John Wayne Was Almost Cast in This Classic '70s Comedy, But He Decided 'It's Too Dirty'

Mel Brooks recently recalled how he came to cast Gene Wilder as the Waco Kid at a 50th anniversary screening of 'Blazing Saddles' in Los Angeles

Mel Brooks once tried to cast the legendary Western star John Wayne in one of his classic comedies.

At a recent Q&A following a 50th anniversary screening of Brooks' classic 1974 movie Blazing Saddles in Los Angeles, the 98-year-old filmmaker recalled that he tried — and failed — to convince Wayne, who died in 1979 at 72, to join his production as the Waco Kid.

“I wanted authenticity. I wanted the Waco Kid to actually have been a Western movie actor, so that he would lend a kind of authentic character to the movie," Brooks told the audience at the event, according to IndieWire.

The legendary comedian and filmmaker went on to say he took a swing at the inspired casting idea when he found himself sitting near Wayne at a cafe on the Warner Bros.' studio lot.

“So I walked over and I said, ‘Mr. Wayne.’ I made a movie called Blazing Saddles. It’s a comedy, but it has a lot of heart. There’s a great part in it that I wish you would play,' " Brooks recalled. "He said, ‘OK. You know what? I know you. I saw The Producers and I laughed my head off. You are a very funny guy. I’d love to read it.’ "

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After Brooks helped Wayne obtain a script for the movie, he recalled that Wayne requested they meet up again at the same place just one day later. "I met him, he said, ‘I laughed my ass off, but I couldn’t make it. It’s too dirty,' " Brooks recalled Wayne saying in turning the part down.

Brooks then recruited another Academy Award winner in Gig Young to portray Blazing Saddles' lead role. Young accepted, but he left the production soon after filming began while he struggled with alcohol addiction, as The Mercury News reported back in 2016. Desperate for a final replacement, Brooks cast his friend and The Producers collaborator Gene Wilder, who ultimately turned the part into an iconic comedic performance.

Related: Mel Brooks Presented with Peabody Award by Billy Crystal: 'My Guiding Light Since Day One'

Blazing Saddles — which follows the trials and tribulations of a newly appointed Black sheriff in frontier town Ridge Rock — was nominated for three Oscars. In 2006, the beloved comedy was added to the Librarian of Congress’ Film Preservation List, which recognizes pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

During Brooks' recent Q&A about the movie, the EGOT recipient also recalled that then-Warner Bros. head Ted Ashley once told Brooks to significantly edit the movie after a screening of the film. "Why listen to anything? I would’ve had an 11-minute movie," he said. "So he left, I crumpled up his notes, threw it in the waste basket.”

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