'Caddyshack' star Michael O'Keefe claims cocaine was budgeted on set, admits filming scenes high
Actor Michael O’Keefe Opens Up About Cocaine on the Set of “Caddyshack”
By Maine News Now
Michael O’Keefe, the 71‑year‑old actor best known for his role as Danny Noonan in the 1980 comedy Caddyshack, said in a recent interview that the film’s production budget included an expense for cocaine, and that he had used the drug while shooting some scenes.
The interview, conducted by the entertainment website Page Six, found O’Keefe reflecting on a decade ago when Hollywood drug use was often treated as a normal part of the filmmaking process. “It was the 70s,” he said. “People were just treating it like it was toothpaste, and you had to do it twice a day to stay healthy.”
O’Keefe explained that cocaine was listed as a “miscellaneous item” in the film’s budget documents. He admitted that he had taken the drug before certain takes, but that the memories are “not my favorite” and that he is “not too happy about them.” “Right after that movie, during that movie, was the last time I ever did anything like cocaine,” the veteran actor said. “I realized that it was a terrible thing to get involved with, and like so many things in the drug world, it looked like fun, but in reality, it wasn’t.”
The film, directed by Harold Ramis and produced by Douglas Kenney, was shot in 1979 and released the following year. It starred a roster of comedy talents, including Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, and Rodney Dangerfield, and is set at the fictional Bushwood Country Club. O’Keefe’s portrayal of the earnest young caddie remains one of his most recognizable roles.
The actor said that the loss of Kenney was a wake‑up call that helped him abandon drug use. Kenney, co‑writer and producer of the film, died at the age of 33 in 1980 after falling from a cliff in Hawaii. “He was one of the most affable, intelligent, funny people in the world. … Was strung out on cocaine, got depressed, and committed suicide,” O’Keefe recounted. “It was truly a result of drug addiction, and that was a huge wake‑up call.”
O’Keefe, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Great Santini (1979), has continued to work in film and television over the past four decades. He appeared in Ironweed (1987) and Frozen River (2008) and most recently joined the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, where he plays Ron Cooper, the father of Jon Hamm’s character.
In a separate interview with Yahoo in July 2020, O’Keefe expressed a desire to be remembered for more than Caddyshack. “We always talk about how we got lucky young and didn’t know what we had,” he said. “As actors, we don’t want to be pigeonholed, so while I was always glad to be in ‘Caddyshack,’ I sometimes wished that people would acknowledge my other work.”
He also shared an anecdote about the film’s cultural impact. “I had this one experience with a wardrobe designer who told me that her father died of leukemia and for the last six weeks before his death, they would gather as a family and watch ‘Caddyshack.’ That really changed my feelings about what the movie means to people and what it means to me to be a part of it.”
O’Keefe’s candid revelations offer a rare glimpse into the 1970s Hollywood scene, where drug use was sometimes budgeted for and treated as routine. While he regrets the role cocaine played in his life and the film’s production, he credits the tragic loss of Kenney and his own growing awareness of addiction as key factors that steered him away from the substance.
The revelations also underscore how a single film can leave lasting impressions, both positive and negative, on its creators and audience alike.
