Happy Gilmore remains one of the most iconic golf movies and best Adam Sandler movies of all time, partly because of its legendary cameos. The 1996 comedy classic features some of Adam Sandler’s best quotes such as the iconic one-liners, “The price is wong, b–ch!” and “You eat pieces of s–t for breakfast?“. While Sandler has certainly evolved over the years into an impressive dramatic actor, seen most recently in Netflix’s space drama Spaceman, his hilarious roots with classics such as Billy Madison, Big Daddy, and The Waterboy will always be appreciated and will never be forgotten.
Happy Gilmore stars Sandler as the titular protagonist, an aggressive former hockey player who takes up golf in order to prevent his sweet grandmother from selling their family home. Happy’s bizarre approach to golf, particularly with his legendary golf swing and his hockey stick putter, is initially amusing to serious golfers until he starts beating them at their own game. Able to drive the golf ball a remarkable distance, Happy soon attracts the attention of the comically conceited golf pro Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), who becomes Happy’s greatest foe both on and off the links.
The most iconic cameo appearance made in Happy Gilmore is without a doubt by Bob Barker. Barker was the legendary host of the daytime television game show The Price is Right for nearly 35 years, joining in 1972 and retiring in 2007. When Barker appeared in Happy Gilmore, he was still in his prime years as the host of the longstanding game show, which made his performance even more impactful and memorable. He also appeared as himself in How I Met Your Mother in 2007, Futurama in 2000, The Nanny in 1994, and three episodes of Family Guy from 2001 to 2008. Barker, who also hosted the popular game show Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975, died in August 2023 at the age of 99, leaving behind an incomparable legacy and effect on daytime television throughout the 20th century.
Barker appears in Happy Gilmore during a Pro-Am tournament after Happy becomes a professional golfer. During a Pro-Am, each professional golfer is paired up with a celebrity. Barker is paired up with Happy and makes it clear that he is there to win, which makes it seem at first like he and Happy will get along just fine. Barker says that he and Nick Faldo, another professional golfer who does not appear in the film, won last year. Happy doesn’t exactly perform up to Barker’s expectations, however, which makes Barker furious. Barker insults Happy about his abilities at hockey, which inspires the classic fight in the film that leads to the iconic line, “The price is wrong, b–ch!” After Happy appears to knock Barker out, Barker ends up coming back and winning the fight.
Richard Kiel appears in Happy Gilmore as Happy’s former boss Mr. Larson who became one of his biggest supporters of his golf career. Kiel stood a remarkable 7 feet and two inches off the ground, providing him with a formidable physical presence that made him an unmissable character in every film he was in. Kiel’s most notable role was as Jaws in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me and the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker which starred Roger Moore as 007. Jaws is considered one of the most iconic villains of the James Bond films thanks to Kiel’s unforgettable appearance. Kiel also starred in many classic films during his Hollywood career that spanned over five decades, such as Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider (1985), The Fall Guy (1981), and Starsky & Hutch (1976).
Kiel is an integral part of Happy Gilmore, appearing throughout the film as a supporting fan of Happy’s from the crowd at his PGA Tour events. Kiel’s Mr. Larson makes hilarious and threatening jokes and Shooter McGavin, which ultimately results in him chasing Happy’s golf rival at the end of the film. One of his most iconic scenes in the film features him bending a golf club in half with his bare hands. Happy Gilmore was one of the few movies to give Kiel multiple lines in a speaking role and was able to showcase his natural ability in comedy. Happy Gilmore was one of the last movies that Kiel would appear in and ended up being one of his most notable roles. Kiel’s final role was the voice of Vlad in the 2010 animated film Tangled before he passed away in 2014.
Although he is not credited in Happy Gilmore, Ben Stiller has one of the best cameos in the entire film. His character, Hal L., is a shockingly aggressive nurse at an assisted living center where Happy is forced to drop his grandmother off as he tries to make a career in pro golf. Hal is completely two-faced, assuring Happy that he will be taking extra special care of his grandmother only to turn into a complete authoritarian behind closed doors. Stiller’s hilarious role provided some of the best lines in the movie, such as “You could trouble me for a warm glass of shut the hell up” and “You’re in my world now, grandma.” Although Stiller hardly appears in Happy Gilmore, his cameo as Hal L. is unforgettably funny and should have been featured more in the film.
Stiller and Sandler have worked on a number of movies together, even ones that exist outside of comedy. Sandler and Stiller both starred in the 2017 Noah Baumbach drama The Meyerowitz Stories alongside Adam Driver, Emma Thompson, and Dustin Hoffman. Stiller and Sandler also starred in the 2009 comedy-drama Funny People directed by Judd Apatow. Stiller even reprises his role as Hal L. in the 2020 Netflix movie Hubie Halloween, which Sandler starred in, wrote, and produced. Stiller’s character was initially featured more in Happy Gilmore but some of his scenes were ultimately cut by director Dennis Dugan, who also has a brief cameo in the film as the commissioner of the golf league, despite his character being instantly hilarious and iconic.
The prolific pro golfer Lee Trevino appears as himself in Happy Gilmore. Despite having a small role, Trevino repeatedly shook his head in shock at some of Happy’s actions on the course, which became another iconic part of the movie. Trevino is one of the few actual professional golfers that appears in Happy Gilmore. Trevino became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981 and was the PGA Player of the Year in 1971. Over his PGA career, Trevino won an impressive 6 majors, including the PGA Championship twice in 1974 and 1984, the U.S. Open in 1968 and 1971, and The Open Championship in 1971 and 1972. His best finish at the Masters was T-10 in both 1975 and 1985.
Verne Lundquist, a longtime sports broadcaster known for his legendary career with CBS Sports, appears in Happy Gilmore as himself in a sports broadcasting position. Lundquist worked for multiple major television networks including ABC Sports from 1974 to 1981, CBS from 1982 to 1995, and TNT from 1995 to 1997 before finding a permanent home with CBS in 1998. While his role is small in Happy Gilmore, Lundquist’s reputation as a renowned sports broadcaster added a level of legitimacy to the golf film even though it was a comedy. Throughout his career, Lundquist has been a broadcaster for many NBA and NFL games as well as three separate Winter Olympics and is known for his legendary calls at several Masters Tournaments.
Professional golfer and sports broadcaster Mark Lye appears in Happy Gilmore as himself. While Lyle did not have as historic of a golfing career as Lee Trevino, or as legendary of a broadcasting career as Verne Lundquist, he was a full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1977 to 1991. His best finishes include T6 at the Masters Tournament in 1984, T36 at the PGA Championship in 1986, and T13 at the U.S. Open in 1989. Lye tore a ligament in his right hand in 1995, which effectively ended his professional golfing career. He appears very briefly in Happy Gilmore and, like Lundquist, added legitimacy to the professional golf atmosphere of the classic movie. He later became an analyst for The Golf Channel and a golf radio host on SiriusXM.
Jack Giarraputo sits next to Verne Lundquist in Happy Gilmore acting as his correspondent sports broadcaster. In reality, Giarraputo was Sandler’s college roommate and NYU who became a key producer on nearly all of his films during the 1990s and the 2000s. In addition to Happy Gilmore, Giarraputo produced Billy Madison, The Waterboy, 50 First Dates, Eight Crazy Nights, Mr. Deeds, Little Nicky, and many more classic Sandler films up to the first two Grown Ups movies. Giarraputo retired as a film producer in 2016, with his last movie being Pixels, which he executive produced. Giarraputo plays a small part in Happy Gilmore but is still one of the major reasons why the film was so successful behind the scenes.