A Blessing in Disguise
As Douglas explained, “We were delayed for about six months because of Jack’s schedule, but that turned out to be a great blessing: it gave us the chance to get the ensemble right.” That said, that half-year was spent assembling the cast. Danny DeVito, who was Michael’s oldest friend and my roommate in the late ‘60s, took on the role of a patient in the psychiatric hospital.
Photo by Moviestore Collection / Shutterstock
In 1971, DeVito was in the 1971 off-Broadway production, so naturally, he was the first to be cast. Douglas then found Will Sampson (who played Chief Bromden) through a used car dealer from Oregon, who he sat next to on a plane. His dad turned out to be a Native American agent and sold a lot of cars to them.