The Home Alone Curse

The "Home Alone" Curse is all too real. The big-budget movie is in peril, and only one actor can save it. Not Macaulay Culkin. Not Joe Pesci. It's the goofball cop, Larry Hankin, with one iconic glazed donut. This story contains strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. Thank you, Larry Hankin, for sharing your story! From Escape to Alcatraz to Friends to Seinfeld and Breaking Bad, Larry has left an indelible mark on your TV screens over the last five decades. Yes, Llarry has a book, entitled, That Guy: A Cautionary Memoir. Special thanks to Sam Shaw for sharing Larry’s story with us. Sam is working on a documentary on Larry’s improvisational theater company, The Committee http://www.thecommitteemovie.com/. A special shoutout to The Crow Comedy Club https://crowcomedy.com/ in Santa Monica for hosting Larry during one of their unforgettable storytelling nights. Engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller & Miles Lassi. Artwork by Teo Ducot. Happy Holidays Snap Nation! Thank you for your support over the years -- we couldn't run this Snap train without you. Season 15 - Episode 55 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:08Glynn Washington?

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• 0:53Glynn Washington?

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• 1:12Glynn Washington?

  Today's episode is brought to you by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Americans United has spent the last 80 years defending your right to live as yourself and believe as you choose, so long as you don't harm others. Through film screenings, speaking engagements, and valuable resources like the Know Your Rights and Public School Guides, AU empowers people nationwide to recommit to the separation of church and state, protecting individual freedoms and strengthening our democracy for all. Freedom without favor and equality without exception. Learn more at au.org/TENC.

• 1:56Glynn Washington?

  Ah, Snapers. 'Tis the season, and in celebration, we're gonna break format a bit. We're gonna travel back to a simpler time, a time before iPods, before Cybertrucks, a time when computers didn't talk back. Larry Hankins. Larry remembers these magical days with a story about how he came this close to landing the role of a lifetime, one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time. Now, spoiler alert, Larry doesn't get the gig, but what happens next will become Home Alone history. So grab a glass of eggnog, because here's Larry, live,

• 2:40Glynn Washington?

  from the Crow Comedy Club. Snap Judgment.

• 2:45Speaker 01

  By a show of hands, how many people have seen Home Alone? Anybody?

• 2:51Speaker 01

  Okay. All right, this is about the curse on Home Alone. First of all, this is 1990, when Home Alone was first bought and they started filming. So this is about 1990, 1991. I was looking for rent. That was the whole point. I was looking for rent and trying to learn guitar. Two things. And in between that, I was trying to audition. So my agent called me and he said, "Are you available right now?" And I go, "Of course, you know that. You're my agent."

• 3:28Speaker 01

  So he said, "All right, look, Home Alone just called. They started a new production. It's John Hughes' next movie. It's gonna be a Christmas thing. It's gonna be big. It's got Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern and a kid called Macaulay Culkin. And they'd been filming for three days now. And Daniel Stern has now stopped production because he wants more money. The producers don't want to pay him more money. He's gonna quit if he doesn't get more money. And the producers say, "If he keeps on demanding more money, we're gonna fire him." And we need somebody to replace him, and we're thinking about you. I don't think, whoa, are you kidding? John Hughes movie? Home Alone?

• 4:13Speaker 01

  I mean, everybody knew then it was gonna be a really cool movie. So I go, wow, that's amazing. He says, okay. They're in a negotiation right now. They're gonna end it in about a half hour. I'll call you back. Pack your bag. Put it by the door. You have to leave tonight. If Daniel Stern doesn't want to work for the money he's getting, they're gonna fire him. You're gonna have to start reshooting the new film tomorrow morning. I'm going, wow. She says, okay, I'll call you back in half an hour. Hold tight. Okay, click. And I'm thinking, wow, I'm gonna be co-starring with Joe Pesci in 1990, and I need my rent. This is incredible, man. This is incredible.

