One of the fascinating pieces of trivia below is true*, the other is false. Do YOU know which is which?
The Sting (1973)
1) When filming was completed, Robert Shaw invited George Roy Hill over to Ireland for what turned into a two-day pub crawl. “I think we must have hit every pub in in West Ireland”, said Hill. “And I made the mistake of trying to keep up with him drink for drink”. Back at Shaw’s home, Hill collapsed exhausted into bed, only to be woken up by the sound of screaming. Downstairs in the games room, Shaw was stripped to his shorts pummeling an opponent into submission at ping-pong yelling, “One more game, you son of a bitch, one more game!”
2) Actor Ray Walston, who is best know as Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and popularizing the smoking of crystallized formaldehyde in the ’70s, was tricked into appearing in this film by classic jokesters Paul Newman and Robert Redford by telling him it was a movie about bees, as Walston was an avid beekeeping enthusiast and would traditionally put crystallized honey in with his crystallized formaldehyde to sweeten the smoke. So, due to Redford and Newman’s instructions, Walston showed up on set him a full human bee costume, believing that he was starring as the titular superhero, The Sting. When everyone in the cast and crew began to laugh at him mercilessly and threw balloons filled with honey and piss at him, Walston flew into a bee-like rage, and began stinging everyone in the face, chest, and/or scrotum with his razor-sharp stinger. In all, six actors and 14 crewmen were killed, with several others wounded. Police were called to the set, but Walston flew off before they could catch him. He did show up in court months later, however, but could not be convicted because he was fully within his rights according to bee law. Redford and Newman eventually convinced him to be in the movie as a human and Walston agreed, but always kept the stinger handy just in case, which you can see under his pants in many scenes.
Hard Ticket to Home Video 