Animal House Trivia

I recently saw a “Where Are They Now?” special on the movie Animal House more than 30 years after its release. Watching it turned out to be almost as fun as watching the movie. For example, just before the climactic trashing of the homecoming parade, the character of Flounder (played by Stephen Furst) walks into a store and asks to buy 10,000 marbles. He wound up marrying the woman who played the salesgirl. In the film, the band performing at Delta House’s toga party was Otis Day & the Nights. This was not the singer’s real name, but the film was so successful that he changed his name to Otis Day. My favorite bit of trivia: during the film-ending riot, there’s a short scene where a little boy sits on a bed reading a copy of Playboy when a baton-twirling cheerleader gets hurled through his open window and lands on the bed next to him. The little boy casts his eyes skyward and says, “Thank you God!” I learned in the documentary that the boy grew up to be a minister. When people ask him about his bit part in the film, he replies, “30 years later I’m still praising God.”

I have no wish to enter into a theological dispute with anyone as to the existence or nonexistence of God; however, if there is a God, that story tends to indicate that he has a sense of humor.