Eat, Drink and Be Murray-- Part 8: 'Caddyshack'

**  At the back of the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont, surrounded by a drab parking lot, there is another homage:  The Murray Bros. Caddyshack, one of two "Caddyshack" theme restaurants owned by the brothers (Murray Brothers in case you're wondering).  The other one is in St. Augustine, Florida.

"Eat, Drink and Be Murray" reads the sign.  Inside, a sports bar, outfitted with Bill Murray posters, Murray family holiday pictures and even a real Murray --Andy is the chef, floating between the two locations.

Stuffed gophers sit at every other table to encourage social distancing.  Booths are tartan.

The deep fried golf balls (mashed potatoes, bacon, horseradish) is the clubhouse munchy yopu imagine Indian Hill would prohibit.  They also sell their own brand of vodka.

In allIt's all modestly charming, and yes, Bill drops by-- a few times a year.  A waiter confided:  "Though to be honest, that family is so big it's like one of them is here every day."

**  Before "Caddyshack" was released 40 years ago, Ramis told the tribune that although the film was contemporary, its '70s nihilisms and casual golf club already made it a period piece.

He wished they set it in the '60s like "Animal House"  The movie "should have said at the beginning 'Chicago 1963' because 'Caddyshack' really is about things that don't exist anymore."

--Cooter

About That 'Caddyshack' Movie-- Part 7: 'I'm Alright', the Underdog and Harold Ramis

**  Inane as it sounds, though, Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" became the soundtrack's ubiquitous smash hit.  You heard it all over the radio.  However, Ramis originally wanted Pink Floyd to do it.  (They were busy, so didn't.)

**  "Caddyshack" (along with "Animal House," "Stripes" and others like it) celebrates the underdog, but the culture of the 1980s that followed those films were enamored with privilege.  You can see that happening in the film, which at first is about working class kids with summer jobs but gradually tells the tale of the feckless captains of industry whom they serve.

**  The author of this only met Harold Ramis once backstage before an event at Columbia College.  A film student told him that "Caddyshack" was his favorite movie of all time.  Ramis smiled and told him:  "Thank you, but I hope you make better movies than that one."

**  Doug Kenney, the co-screenwriter and producer, died a month after "Caddyshack" was released.  He was found at the bottom of a ravine in Hawaii. Kinney was a very troubled, drug-addled writer that friends assumed he had killed himself.  Ramis liked to say:  "He fell looking for a place to jump."

--Cooter

'Caddyshack'-- Part 6: Plot? What Plot? Scholarship, the Gopher and Danny

**  "Caddyshack" at first looks like a lot of 1970s films.  There's a disorderly middle-class home, a hero who crosses the tracks to reach the rich part of town.  But, the plot is essentially thin about a promising caddy vying for a scholarship, resistant to authority, nervous his girlfriend may be pregnant.  You might even forget the movie has a plot.

**  The scholarship plot was inspired by Ed Murray, the oldest Murray brother who won the prestigious Evans Scholarship given to exceptional caddies.  It gave him a full ride to Northwestern University.  (The Evans Scholarships are still awarded, now over 90 years old and overseen by the Western Golf Association of Glenview.)

**  Besides Bill Murray's performance, you probably remember the gopher wreaking havoc across the course and Murray's efforts to get the varmint.  What might have prompted that plot was that in the late 1960s, a muskrat took up residence near the 16th hole of the Indian Hill Golf Course.  One night, a frustrated groundskeeper, a military vet, waited until the animal revealed itself, then flipped on the headlights of his ATV and fired a shotgun blast.  (He missed.)  Of course, there was always that darned groundhog that kept Murray in a loop in that other movie.

**Actor Michael O'Keefe, who played Danny, the aspiring scholarship candidate was later an Oscar nominee for the "The Great Santini" and married to singer Bonnie Raitt for eight years as well as on the TV show "Roseanne" for 35 episodes as Fred.

--CootCaddy

'Caddyshack'-- Part 5: Dress Code, Lacey, Jackie Davis & the Murray House

**  The clothing in "Caddyshack"--  the sleeveless T's, stiletto heels, Rodney Dangerfield's plaids-- have become a character in themselves.  At Indian Hill, however, sports jackets must be worn during lunch, shirts must be tucked in, cargo shorts are not permitted, nor are denim cutoffs around the pool area.

**  Hats must be worn "bill forward" only.

**  Cindy Morgan, who plays Terd Knight's sophisticated, promiscuous niece Lacey Underall, grew up in Chicago.  Before acting, she was morning DJ at WSDM-FM which later became WLUP, "The Loop."