• 4:56Speaker 01

  Okay, so a half hour goes by. I'm sitting by the phone. I'm tense, I'm jacked up, I'm really cool. And he goes, okay. We just got it in. Daniel Stern caved. It's off. Never mind, there's other jobs. Click. I was really pissed. I mean, I was madder than I've ever been, man, because they jerked me around. The producers jerked me around, and I didn't like it. So I dealt with it as best I could. I dealt with it. And then I got on with my life, which was trying to learn the guitar audition. Learn the guitar audition. Okay, cool, rent. Okay. And about two weeks later, I get a call from my agent again. He said, are you still available? Come on, man.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Why? Because Home Alone just called. They want you in the movie. They need you in the movie. You gotta be in the movie. And I go, what? What's going on? He said, the movie is cursed. This is a true story. They called me and they said, the movie is cursed. I said, is that your word or their word? No, that's their word. They say, and the reason they say it's cursed is because of the way they jerked you around. Whatever it was in the negotiations with Daniel Stern, and they feel guilty about it, and they feel that that's the reason the movie is cursed, because it's already shot three days and nothing's happening. It's not going right. So they figured the only way is get Hankin back in, get him in the movie anywhere,

• 6:25Speaker 01

  just to appease the curse and get it off the movie. And I go, that is the weirdest. Okay, I mean... Alright, so you do it. Well, what do they want me to do? What's a character? I don't get it. You know, is this Daniel? No, it's not Daniel Stern again. No. It's just to get the curse off. Now, I said, "Okay, what do they want me to do?" And they said, "Well, that's the..." Okay, here's the thing. It's just, it's three lines. No, I'm not doing it. Three lines? Are you kidding? It's a cop talking to her mom about getting her son, checking on her son? No, I'm not gonna do it. Three lines? Two weeks ago, I was co-starring with Joe Pesci.

• 7:09Speaker 01

  And now they're offering me three lines? No, I'm not gonna do it. No. So he said, "No, listen, Larry. Just calm down, man. Now, look, they'll fly you there, first class, L.A. to Chicago. They'll pick you up in a limo, get you to the set. They'll have the set all set up for you. This is a half a day's work, Larry. Just go in. It's three lines. Do one take, back in a limo, fly you first class limo. You will sleep in your own bed the same day." No, man, three lines? Are you kidding? "Larry, listen to me. They will pay you $10,000 to do just what I said." "Oh, okay, fine. Let's do it." Yeah.

• 7:54Speaker 01

  Okay, wow, what's the problem? Yeah, so, and sure enough, the next morning, sure enough, I look down, I'm in an apartment house, I look down, there's a limo, a white stretched limo downstairs waiting for me. I go down, I don't even have to pack, because I'm gonna sleep in my own bed. That's what they said the same night. Don't have to pack. I'm just going. Half a day's work. That's it. So I go down, I jump in a limo, to the airport, first class limo's there, Mr. Hankin, chauffeur, everything to the set. They pull me up, there's an A.D. waiting at the curb. I get out, they go, they pull me in. Right before I left, I got a phone call from one of the producers of Home Alone to verify

• 8:39Speaker 01

  that I'm gonna show up and do it. And so I go, "Are you kidding?" Of course I'm gonna do it. Okay, so he says, Larry, you just wanna verify everything's gonna be okay. We'll see you there tomorrow, right? Yeah, okay, what do you want? I go, wha- wha- what do you mean? What do I want? I don't deal with that. No, no, no, because we understand it's just three lines. We understand it's a very small part. We just want you in the movie because of the curse. So just anything, so if you, uh... No, he said, okay, I can have anything? Well, well, okay, you can rewrite the three lines as long as it, you know, fits into the scene. Or you can have any prop you want, whatever you want. We, we understand you're doing us a favor.

• 9:25Speaker 01

  I go, okay, what, it's a cop, right? Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, I wanna be eating a donut while I say your lines.

• 9:37Speaker 01

  That's it? Yeah, that's it. I wanna be eating a donut, a glazed donut. I wanna glazed donut.

