The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
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The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is an American sports/fantasy comedy film that was released in 1979. The PG-rated movie was directed by Gilbert Moses and co-produced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was released by Lorimar Pictures and distributed by United Artists (now part of Sony Pictures, which owns the rights).
The movie is considered by many as one of the worst sports films ever made, even though it has attracted a unlikely cult following to this day, most notably for its disco-inspired decor/setting and soundtrack that was infused into the film, as well as the appearances of many NBA stars and the rising careers of Debbie Allen and Harry Shearer.
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[edit] Plotline
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh told the story of a struggling professional basketball team, The Pittsburgh Pythons, whose continuous losing streak and lack of talent made them the laughing stock of Pittsburgh, which would result in several players asking to go elsewhere in the league. Everyone except the star player Moses Guthrie, mostly because he is the highest paid player on the team and is not liked by the teamates.
Sensing that the team really needs a miracle, the teams' ball and waterboy Tyrone Millman decides to turn to his favorite hobby, astrology, as a way to turn around the team's fortunes. So he brings his idea to an astrologer named Mona Mondieu, where they come up with the perfect concept: A team comprised of players who were born under the astrological sign of Pisces (matching the star sign of Moses Guthrie), thus the 'birth' of "The Pittsburgh Pisces!"
While Moses and Tyrone's mother Toby (for whom Moses had feelings) thought that Tyrone's idea was out of his mind, they warmed up to the concept, not knowing that this 'concept' would really take off. Due to an unlikely group of mismatched players whose combination of teamwork and astrology from Mona would pay off as they went from laughing stocks to a powerhouse to reckon with on the road to the league championship.
[edit] Miscellanea
- Singer/actor Cher was originally cast as Mona Mondieu, but she backed out at the last minute.
- During the scene where the timeout took place, the Pisces were trailing Los Angeles 91-101, but when the game resumed the Pisces made ten field goals, which means that they should have won the championship with a double-digit lead.
- Although the movie did not license NBA logos, several players did appear in the film playing for fictional teams with the same location and colors as their real NBA teams.
- At the time of filming, Erving was a member of Pennsylvania's real life NBA team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Several years later in 1982, in a case of art imitating life, he was joined by a real player named Moses (center Moses Malone) and defeated the real Los Angeles Lakers (also with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).
[edit] Pittsburgh connections
- The call letters of WTAE, KQV and WDVE are mentioned in the film.
- WTAE, which served as the 'fictional' TV station in the film, featured a Sports anchor named "Murray Sports", who was inspired by WTAE's then-real-life sports anchor Myron Cope.
- Portions of the movie were filmed at Moon Area High School.
- Connie Hawkins, who plays himself as member of the Los Angeles team, was an alumnus of the defunct Pittsburgh Pipers of American Basketball Association. The Pipers renamed themselves the Pittsburgh Condors in 1970, a year before Erving joined was drafted into the ABA. By 1972 the Condors ceased operations.
[edit] Cast
- Julius Erving - Moses Guthrie
- Jonathan Winters - H.S. and Harvey Tilson
- Meadowlark Lemon - Rev. Grady Jackson
- Jack Kehoe - Setshot
- Margaret Avery - Toby Millman
- James Bond III - Tyrone Millman
- Michael V. Gazzo - Harry the Trainer
- Peter Isacksen - Driftwood
- Nicholas Pryor - George Brockington
- M. Emmet Walsh - Wally Cantrell
- Stockard Channing - Mona Mondieu
- Flip Wilson - Coach 'Jock' Delaney
- Debbie Allen - Ola
- George von Benko - P.A. Announcer
- Dee Dee Bridgewater - Brandy
- Darrell Brown - Junior Ashland
- Julius J. Carry III - Malik Jamal Truth
- Jerry Chambers - Lucian Tucker
- Alix Elias - Michelle
- Jessie Lawrence Ferguson - Jackhammer Washington
- Richard Foronjy - Mike
- Clayton Hill - Security Guard
- Davis Johnson - Balloon Vendor
- Jack Kurtz - Mr. Birdwell
- Malek Abdul-Mansour - Bullet Haines
- Arthur Manteris - Stuntman
- Eric Mercury - Rudy and League Commissioner
- Dwayne Mooney - Benny Rae
- Daryl Mooney - Kenny Rae
- Craig Prosser - Gunnar Boses
- Branscombe Richmond - Winston Running Hawk
- Otis Sallid - Calmar and Fishstick
- Joseph A. Schad - Mr. Robbins
- Joe Seneca - Mr. Sweets
- Harry Shearer - Murray Sports
- Richard Rossi - Roy(Uncredited)
- Ken Foree - Pythons player(Uncredited)
[edit] As themselves
- Marv Albert
- Chick Hearn
- The Sylvers
- The Spinners (As Deacon Smith and featured Singers)
[edit] Basketball teams
Los Angeles:
- Jerry Tarkanian - Coach
- Ron Carter
- Connie Hawkins
- Lou Hudson
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Luther Rackley
- Norm Nixon
New York:
- Alfred Beard Jr.
- Luther Bruder
- Spencer Haywood
- Lonnie Shelton
- Mychal Thompson
Boston:
- John Williamson
- Donald Chaney
- Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell
- Kevin Stacom
- Curtis Rowe
Detroit:
- Leon Douglas
- Christopher J. Ford
- Bob Lanier
- John Shumate
