“Porky’s” debuted at No. 1 at the box office in 1982, becoming an instant cult classic and leading the way for director Bob Clark to produce “A Christmas Story.”
Porky’s star Tony Ganios died unexpectedly at the age of 64 on Feb. 18 after an emergency four-hour surgery for a spinal cord infection, according to his fiancée, Amanda.
She explained the surgery was successful, but he went on dialysis and then into cardiac arrest.
“I just love him so much,” Amanda told Fox News Digital. “I don’t know how else I can express it.”
“Porky’s” star Tony Ganios died unexpectedly Sunday. He was 64. (Getty Images)
‘PORKY’S’ STAR TONY GANIOS DEAD AT 64 FOLLOWING EMERGENCY SURGERY
Ganios’ claim to fame was starring as Meat in “Porky’s.” The 1981 cult classic, written and directed by Bob Clark, debuted at No. 1 at the box office and stayed there eight consecutive weeks, earning more than $100 million domestically at the box office despite being panned by critics and having a budget of $5 million.
The success of the raunchy comedy paved the way for other movies in the sub-genre, such as “Revenge of the Nerds,” “Police Academy” and “Bachelor Party.”
Clark was inspired to write the film to capture what it was really like to be a teenage boy at the time, pulling a lot of inspiration from his own childhood experiences with his friends.
“Bob carried this brilliant vision around in his head for more than a decade before starting to put it on paper,” “Porky’s” co-writer Roger Swaybill told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. “When Bob was in bed with mono in the summer of 1979, he suddenly began dictating the story of ‘Porky’s’ to me.
Clark was inspired by his personal experiences as a teenager when it came to writing “Porky’s.” (Getty Images)
“And, for four days, he dictated into a cassette recorder. I was weeping with laughter,” he added. “About an hour into the original narrative, I became convinced that I was sharing in the birth of a major moment in movie history. It was the funniest film story I had ever heard.”
The movie followed a group of high school boys obsessed with helping one another lose their virginity and featured insane storylines.
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Prior to the release of “Porky’s,” “National Lampoon’s Animal House” was released, and the two films had similar storylines. The main difference was “Animal House,” which starred John Belushi, took place on a college campus.
“Sure, the film was outrageous. It was the most outrageous film of its kind, but it was the truth,” Clark said in 2007. “‘Animal House’ is a wonderful film. I love it, but ‘Porky’s’ doesn’t deserve to be compared to it. ‘Animal House’ was a caricature of college, but ‘Porky’s’ was the first one to play us the way we were, and I think it did it damn well. I would pull back a little if I was doing it again today, but we were so far over the top anyways.”
Clark doesn’t like the comparison between “Porky’s” and “Animal House.” (20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
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The success of “Porky’s” solidified Clark’s place in Hollywood as a talented director who could produce a profitable movie, giving him free rein to pick his next project.
And that next project was “A Christmas Story,” which was 14 years in the making before Clark’s success with “Porky’s” legitimized the film to studio heads. “A Christmas Story” is loosely based on Jean Shepherd’s experiences as a kid growing up in Indiana.
He and Clark were writing the film together for over a decade before MGM finally agreed to buy it. While it wasn’t expected to achieve much success, it became an instant hit and is now considered a holiday classic.
While “A Christmas Story” wasn’t expected to be a success, it grossed over $20 million at the box office. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)
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With an estimated budget of $3.3 million, the movie earned over $20 million at the global box office.
