 According to David Zucker (qv) in the DVD commentary, the studio  insisted on the casting of an Oscar winner in one of the major  roles. This led to the casting of George Kennedy (I) (qv), who had  been actively campaigning for the role of Ed Hocken for months,  saying that he was furious at having missed his chance to spoof  himself in the movie _Airplane! (1980)_ (qv).