[Pilsner]

Slim Pickens rules!

Peter Sellers was supposed to also play Maj. Kong, but he fell out of the B-52 mockup, and broke a leg on the first day of filming as Maj. Kong. Kubrick, faced with financial catastrophe, if he had to wait weeks for Seller's leg to heal, before he resumed shooting, looked for someone who could walk onto the set and speak in the Texas accent that Sellers had struggled for months to master. Pickens, a Californian who had spent years on the rodeo circuit, got the job, and went immediately to work.

[Pelham]

“Pickens, a Californian who had spent years on the rodeo circuit, got the job, and went immediately to work.”

Yep, Pickens was a Bakersfield cowboy if memory serves. Quite a few Bakersfield cowboys were in the movie business as well as the music business.

[WILLIALAL]

Slim Pickens rules!

It would have not been anywhere near as good a movie without him. I’m glad Sellers broke his leg.

[miss marmelstein]

I never heard that Sellers broke his leg. I always heard that he could not really master the proper accent for the role so Kubrick got Slim Pickens. I've also heard that Kubrick offered it to John Wayne - and he, being no fool, rejected it. Another urban legend is that Pickens didn't understand that this was a comedy. Not true. He completely understood his role which is why he's so effective.

My husband and I fight over what role Sellers most excels in. I love Dr. Strangelove but he loves The President. (”I feel bad too, Dmitri!”)