He Gave Him the Green Light to Say the N-Word
Actor Burton Gilliam played Lyle, who was one of the bad guys. One of his lines in the script was for Lyle to call Sherrif Bart a racial slur. Because the word (as you may guess) was so sensitive, Burton didn’t feel comfortable saying it. Understandably so. However, Cleavon Little understood that it was all in the art of the business, and gave Gilliam the green light to say it. However, Little did say this: “if I thought you would say those words to me in any other situation we’d go to fist city, but this is all fun. Don’t worry about it.”
Source: Mashable
Mel Brooks tended to push boundaries when it came to comedy. This may have been fun for movie-goers, but it was a nightmare for the studio. They urged Brooks to cut some scenes, but Mel only ended up cutting the riskiest one. It was a scene when Bart and Lili von Shtupp are together in her dressing room. As she attempts to seduce him, she blows out the candle and remarks, “Is it true what they say about you people?” and Bart says, “I hate to disillusion you, ma’am, but you’re sucking on my arm.”
John Wayne declined a role in the film… see why next!