Airplane! (1980): 15 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know

#rememberwhen Airplane! took the disaster movie formula in 1980 and turned it into one of the funniest comedies ever made. Released by Paramount Pictures, Airplane! starred Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, and Peter Graves, and behind all the deadpan chaos, the movie was built on a real 1950s thriller, cast serious actors on purpose, and somehow nearly got grounded by Hollywood before it ever took off.

These are 15 weird facts about Airplane, the kind you only notice once the background jokes start moving faster than the plane.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

01:12 - #15: A Late-Night Idea Changed the Movie

03:16 - #14: The Casting Choice That Nearly Went Another Way — Robert Hays

05:01 - #13: Leslie Nielsen Found the Perfect Running Bit — Leslie Nielsen

06:27 - #12: A Real-Life Note Shaped One Famous Scene — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

08:19 - #11: The Film Followed a Very Specific Comedy Formula — ZAZ

10:02 - #10: A Screen Legend Stole One Wild Moment — Ethel Merman

11:25 - #9: The Cast Got Unusual Advice From the Start — Robert Stack

13:01 - #8: The Score Took the Movie Surprisingly Seriously — Elmer Bernstein

14:42 - #7: A Brief Scene Gave a TV Star New Life — Barbara Billingsley

16:45 - #6: A Small Audio Detail Had a Real-Life Connection

18:26 - #5: The Directors Had Almost No Margin for Error

19:51 - #4: A Credit Battle Happened Behind the Scenes — Abrahams Zucker and Zucker

21:24 - #3: One On-Set Moment Didn’t Go as Planned — Stephen Stucker

22:43 - #2: The Movie Came Together Under Pressure

24:26 - #1: The Release Almost Hit Serious Turbulence

Watch more Weird Facts from classic TV:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZTUGHHqdh6Rd6NpS5Nw1xx8oWUgCmZM

#airplane #leslienielsen #JulieHagerty #LloydBridges #RobertStack #PeterGraves #80sMovies #ComedyMovies #moviehistory #classicmovies #weirdfacts