Sign up for The Queue
Discover the best movies and TV shows streaming now, with handpicked recommendations from Boston.com.
Adam Sandler, Seth Meyers discuss N.H. man who inspired ‘Happy Gilmore’
Adam Sandler revealed that the character of Happy Gilmore is based on a New Hampshire teacher and former hockey player Sandler knew growing up.
It may be hard to believe, but “Happy Gilmore,” Adam Sandler’s 1996 comedy about a hot-tempered amateur hockey player turned golf star, was apparently based on a real New Hampshire man.
When Sandler, who grew up in the Granite State, stopped by fellow New Hampshirite Seth Meyers’ talk show on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Netflix sequel “Happy Gilmore 2,” the pair began discussing the origins of its protagonist.
While Sandler was in high school, his dad would take him to the driving range in Bedford, N.H. By his own admission, Sandler wasn’t very good.
“My father would be like, ‘Let’s go hit the ball,'” Sandler said. “I’d be like, ‘Didn’t I just do that?’ But he knew my friend Kyle was a real athlete, and he never golfed before, and he came with me and my dad.”
Advertisement:
McDonough, now a social studies teacher at Manchester Memorial High School, was an All-American hockey player at the University of Vermont and played professionally in Europe for 11 years. (His older brother, Hubie, played in the NHL from 1988 to 1993.)
But at the time, McDonough was just an athletic high schooler who had never picked up a club.
“Immediately, because he was a hockey player, [Kyle] started hitting the ball really far,” Sandler told Meyers. “Farther than anyone at the range.”
Fast-forward a few years and Sandler, now in college at New York University, pitched the idea that became “Happy Gilmore” to his roommate and future co-writer, Tim Herlihy.
Advertisement:
“I said to my roommate Herlihy, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny, a golfer that had a hockey mentality?'” Sandler said. “And then we ended up writing this.”
“Happy Gilmore 2” will be released on Netflix July 25.
Watch Adam Sandler and Seth Meyers discuss “Happy Gilmore 2”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com