Charles Austin Miller

Question: Near the end, when Dean Wormer and Mayor DePasto are in the grandstand, officially launching the parade, there is an elderly gentleman in the background (also in the grandstand, about 2 levels up, on the left side of the screen) who is making odd, excited gestures and comical facial expressions. His appearance and odd mannerisms are so striking that he draws my attention away from the dean and the mayor every time that I've seen this film, and that's a lot of times. Surely, director John Landis must have been aware of the gentleman and his antics in the background through multiple takes, so it would seem Landis intended the peculiar distraction. Who was that gentleman, and was there any significance to his appearing in the scene?

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: 18-year-old actress Sarah Holcomb started her movie career in 1978's "Animal House" (playing Clorette DePasto, the mayor's 13-year-old daughter) and ended her movie career two years later in 1980's "Caddyshack" (playing the fiery Maggie O'Hooligan). Holcomb actually appeared in five films during her two-year career, which came to an abrupt end due to severe schizophrenia brought about by cocaine addiction. Holcomb was institutionalized and never returned to acting. Today, at age 58, Holcomb lives a quiet, reclusive life under an assumed name somewhere in Connecticut.

Charles Austin Miller

Continuity mistake: When the authorities and moving crews are clearing all of the junk out of Delta House, we see a workman with a hammer removing the fraternity symbols from the house's upstairs railing. However, the symbols are not in the correct order: They read "Delta Chi Tau," and the workman is removing the "Tau" from the end. Moments later, we see the workman still removing the fraternity symbols, but now they are in the correct order, "Delta Tau Chi," and he is removing the "Tau" again, but removing it from the center.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: On a budget of only $3 million, the producers offered actor Donald Sutherland a choice of $35,000 cash for 2 days work or 2% of the film's box office gross. Because nobody in the cast or crew believed that "Animal House" would be a hit, Sutherland opted for the $35,000 cash. As it happened, the $3 million comedy went on to gross over $141 million at the box office. Meaning that Sutherland would've made $2.8 million if he had chosen 2% of the gross.

Charles Austin Miller