Verne Lundquist recalls how ‘Happy Gilmore’ role almost went to another announcer
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Verne Lundquist is settling into retired life, but he still has time for Adam Sandler.
For many sports fans, Lundquist’s cameo in “Happy Gilmore” is one of the more memorable parts of the 1996 sports comedy. Lundquist, who is back in the recently released “Happy Gilmore 2,” revealed to Awful Announcing that he wasn’t the first choice for the role.
Since Lundquist’s interview for the podcast took place close to the “Happy Gilmore 2,” Lundquist’s involvement in the Sandler films leads off the interview. In an excerpt released Wednesday via YouTube, Lundquist recalled that his agent, the late Bob Rosen, encouraged him to take the part.
Upon arrival in Vancouver, Lundquist realized that he was not the first choice for the role.
“When they handed me the script — they had to hand-deliver it to my hotel room — I looked at the top right-hand corner. They’d tried to erase the name, but I could still see it. It said Pat Summerall,” Lundquist recalled to Awful Announcing.
Summerall, who passed in 2013 at the age of 82, has a long broadcasting career with CBS, FOX and ESPN. Like Lundquist, Summerall called major golf events in addition to his football assignments.
Lundquist called SEC on CBS games from 2000 to 2016. He retired from calling college basketball in March 2018. He continued to call gold for CBS through the 2024 Masters.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.