In the 1991 comedy/western City Slickers, three New York natives played by Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby are having mid-life crises, so they decide what they need to do is go on a cattle drive in the southwest. They’re led by cowboy Curly, played by Jack Palance (Shane), who won a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar for his performance. Fun fact: Palance didn’t see the movie until after he won the Oscar for it.
Palance had some competition for the part. According to Billy Crystal, Charles Bronson turned down the role of Curly in “an unseemly way.” Harvey Keitel auditioned for the role, too. Keitel landed the role as Mickey Cohen in Bugsy instead. That year, in 1992, Keitel was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, too, but it went to Palance.