• 9:45Speaker 01

  Okay, see you here tomorrow. Right, okay. They take me to the producers and there's a set. It's a soundstage and they got the police station, the chair and the phone. Everything's there. They got the camera, the lights, everything is all set. And the producers say, you know, okay, just change into your costume. Get in the costume, sit down, one take, back in the limo. You sleep in your own bed tonight. Okay, oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. Where's my glazed donut?

• 10:15Speaker 01

  Larry, just go change into the cop uniform. We'll have the glazed donut when you get back. Okay, so I go in, I change the cop uniform, I come back. And standing, waiting for, right next to the camera, as you know, these bakers' rolling trays with the trays, you know, and you can roll it around with the bread on it and everything. Okay, next to the camera is a baker's rolling tray with twenty trays, twenty shelves, and on each shelf is thirty glazed donuts.

• 10:43Speaker 01

  Six hundred glazed donuts. And I just say, I just asked for one glazed donut. And I'm thinking, I'm not paying for these.

• 10:59Speaker 01

  You know, I really did think that. I thought, I don't, I just don't understand what's going on with the whole thing with the curse. But I do notice that there's something weird going on. Okay, give me a donut. Oh, that one. Yeah, give me that one.

• 11:16Speaker 01

  Okay, and, all right, so Chris Columbus is directing, which is another perk. I mean, Chris Columbus is really cool. Larry, get in the chair. You got the phone, you got the donut. I'm gonna be eating it, okay? And take one, Larry, action. Okay, and, well, hello, police department, blah, blah, blah. You want me to check on your son in the cut? Is that me? What happened? What was that? No, no, no, camera went off the dolly. All right, back to one, take two, Larry. Okay, all right, give me another donut. I just ate the whole thing. Just give me a new one. All right?

• 11:54Speaker 01

  Okay, and take two, and action, Larry. Okay, so blah, blah, blah, police department, blah, blah, blah. You want me to go to your home and check on your son. Cut! Okay, now what happened? Camera jiggle, let's go back to, back to one, all right. Take two, Larry, give me another donut. No, I just ate the whole thing while I was waiting to reset the camera. I just ate it. All right, just give me another one. All right, take three, and, you ready? Okay, Larry with the donut, okay, fine, and action, Larry. And you want me to go to check on your...

• 12:33Speaker 01

  The light, it's very hot in there. It's a soundstage, it's really hot. And one of the lights above exploded and rained down glass, that shattered glass, all over the set, on me. Because it's just one, one shot. It's just a tracking shot. It's just one person in it. So it's just on me. Okay, so there's a 20-minute break. While they clean up the set, they clean me off, they get the nurse to check. I'm not cut, I'm not gonna sue, don't worry.

• 13:01Speaker 01

  All right, and, all right, Larry, give me another, another, no, give me another donut. No, give me that one, yeah, okay.

• 13:13Speaker 01

  Okay, and this is, I don't know what, take four and take five, take six, take seven, take eight, take nine. We haven't gotten through one good take. Something always happens, and it's not me, it's not me. It's something technical each time, nine times. And now, I'm starting to think, holy crap, it is Curtis.

• 13:41Speaker 01

  And you can even see the crew is going, alright, it's the curse. And I look over at the producers, and they're white, man. They are depressed, it's really weird. And everybody, except Chris Columbus. He's like, cool, he's like, okay, come on, take 10, let's go, everybody. Take 10, Larry, get a donut. And I'm saying, wait a minute. The donuts are starting to disappear from the bottom shelf. The crew is eating the donuts, and I'm going, hey man, we may have to do 590.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  So, okay, alright, fine. So finally, take 10, alright, give me another donut. And, take 10, action Larry. Okay, and you want me to go check on your son? Uh, yeah. Okay, Rose, hyper on two.

