History Trivia / AnimalHouse

* CareerResurrection: For Music/ElmerBernstein, whose career was mostly spent scoring TV shows in the 1970's (a far cry from ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' and ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''). His work on the film later made him a go-to composer for many popular comedies (such as ''Film/{{Airplane}}'', ''Film/{{Stripes}}'' and ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'') and he became Creator/JohnLandis's AssociatedComposer. In fact, Landis actually knew Bernstein when he was a kid, and had actually gone to school with his son, Peter.

** Creator/MarthaSmith originally auditioned to play Mandy, but switched to Babs when she discovered that the former role required her to strip for John Belushi's peeping tom scene.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Finland, the film was named ''Delta-jengi''.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/MarkMetcalf originally auditioned for the part of Otter before being cast as Niedermeyer.

** As mentioned above, the first choice for the role of Dean Wormer was Creator/JackWebb, while the first choice for the role of Mrs. Wormer was Creator/KimNovak.
* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/HaroldRamis clashed with Creator/JohnLandis after the latter was brought on as the film's director (He and Doug Kenney were planning on having Creator/IvanReitman direct, but the studio refused due to Reitman's inexperience). Landis proceeded to request script revisions and wouldn't cast Ramis as Boon because he was too old. Ramis resented him for it and refused to take up Landis's offer to be on set in Oregon and have a smaller part. Even after the film became a success, Ramis remained bitter towards him until he was humbled by his own directing experience on ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}'' and realized Landis's decisions were for the best.
* IronyAsSheIsCast: According to James Widdoes (Hoover), neither he nor his co-stars: Creator/JohnBelushi (Bluto), Creator/TimMatheson (Otter), Peter Riegert (Boon), Bruce [=McGill=] (D-Day), Tom Hulce (Pinto), and Stephen Furst (Flounder), had ever actually belonged to a college fraternity.

* RealLifeRelative: Creator/JohnBelushi's wife, Judy Jacklin (now Judith Belushi-Pisano), is an uncredited extra in several toga party scenes.
** The female clerk from whom Flounder buys the marbles is actually Stephen Furst's wife.
* RecycledTheSeries: Amazingly, someone thought the film would make a good TV series; the extremely short run of the resulting series ''Delta House'' predictably proved that to be wrong.

* CreatorChosenCasting:
** Creator/HaroldRamis wrote the role of Bluto especially for Creator/JohnBelushi.
** Creator/JohnLandis cast Creator/JohnVernon after seeing him in ''Film/TheOutlawJoseyWales''.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Qpid", when the ''Enterprise'' crew is sent into the Sherwood Forest from Myth/RobinHood, Geordi, as Alan-a-Dale, tries playing a lute when Worf, as Will Scarlet, suddenly walks over and snatches the lute and smashes it into a tree, saying "Sorry..." afterwards, much like the scene with Bluto and the guitarist at the toga party.

* ReferencedBy: Music/TwistedSister had the quotes "You're all worthless and weak!" and "A pledge pin? On your uniform?" in the coda of "We're Not Gonna Take It". They then brought in Creator/MarkMetcalf to deliver more Neidermeyer-like rants in the videos for that song and "I Wanna Rock" (the latter also featuring Creator/StephenFurst as the school principal).

** ABC and NBC also did their own series set in frats; neither of them lasted the season.

** Creator/ChevyChase was originally asked to play the role of Eric "Otter" Stratton. He turned it down in order to star in ''Film/FoulPlay''. Creator/JohnLandis insisted on casting unknown dramatic actors instead of established comedians and takes credit for subtly discouraging Chase by describing the film as an "ensemble".
** Creator/BillMurray and Creator/DanAykroyd were also pursued for the roles of Boon and D-Day, respectively, but they were busy with ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. In fact, the role of D-Day was based on Aykroyd. Creator/LorneMichaels, having already lost Belushi to the film, threatened to fire Akyroyd if he took the part.
** Creator/BrianDoyleMurray was the original choice for Hoover.
** If Creator/JohnBelushi turned down the role of Bluto, the next choice would've been Music/MeatLoaf.
** As mentioned above, the first choice for the role of Dean Wormer was Creator/JackWebb, while the first choice for the role of Mrs. Wormer was Creator/KimNovak.

