Is there a single more iconic scene from 1998’s The Big Lebowski than the Gutterballs dream sequence? While the film is famous for its hilariously quotable lines, many fans are partial to a dialogue-free moment when The Dude (Bridges) is drugged by Jackie Treehorn and imagines he and Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore) are the stars of a Busby Berkeley-style adult film set at an otherworldly bowling alley complete with dancers wearing 10-pin headdresses.
Speaking of those dancers, remember when The Dude catches a peek underneath their skirts while sliding down the lane like a bowling ball about to make a strike? Bridges has a story about what took place while he was rehearsing that particular moment that is even racier than what ended up in the finished picture. Take a look at the uproarious story behind one of the most memorable scenes from one of the best movies of the ‘90s.
Jeff Bridges Got a Big Surprise Rehearsing The Gutterballs Dream Sequence
While appearing on TBS’ Conan, Jeff Bridges recalled to host Conan O’Brien about the day he was set to rehearse the Gutterballs scene in the now classic Coen Brothers movie, which had him lay on a skateboard that pulled him along the bowling lane underneath the “Bowling Pin Corinnes.” Seeing this as an ample opportunity to use his Widelux panning still camera, after receiving unusually enthusiastic permission from the head dancer, he laid down on his skateboard and set up the shot. The following is his description of what he saw:
I look up and there… [laughs] beneath the leotard are these tufts of pubic hair coming out of this leotard… And I go, ‘Oh, OK’. And I push my camera and the lens goes, ‘Tsssssh.’ And, as I go, [to] the next lady… there are more tufts. It’s, like, more ornate. And then the next one… [it’s like a whole] forest.
The Academy Award winner finally mentions, before the then late night talk show host goes insane with embarrassment, that the “tufts” were actually crepe hair that had been applied by the makeup department as a practical joke on the actor. While I imagine this was a hilarious discovery to make after the fact, I also would not be surprised if experiencing the prank in the moment must have been very uncomfortable for Bridges, considering who was on set that day.
Jeff Bridges' Family Was In On The Prank
At the beginning of the actor’s story to O’Brien, Bridges says that he believed it would be a fun idea to invite his wife, Susan Geston, and three daughters, who were within the 7 to 9-year-old age range at the time, to the Big Lebowski set on the day he was scheduled to shoot the Gutterballs scene. However, he was told that was a “terrible error,” given the cheekily sexual nature of the scene. He must have really felt like he messed up when he saw the “tufts” sticking out from underneath the dancers.
Luckily, as it turns out, Bridges’ wife and children were actually involved in crafting the prank – a detail that was especially bewildering to O’Brien. Yet, I suppose you could call that the kind of moment that brings families closer together.
As Bridges also mentions during his conversation with O’Brien, the photograph he took with his Widelux on that very day can be found on his website, JeffBridges.com, along with other photos he snapped while making The Big Lebowski and other great Jeff Bridges movies. I can certainly understand if you would rather leave the visual of the prank up to the imagination but, you have to admit, just knowing this story makes rewatching the rewatchable cinematic classic even more interesting.
