Movies that (rudely) cut out a cast member from the production
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie & Johnny (1991) - replaced Kathy Bates with Michelle Pfeiffer
My Fair Lady - replaced Julie Andrews with Audrey Hepburn
Fiddler on the Roof - replaced Zero Mostel with Topol
Pajama Game- replaced Carol Haney with Doris Day
The Music Man – replaced Barbara Cook with Shirley Jones
Back to the Future - replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J Fox
Back to the Future Part II - replaced Crispin Glover with Jeffrey Weissman and old footage
Glover and the producers couldn’t come to a salary agreement for the sequels, so they replaced him with footage from the first film, and used Weissman (wearing facial prosthetics to look more like Glover) for new footage. This led to a lawsuit by Glover, and new SAG rules regarding usage of an actor’s image.
Movies that (rudely) cut out a cast member from the production
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie & Johnny (1991) - replaced Kathy Bates with Michelle Pfeiffer
My Fair Lady - replaced Julie Andrews with Audrey Hepburn
Fiddler on the Roof - replaced Zero Mostel with Topol
Pajama Game- replaced Carol Haney with Doris Day
The Music Man – replaced Barbara Cook with Shirley Jones
Back to the Future - replaced Eric Stoltz with Michael J Fox
Back to the Future Part II - replaced Crispin Glover with Jeffrey Weissman and old footage
The Lord of the Rings movies - Stuart Townsend dumped as Aragorn (too young, director Peter Jackson decided) and Viggo Mortensen brought in on very short notice
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie & Johnny (1991) - replaced Kathy Bates with Michelle Pfeiffer
My Fair Lady - replaced Julie Andrews with Audrey Hepburn
Fiddler on the Roof - replaced Zero Mostel with Topol
Pajama Game- replaced Carol Haney with Doris Day
The Music Man – replaced Barbara Cook with Shirley Jones
Barefoot in the Park - replaced Elizabeth Ashley with Jane Fonda
A Streetcar Named Desire - replaced Jessica Tandy with Vivien Leigh
Thanks, guys
Regarding Streetcar virtually every other performer from the Broadway play was invited to the film, with the exception of Tandy, in spite of the fact that her performance was credited with making the play the blockbuster it was. Her name recognition wasn’t up to Hollywood standards. The photos that exist of her in costume are exquisite, and I wish there were some small amount of footage somewhere of her performance.
Oh-- and so glad someone posted The Music Man. They tried to cut Robert Preston out too, and the top choice was Cary Grant, but Grant himself told the producers that it was a huge mistake not to use Preston in the movie.
Movies that (rudely) cut out a cast member from the theater production
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie & Johnny (1991) - replaced Kathy Bates with Michelle Pfeiffer
My Fair Lady - replaced Julie Andrews with Audrey Hepburn
Fiddler on the Roof - replaced Zero Mostel with Topol
Pajama Game- replaced Carol Haney with Doris Day
The Music Man – replaced Barbara Cook with Shirley Jones
Barefoot in the Park - replaced Elizabeth Ashley with Jane Fonda
A Streetcar Named Desire - replaced Jessica Tandy with Vivien Leigh
Grease - Jeff Conaway got demoted from playing Danny in the stage version to playing Kenickie
West Side Story - Jermone Robbins pushed for Carol Lawrence to reprise the role of Maria but by that point she was 29 and producers agreed she was too old for the part.
Movies that (rudely) cut out a cast member from the theater production
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune as Frankie & Johnny (1991) - replaced Kathy Bates with Michelle Pfeiffer
My Fair Lady - replaced Julie Andrews with Audrey Hepburn
Fiddler on the Roof - replaced Zero Mostel with Topol
Pajama Game- replaced Carol Haney with Doris Day
The Music Man – replaced Barbara Cook with Shirley Jones
Barefoot in the Park - replaced Elizabeth Ashley with Jane Fonda
A Streetcar Named Desire - replaced Jessica Tandy with Vivien Leigh
Grease - Jeff Conaway got demoted from playing Danny in the stage version to playing Kenickie
West Side Story - Jermone Robbins pushed for Carol Lawrence to reprise the role of Maria but by that point she was 29 and producers agreed she was too old for the part.
Hello, Dolly - Carol Channing was replaced in the titular role by Barbra Streisand