** The film was inspired by co-writer Chris Miller's short stories in ''National Lampoon'', drawn from his experiences in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth (where he graduated in 1962). "Animal House" was the fraternity's real-life campus nickname, earned after an upperclass member shot a chicken from a second-floor window as some fellow Adelphians chased it with intent to kill and eat it.

* CareerResurrection: For Music/ElmerBernstein, whose career was mostly spent scoring TV shows in the 1970's (a far cry from ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' and ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''). His work on the film later made him a go-to composer for many popular comedies (such as ''Film/{{Airplane}}'', ''Film/{{Stripes}}'' and ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'') and he became Creator/JohnLandis's AssociatedComposer. In fact, Landis actually knew Bernstein when he was a kid, and had actually gone to school with his son, Peter.

* CreatorChosenCasting: Creator/HaroldRamis wrote the role of Bluto especially for Creator/JohnBelushi.

* DecompositeCharacter: Stork and Hardbar were split off from a character named Mountain.

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Laughs: #36
** AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes:
*** #82, "Toga! Toga!"

* AFIS100YearsSeries:

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: The follow-up featurette ''Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update'' had Hardbar saying that Creator/DougKenney's character Stork had "bit the big one.

** The film was inspired by co-writer Chris Miller's short stories in National Lampoon, drawn from his experiences in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth (where he graduated in 1962). "Animal House" was the fraternity's real-life campus nickname, earned after an upperclass member shot a chicken from a second-floor window as some fellow Adelphians chased it with intent to kill and eat it.

** When Bluto is sneaking around the campus at night and slips, rolls around and casually stands back up, that was an actual slip-up by Creator/JohnBelushi from the very wet grass on the location. Creator/JohnLandis thought it was the funniest take and used it.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/HaroldRamis clashed with Creator/JohnLandis after the latter was brought on as the film's director (He and Doug Kenney were planning on having Creator/IvanReitman direct, but the studio refused due to Reitman's inexperience). Landis proceeded to request script revisions and wouldn't cast Ramis as Boon because he was too old. Ramis resented him for it and refused to take up Landis's offer to be on set in Oregon and have a smaller part. Even after the film because a success, Ramis remained bitter towards him until he was humbled by his own directing experience on ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}'' and realized Landis's decisions were for the best.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: Creator/JohnLandis nixed a gag that would have had a sculpture of JFK on a parade float being shot in the "head" during the chaos when the Deltas attack the parade in their "Eat Me" float. (In the finished film, it is ''Jackie'' Kennedy who is disrespected, when Babs Jansen, who is portraying Jackie, has her pink suit ripped off and ends up in her underwear.) Ironically, in-universe the gag would have been a FunnyAneurysmMoment, since the parade takes place in the autumn of 1962 - more than a year before the assassination.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: According to James Widdoes (Hoover), neither he nor his co-stars: Creator/JohnBelushi (Bluto), Tim Matheson (Otter), Peter Riegert (Boon), Bruce [=McGill=] (D-Day), Tom Hulce (Pinto), and Stephen Furst (Flounder), had ever actually belonged to a college fraternity.

* RecycledTheSeries: Amazingly, someone thought the film would make a good TV series; the extremely short run of ''Delta House'' predictably proved that to be wrong.

* ThrowItIn: When Bluto is sneaking around the campus at night and slips, rolls around and casually stands back up, that was an actual slip-up by Creator/JohnBelushi from the very wet grass on the location. Creator/JohnLandis thought it was the funniest take and used it.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Mark Metcalf originally auditioned for the part of Otter before being cast as Niedermeyer.