A Legally Problematic Name
Mel Brooks created the character of Hedley Lamarr as the perfect antagonist for the story. But the character’s name bore a striking resemblance to well-known actress Hedy Lamarr, who had been on contract with MGM from the 1930s to the 1950s. Hedy was not impressed by the similarity to her own name, which Harvey Korman joked around by saying it would cause a lawsuit. And it did, although the pair were able to settle out of court.
Source: TravelFunTu
In the iconic scene closing scene of the movie, Sheriff Bart and the Waco Kid are chased after through the Warner Brothers backlot where the movie was shot. They ran through the gates, everyone turning right, except for one person. Funnily enough, that was some random pedestrian who’d found himself on set, and he didn’t understand the instructions for him to leave. Brooks let him sign off on the appearance and kept him in that final scene.
Brooks got an offer to take the movie to Broadway! See next…