Nerds in Paradise?

One trailer parodied Poltergeist II, with Lewis turning to camera to say 'We're back!'.

How do the Tri-Lambs escape the uninhabited island in Nerds in Paradise?

They drive it straight through the hotel wall and into the pool as Roger is holding the vote to expel them.

Which former Alpha Beta is inducted into the Tri-Lambs at the end of Nerds in Paradise?

He bonds with the nerds after they rescue him from drowning when his own fraternity throws him overboard.

The subtitle of the 1992 TV movie was a nod to which then-popular series?

Much of the new generation of nerds was played by stand-up comedians, and the film doubled as a TV pilot.

In The Next Generation, what job does Lewis Skolnick hold at the college?

Embarrassed by his nerdy past, he tries to act 'hip' and even urges his nephew Harold to pledge Alpha Beta.

Which former talk-show provocateur appears in The Next Generation as nerd-hating businessman Orrin Price?

Price gets Stan Gable installed as dean and plants marijuana in the Tri-Lamb house.

Which nerd's wedding is at the center of Nerds in Love (1994)?

He is set to marry Jeannie Humphrey on Valentine's Day after three months of dating, to her nouveau-riche father's horror.

How many sequels followed the original film?

The last two were television films; a 1991 TV pilot was also shot but never aired.

Which building on the Tucson campus stood in for the freshman dorm the nerds are thrown out of?

The burned Alpha Beta house was the real Alpha Gamma Rho house on University Boulevard.

Which University of Arizona building served as the nerds' second home after they were ousted?

The Alpha Beta house that burns down was actually the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house on University Boulevard.

Producers Ted Field and Peter Samuelson said the nerds' nonviolent ending was inspired by whom?

Others on the production had wanted a cathartic finale in which the nerds destroyed the Alpha Beta house.

Under what name did Ollie E. Brown write and perform 'They're So Incredible' for the film?

The Tri-Lambs perform the song, with different lyrics, at the final event of the Greek Games.

How much did Revenge of the Nerds gross at the domestic box office?

Released on July 20, 1984, it returned that on a budget reported at only $6-8 million.

Where was the 1991 Revenge of the Nerds TV pilot, directed by Peter Baldwin, eventually released?

The pilot never aired and was not picked up for a series.

Where in Atlanta was the cancelled 2007 remake filmed after Emory University backed out?

Emory's officials changed their minds after reading the script, and the smaller campus proved hard to shoot on.

What position does Revenge of the Nerds hold on Bravo's list of the 100 Funniest Movies?

Rotten Tomatoes' consensus calls it 'undeniably lowbrow but surprisingly sly', a minor classic of slobs-vs-snobs.