- Bill Thornbury, Phantasm, 1977. The Tripoli-born writer-director-cinematographer-editor-co-producer Don Coscarelli first offered Jody Pearson to the titular star of his 1975 directing debut at 17 when his parents picked up the tab: Jim, The World’s Greatest. (It also featured his pal and future Phantasm franchise villain, Angus Scrimm, still using his real name: Rory Guy). Harrison, however, was too busy moving from one series, Logan’s Run, to another, Centennial, to join what Chicago critic Roger Ebert saw as “a labor of love, if not a terrifically skillful one.”
- Val Kilmer, The Doors, 1991. Jim Morrison’s biopic was an LA project for longer than the group had been a band. Harrison, TV and stage actor and often his own producer, was one of many considered by upwards of eight different directors.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 2