Once People Were Famous Because they had TALENT

Yes, sad to hear about the passing of Ron Moody and Christopher Lee.

At least, they left behind some great work.

It's unfortunate some of it was not completed, and some, left on the cutting room floor.

The producers thought to "update" some of the plot for "Oliver."

They actually filmed a scene in which Ron Moody as "FAGIN" sings to the boys about his favorite fetish. No, not pedophilia. The song was "You've Got To Nick a Knicker Or Two."

Studio heads figured injecting a little sex would be good, but Lionel Bart protested, "Women's knickers? Why would anyone be aroused by something like that?"

Jewish groups also protested, "You have Fagin stealing women's underwear, and encouraging the boys to go around pulling down women's panties and running off with them. That's anti-semitic. A Jewish guy doesn't steal. He says to the lady, 'What's your best price for your used underwear? And remember, to take some money off for stains, inferior fabric and poor workmanship!'"

And Christopher Lee?

He always regretted that Hammer pulled the plug on "Dracula Meets the Zombie."

As Sir Christopher recalled, "The Chiller Theatre convention held some kind of raffle. The winning dweeb gets to play the zombie. An American named Bill Hooberstank won, and we did a make-up test.

"IF I'M BEING HONEST, I had never seen such a stomach-churning, repulsive monster in all my life. He wasn't even wearing make-up.

"I was up for the challenge, but Hammer said they hadn't seen such a hideous grin since Guy Rolfe played Mr. Sardonicus. I said, 'Please, please, I truly want to bite this idiot's neck and kill him.' But they cautioned that I might get sick from drinking his blood. I could come down with senility."