• 14:37Speaker 01

  Cut, and everybody laughs. Now, for the nine takes, when it was, it didn't go all the way through to the end, nobody laughed, because you don't laugh at cruise f-ups, you don't. Or any technical laugh. But if an actor f-ups, laugh, they all laugh. Oh, oh, oh, and they captured it on tape. So, Chris Columbus says, that's a, that's a, print that one, Larry, you're released. Okay, get him in a limo, you can change your car, get out of your costume. You're released, Larry. And I go, what just happened? No, if I f up, I want to do it again. I don't want that, I don't want you to print a f up of mine, and, and... No, no, Larry, that's, that's, that's good, we're good.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  You're released. I thought, no, I want to do it again. No, Larry, you don't have to do it again, we got it. And he says, come to the TV village, and we will play it for you. So I said, "I don't wanna watch it because I'll just do what I made the mistake." Because if I see it, I'll do it again. No, so I go and I watch it. And they play it. And, okay, and as far as I can see, as they play it, it's, what I'm doing is exactly the same for all ten takes. There's nothing different. I'm not [BLEEP] up. But then I start to notice something, that there's a crumb from the donut. And it's caught on the mouthpiece of the phone.

• 16:05Speaker 01

  Now, all the other crumbs, uh, because there's crumbs, you know, when you're eating a donut. And all the nine takes, they all fall to the ground or the floor. And even in this take, except there's one big crumb, is not only hanging, not like this, on the top of the mouthpiece, but it's over here.

• 16:27Speaker 01

  And it's not moving. And then very slowly, it starts to, very slowly.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  But it doesn't drop. It's just slowly rolling. And then finally, and I, I don't know, I'm just talking and talking, and right near the end of the scene, it drops. And then the scene ends. And they say, "We're gonna print that." "Why? That's, that's [BLEEP] up. I, I, I, we don't, I don't have to use a donut. I don't have to use..." "No, no, no, that's going in the movie, Larry. That's money shot." And I go, "What do you call a money shot? What does that mean?"

• 17:05Speaker 01

  He said, "It means it's going in the movie. It's, it's gold, it's funny, Larry." And I go, "Oh, okay." He said, "Get out of here. Okay, get him out of here, get him in a limo, get him home. He's gotta sleep in his own bed tonight. Okay, get him out of here." So I go in, I change my clothes. I come back, and what I do is I don't go to the limo. I go over to the baker's tray, because I wanna see what's going on. Why did that, you know, stick and no other crumb did? And I go over, and it was so hot, I looked at the, all the, uh, donuts that are left. The glaze had started to melt. So it was tacky, it was stick. And that crumb obviously came from the top of the donut. So it was the, the glaze that was holding that thing there. Okay?

• 17:50Speaker 01

  Because people would come up to me on the street and say, "Hey, you know, you were in Home Alone." Right, yeah. How did they do with the donut thing? How did they do that?

• 18:01Speaker 01

  So, I don't know if there's any actors in the room, but here's a great lesson in how to steal a scene. Okay, in the middle of the scene, slowly start to die. Very slowly. No matter where you are in the scene or what you're doing, start to slowly die. And then, right near the end of the scene, suddenly drop. Okay, so that's just how to steal a scene. Okay, but that has nothing to do with anything. Okay, so I get into the limo and I, they take me to the airport, and first class, limo.

• 18:44Speaker 01

  And not only do I get to sleep in my own bed the same night, but I get $10,000 for a half a day's work. I can pay my rent. Yeah, okay. And then, about a year later, Home Alone comes out, and it's a big hit. Now, the reason that it's a big hit and the moral of this story is that because the producers treated me so nice, and they paid me so much money for half a day's work, that I removed my curse from the movie.

• 19:31Glynn Washington?

  Thank you, Larry Hankin, for sharing your story. From Escape the Alcatraz, to Friends, to Seinfeld, and Breaking Bad, Larry has left an indelible mark on your TV screens over the last five decades. And yes, Larry has a book entitled That Guy, a cautionary memoir. Special thanks as well to Sam Shaw for sharing Larry's story. Sam is working on a documentary on Larry's improvisational theater company, The Committee. Information about that at committymovie.com. And last but not least, special shout out to the Crow Comedy Club in Santa Monica for hosting Larry during one of their unforgettable storytelling nights. crowcomedy.com.