These posts only make all too clear how Streisand ended up cast in the film. None of the other people mentioned, with the possible exception of the less musical but zany Phyllis Diller, seems any more right for the role on paper than she did, and none of them offers half of her vocal abilities.
One person whose name did not come up but who might have been a terrific Dolly is Carol Burnett. Like Barbra, she was not known for movies but was still a star thanks to television and a gamble on her would have been akin to the earlier 60s castings of Dick Van Dyke in some major films. Matthau would have been great with her, and her comic chops and brassy voice would have been put to good use. They were around the same age, but unlike Debbie Reynolds she always had a character actor's persona so her younger (than anyone but Barbra's) Dolly would have made more sense. And as with Barbra, she was an up and comer, not in any way a former star looking to make a comeback. That obviously meant something to the suits.
Still, Barbra's casting never seemed more understandable than it did after reading most of these suggestions. |
