Harry and the Hendersons
In case you need a little help on trivia night, here are a few facts not many people know about the 1987 movie Harry and the Hendersons:
- The actor inside the Harry costume was only 5’2” tall. Harry’s extreme height in the film was created through a series of in-camera tricks and hiring an all-midget cast.
- In the film, characters keep referring to John Lithgow as someone named “George Henderson” even though he’s clearly John Lithgow. Couldn’t they recognize John Lithgow, famous actor of stage and screen?
- The plot is loosely based on the real-life story of a man who brought home a grizzly bear, married her, and had three bear children.
- A sitcom spin-off of the movie lasted only three seasons, but the spin-off of that spin-off was a little show called Seinfeld.
- The working title of the shooting script was Bigfoot and the Bigfootersons.
- When Harry accidentally knocks over the nightie-wearing teenage daughter, Sarah, his facial expression implies that he sees her genitals. This was insisted upon by the studio to help the movie get its hard R rating.
- The closing credits always make me tear up a little.
- Each year, the Cryptozoology Society of America releases an updated list of the film’s scientific inaccuracies. As with all cryptozoology, the list, itself, is mostly scientifically inaccurate.
- A school talent show scene featuring Harry tap dancing to Lullaby of Broadway was cut due to runtime.
- There were 12 different dogs used to portray the family pet, Little Bob. This is because the actor playing Jaques LaFleur kept devouring them.
