Burt Ward in The Graduate?

[Dr. Shimel]

If Burt's name was ever in the mix, it was only because he was a hot young actor in 1966 when pre-production for the film began. Given the fact that The Graduate does have moments of humor in it, they might have figured he was comfortable with the feel of the film. Again, this assumes they EVER considered him, which I doubt, since as already noted, Dustin Hoffman was a much better actor.

[Progress Pigment]

I believe Burt's name came up, but he was never EVER in serious contention for the role. If I remember correctly, in Burt's book, he said whenever he ran into Mike Nichols (who just passed away), Nichols would say, "I really wanted you for The Graduate!" Of course he did. Nichols was a great guy. Did he mean it? No. He just said it to be nice. Why not?

Adam's story about Cubby Broccoli however is 100% convincing. They met at some ski area, and Broccoli, impressed by West (Who wouldn't be?), asked him if he'd be interested in playing Bond. Would it have happened? Probably not. I'm nearly as big a Bond fan as a Batman fan. After "For Your Eyes Only" Cubby not only offered, but screen tested James Brolin for Bond. Given a choice, Adam West would've been 10 times more suitable as Bond in the 60's as Brolin would've been in the 80's. West actually might've pulled it off. Especially of properly voice-coached with an English accent. But thankfully Brolin was never used, and Roger Moore returned for Octopussy And cat-tastrophy was averted.

[BBvideo 425,350]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYSoe5RvoYU[/BBvideo]

[Dr. Shimel]

Brolin (who of course was in two Batman eps) did play Clark Gable in a 1976 TV movie about his life with Carole Lombard.

[Progress Pigment]

That is incredibly strange. A few years ago I saw David Lynch (Twin Peaks) speak, and he mentioned the film 'Mulholland Drive', and that Naomi Watts did a scene (a film within a film scene) and she got a great deal of good notices for it, the actor playing with her was Chad Everett, who was second lead on a medical series in the 70's, at the same time Brolin was doing Marcus Welby. Lynch said Chad Everett was every bit as good as Naomi Watts in their scene, but Everett's career never took off because he so resembled Clark Gable! Why in the heck would they have chosen James Brolin instead of him?

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsE/5430-354.jpg

[epaddon]

If you think Brolin was an unlikely Clark Gable (that was actually a big screen flop movie not a TV-movie), how about Edward Winter, the wacko Colonel Flagg from "MASH" who played Gable in a TV-movie about the making of "Gone With The Wind"?

[Riddler Fan]

A bit of trivia, although Burt Ward did not get the part of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman almost missed out on playing the part too. Hoffman had signed on to play Franz Liepkin in The Producers. Just before filming of The Producers was to start, Hoffman begged Mel Brooks to be released from the part of Liepkin, and Mel agreed and cast Kenneth Mars instead.

[High C]

Because we're on this topic, I'll offer this slight tangent:

IMO, Anne Bancroft would have made an OUT-standing villainess. And she actually made one TV appearance in 1967, in an anthology series called ABC Stage 67.

[Dr. Shimel]

Because we're on this topic, I'll offer this slight tangent:

IMO, Anne Bancroft would have made an OUT-standing villainess. And she actually made one TV appearance in 1967, in an anthology series called ABC Stage 67.

She was only nine years older than Hoffman and eight years older than her "daughter" Katherine Ross

[AndyFish]

Yes it is Dana-- I will never learn not to post here via my iPad.

[High C]

Because we're on this topic, I'll offer this slight tangent:

IMO, Anne Bancroft would have made an OUT-standing villainess. And she actually made one TV appearance in 1967, in an anthology series called ABC Stage 67.

She was only nine years older than Hoffman and eight years older than her "daughter" Katherine Ross

Reminds me of that show Body of Proof from a couple years ago where Dana Delany's mother was being played by Joanna Cassidy, who is only 10-plus years older. Just didn't look right.

[epaddon]

Some other strange examples were Bonnie Franklin being cast as a mother of two teenaged girls on "One Day At A Time" when she was only 31 at the time. And then you have Sally Field playing Tom Hanks' mother in "Forest Gump" just five years after she played his girlfriend in "Punchline".