Cleavon Little Wasn’t First Choice
Mel Brooks had originally wanted to cast Richard Pryor as Sheriff Bart. Despite the fact that Brooks was very much impressed with the comedian and even said that Pryor was “the most blessed with talent,” the comedian was a really controversial person. Aside from being quite vulgar in his material, Pryor also suffered from substance abuse, which caused him to set himself on fire and nearly burning to death. Despite all this, Brooks still wanted Pryor but the studio suggested actor Cleavon Little and when Brooks saw how Little perfectly delivered the lines, Brooks gave the actor the part.
Cleavon Little Wasn’t First Choice
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Lyle is one of the henchmen of the bad guys and he was played by Burton Gilliam. One of Gilliam’s lines included Lyle calling Sheriff Bart some racial slur. Since the word is very sensitive, Gilliam didn’t feel comfortable saying it, but Little understood it was work and gave the go-ahead to Gilliam. However, Little did add: “if I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we’d go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don’t worry about it.”
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