The Production Of National Lampoon's Animal House Wasn't All Beer And Partying

National Lampoon's "Animal House" is perhaps Hollywood's first party film. It's a beloved genre now, with notable entries like "Neighbors" and "Project X," but "Animal House" was a true pioneer in debauchery. It may have seemed like a non-stop rager in the Delta house, but believe it or not, the set was a strictly sober environment — at least, while the cameras were rolling.

"Animal House" was a fratty set from the very start. Director John Landis called all the Deltas to set a week before the rest of the cast to help them form a close-knit bond. One night, they went to a frat party and got in a fight with the real fraternity brothers there, The New York Times reported.

"That fight cemented us as a group," declared James Widdoes, who plays the high-strung chapter president Robert Hoover. After that, the Deltas took to partying in real life almost as much as their characters.

"It was too expensive to drink at the bar, so we went to a state liquor store and bought half-gallon bottles," explained Bruce McGill, who plays the loose cannon D-Day. "I liberated a piano that was sitting in this forest of red waiters' jackets in a closet and moved it to my room. We were unstoppable, man — we felt bulletproof."

The Deltas party non-stop for most of the film. Unfortunately for Landis, his film is so well-cast that this partying mentality bled into the actors time on-set. He had to find a way to limit this instinct to drink and have fun without totally squandering it.

McGill was hosting nightly parties in his motel while he was shooting "Animal House," but not every member of the cast attended.

"I stayed in the room above McGill's," Mark Metcalf, who played the Delta's antagonist, recalled overhearing the Deltas' antics. "I wanted to party with the Deltas, but it would've been wrong for Neidermeyer to do that. I was kept up late by the noise. I'd polish my R.O.T.C. helmet and get deeper and deeper into character."

A young Kevin Bacon, who made his acting debut in the 1978 comedy, was also left out of the fun. "There was always this amazing f–king party going on that I was never invited to," he lamented to Marc Maron in a 2017 interview.

Despite the after-hours parties — not to mention the parties in the film itself — Landis ran a tight ship on the set. Tim Matheson, who played Otter, assured Page Six that every cup on set was filled with "near beer" and "tea."

"Landis was really strict," the actor insisted. "He told everybody, 'No drugs! Nobody do anything stupid on this set. We got to work really hard. Do whatever you want to do later, but don't do it here.'" Once Landis gave his word, the actors complied. They might have acted a little irresponsibly once they got back to the motel, but they knew where to draw the line.

"He was real clear about that and everybody was on their best behavior when we worked," Matheson explained. Thanks to Landis' firm direction, the cast found an admirable balance between fun and professionalism — possibly. Landis' sets have historically been so chaotic they are downright dangerous — and even deadly.

Landis achieved a huge directorial triumph with "Animal House," but he soon committed an act of unforgivable negligence on set. While filming a segment of an episode of "The Twilight Zone," a pyrotechnics malfunction caused a helicopter to crash into two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, both of whom were killed from the impact. The accident also killed film actor Vic Morrow, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

The director ordered the helicopter to fly lower and lower in the moments before the incident, which called his culpability into question. Landis and four other crew members were charged with involuntary manslaughter, but they were all ultimately acquitted.

After the accident, Landis went on to make hugely popular films like "Three Amigos" and "Coming to America," while the other crew members' careers took major hits. Several of these crew members were forced into retirement, while Landis is still an active director today — although, good luck naming anything he's made in the last 20-plus years.

"Animal House" might be a comedy staple, but Landis' behavior on the set of "The Twilight Zone" could suggest he might have been more reckless on the set of "Animal House" than the cast was willing to let on. It's a shame to admit, but the director's carelessness has permanently tainted his legacy — "Animal House" included.