**  Then only black actor with a line was Jackie Davis, who shines shoes at the club.  After overhearing Knight's character telling a racist joke, destroys the member's golf cleats.  He wasn't really an actor.  In real life he was an accomplished jazz musician who had backed Louis Jordan and Ella Fitzgerald.

**  The chaotic family home inn the film's opening scenes -- lines of kids waiting outside the bathrooms, bawling children and slamming doors -- was inspired by the family home in Wilmette.  The house Bill Murray grew up in was a three-bedroom home with nine kids.

Bill Murray once described it as "a wreck, a constant, claustrophobic mess."

--DaCoot

Some Thoughts About 'Caddyshack'-- Part 4: Was It Real?

**  Many characters in the movie were based on real-life people from Indian Hill Country Club regulars.  Several employees had Irish accents.  Ty, the club pro, was based on a member as were the elderly couple who could barely swing their clubs.  According to a book by Bill Murray, he would caddy for a man who had trouble hitting anything.  Until his bosses caught him, he routinely wrote the man down for holes-in-one.

**  Despite the passage of time and popularity of the movie, the Indian Hill management will not discuss "Caddyshack" at all.  Nowhere on the grounds is there a mention of it at all.

**  Well, almost.  The pro shop does sell Bushwood Country Club and gopher-themed belts.

**  A member whispered to the author of the article:  "Not all our members appreciate 'Caddyshack.' "

**  Caddies in "Caddyshack" accept tops.  Caddies at Indian Hill do not.

That Darn Gopher, Or Is It a Groundhog?  --Cooter

Some Thoughts About 'Caddyshack'-- Part 3: Of Comic Styles and a Baby Ruth

**  There were at least four styles of comedy in the movie.  You had Bill Murray's  absurdist, Rodney Dangerfield's nightclub one-liners, Chevy Chase's snark and Ted Knight's sitcom rage.

**  Chase's golf pro never keeps score and then there was that priest declaring that there is no God.

**  The infamous pool evacuation scene -- a Baby Ruth candy bar lands in the water and gets mistaken for something else -- was inspired by an actual prank that had been played while the Murray brothers attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette.

**  The scene, shot four years after the release of "Jaws" and borrowing John Williams' iconic score, is remarkably faithful to Steven Spielberg's staging of the shark attack in :Jaws."  Ramis keeps the camera at the waterline, waves swamping the lens, and then the stampede out of the water is ugly and out of focus at times.

**  In case you haven't tested the theory, Baby Ruths do not float in water.

**  Early in the film, the head caddy wrangler threatens his unruly charges that if they don't straighten up they will be replaced with cheaper, less-mouthy golf carts.  Indian Hill Country Club still uses caddies.

--DaCootMurray

Thoughts About Movie 'Caddyshack'-- Part 2: What About Lou Loomis and Carl Spackler?

**  Even though the movie was inspired by Illinois, it was set in Nebraska and shot in Florida.

**  The concept was sold as "Animal House" on a golf course.

**  "Caddyshack" may be signature Bill Murray, but older brother Brian Doyle-Murray was more involved.  Bill spent just a short time on set; but Brian provided the idea, co-wrote the screenplay (with Rami and Kenney), then played the manager of the caddyshack.

**  Brian based Lou Loomis, his character, on Lou Janis, an Indian Hill caddy master.  According to Bill Murray's golf memoir, Janis "would bet on anything."  In the movie, Loomis wagered that a member would pick his nose and eat it.

**  As early as the mid-1970s, Bill Murray was performing variations of his character, Carl Spackler --  his side talking, imbalanced, philosophical groundskeeper -- as a cast member at Second City.

--RoadDog

TEENAGERS AND CATS:  Cats and teenagers yawn in exactly the same manner, communicating that ultimate human ecstasy--  a sense of complete and utter boredom.

Thoughts About the Movie 'Caddyshack'

From the July 23, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Forty thoughts on 'Caddyshack' by Christopher Borrelli.

The movie "Caddyshack" was released 41 years ago now (40 years ago back in 2020) and tells the story of working class caddies, slobs, wiseasses, and nouveau rich who clash at a Chicago country club.

This is one of my favorite movies and I was able to watch it a short time ago.  It was great then as it is now.

Here are some of Mr. Borrelli's thoughts on the movie:

**  "Caddyshack" was directed by Harold Ramis, who grew up in Chicago's Rogers Park and died at his home in Glencoe in 2014.  He made his career -- "Animal House," "Ghostbusters, "Stripes" -- on movies about irreverent guys facing down an establishment.  

"Caddyshack" was his first directing job and was based on stories from the Murray brothers of Wilmette--  Bill, Brian, et al.  They caddied public courses in Evanston and at Indian Hill Club, a private course in Winnetka.

Too Funny, Especially the Swimming Pool Scenes.  --CootShack