Of course Matthau, Lemmon and Wilder are great. But I just wanted to add a comment that I thought Ron Rich's performance was good as well (as Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson). I am a little surprised that he didn't do more movies after this. I see that he did a couple of movies and some TV in the 60's and 70's. He was also a producer for one movie in 1987.
I'm curious, does anyone know anything about him? His biography, etc.?
Ron Rich was involved in theater for a couple of years, did a couple of more movies, a few tv appearances, and then faded. In the 1970s he was shot in the leg "knee-capped" and that pretty much ended his film career. He lives in Hollywood, does some writing, but not much else. Too bad.
shareHe had a brief walk on part in one of the earliest episodes of Taxi. It's an episode in which Tony is boxing against the champ. Ron Rich appears for about a minute in the locker room scene.
There is a Ron Rich that appeared in a 2 part Mission Impossible in 1968 (The Contender- it is also about boxing, coincidentally). Truthfully I'm not sure if its the same guy, he looks different from Ron Rich of Fortune Cookie and the Taxi episode. These M:I episodes are on VHS.
Ron Rich reminds me a lot of the actor LL Cool J who is one of the stars of NCIS Los Angeles.
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Ron Rich is solid in this role but no Poiter. Chances for black actors in those days were limited, (see the late, great Ivan Dixon), and competition has great for those roles. I think Rich just didn't have the special qualities that made him stand out, even though he was fine in this "nice guy" role. You might have thought with the Cleveland Browns connection that Jim Brown might have gotten this role but the imposing Brown would have been all wrong for the character.
The other person who got a big shot was Judi West, who is very good as Lemmon's scheming wife but whose other credits are limited to a few TV guest roles. She seems a bit similar to Shirley McLaine and one wonders if she was offered this role, considering her history with Wilder and Lemmon but had to turn it down due to other commitments. It would have been great to see her with Jack and Walter but she wouldn't have been any better than Ms. West.
Considering that Jim Brown had just precipitously retired from the Browns when this was filmed, it's not too surprising that he wasn't used for this part. Obviously, there was cooperation from the Browns in making this movie, and they weren't too happy with big Jim at the time. Please note that in the real game film used for the movie, it's Brown's successor as the team's main running back, Leroy Kelly, whose clips are used.
share<<Please note that in the real game film used for the movie, it's Brown's successor as the team's main running back, Leroy Kelly, whose clips are used.>>
Teach, if you ever revisit this thread, I don't believe that's true. I always thought the game footage was from 1965, when Jim Brown was still active.
In the first scene, we see Brown (No. 32) scoring a 1-yard TD. The shots of Kelly (No. 44) are of him returning punts and kicks, which was his main role while Brown's backup at RB.
I also wondered about Ron Rich and Judy West.
shareIt's surprising that this film should have such strong supporting players who made nothing of significance afterward. It certainly wasn't for lack of talent.
shareI liked him - He was very good looking and articulate. I think he portrayed a sports player quite well.
‘Six inches is perfectly adequate; more is vulgar!' (Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Re: An open window).
I saw this movie while in college at Auburn University. My dad got a job out in LA in the Fall of 1966 so that is where I spent my Christmas Vacation that year. I went with some friends to The Lighthouse Jazz Club in Hermosa Beach that December and saw Ron Rich up on the stage playing drums in a Jazz band. I visited with him for a bit after the set and told him how much I enjoyed his role in the movie. Nice guy. Very friendly, laid back, and easy to talk to.
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