FILM · 1980 · USA
Urban Cowboy
28 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
28 Interesting Facts About Urban Cowboy
Interesting Facts (20)
- #001
After the film's initial box office returns proved surprisingly low, a newspaper survey was conducted in the summer of 1980 to understand why young people were not flocking to see it. One of the kids' biggest complaints was that they did not know what the word "Urban" meant.
- #002
Patrick Swayze's mother, Patsy Swayze, taught John Travolta how to do two of the steps for the film.
- #003
According to Debra Winger's book, she only got the role after Sissy Spacek, who was initially cast, fell out with Travolta.
- #004
In the film's early scenes, John Travolta has a beard as Bud. According to director James Bridges, Travolta wanted to keep the beard throughout the film, but after a lunch date with the actor at a very popular restaurant drew not a single autograph seeker, Travolta was persuaded to shave it off.
- #005
The prison rodeo scene was genuine and was filmed at the Huntsville state prison in Texas. Rodeos were held at the prison from 1931 to 1986.
- #006
The scene in which Wes (Scott Glenn) chews and swallows the worm after drinking the bottle of tequila was not in the script but was a prank staged for the newspapers.
- #007
In order to capture certain angles of the rodeo riding, landing mats were removed so that cameras could be placed in locked positions beneath the mechanical bull, thereby reducing the rider's safety protection.
- #008
In an interview in the mid-1980s, John Travolta said this was the film he had the most fun making, especially while shooting the Gilley's scenes in Houston. He said he got to know some of the local cowboys and their cowboy ways, and sometimes hung out with them after filming was done.
- #009
It was the first film choreographed by Patsy Swayze, the mother of Patrick Swayze, whose wife (Lisa Niemi) also choreographed the dance scenes.
- #010
When the night shoots ended, John Travolta visited the nurses at the nearby Bayshore Medical Center (Pasadena, Texas).
- #011
Writer and director James Bridges said of the film during its promotion: "The film is a real look at the lifestyle of a mechanized West and at the need for fantasy among people in contemporary society who work dangerous jobs every day.
- #012
The interior of the country-and-western venue "Gilley's Club" was destroyed in a 1990 fire, and the bar had been closed after a dispute between its owners. In 2006 the exterior shell of the facility was demolished by its owners, the Pasadena Independent School District. Reportedly only the former recording studio on Spencer Highway remained. In 2003 a new "Gilley's Club" opened in Dallas, Texas, and is now known as "Gilley's Dallas."
- #013
As of 2023, the site in Pasadena, Texas where Gilley's bar once stood is now a middle school. The main entrance on Spencer Highway where Gilley's sign stood is now a used car lot. Gilley's studios are the only remaining building and are part of the used car dealership.
- #014
In a note on a card she writes to Bud, Sissy misspells her friends' names. She spells them freely.
- #015
The mechanical bull was named "El Toro." A ride on it cost two dollars.
- #016
When Johnny Lee appears in a scene near the beginning of the film, a StroboTuner is visible on top of the amp stack. This was a type of tuner with a backlit translucent wheel containing concentric black patterned rings that rotated at a constant speed. When an instrument was played into it, it detected the vibrations of the note and a flash light blinked with each vibration. It worked like a filmed airplane propeller that appears to spin in slow motion between the film's frames. If the vibration was too slow (the note flat), the pattern appeared to move counterclockwise; if the note was too sharp, clockwise. You turned the tuning peg until that note's blinking pattern appeared completely stationary. These tuners were very expensive, costing about 780 dollars in modern equivalent.
- #017
The Blu-Ray cover image was censored in all releases by digitally removing the beer bottle in John Travolta's hand.
- #018
In the prison rodeo scene, the bull pulls back and its horns strike a gate attendant on the head. The attendant holds his head in obvious pain.
- #019
As the credits begin to roll, the soft-top Mustang she was driving turns into a hardtop Camaro.
- #020
When a lightning strike sends Uncle Bob falling down the stairs, Uncle Bob's feet end up pointing toward the banister. In the next scene his body is turned so that his head is beside the rail.
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #021
John Travolta had a mechanical bull installed at his home two months before production began. He became so skilled at riding it that he was allowed to dismiss his stunt double and perform the scenes himself.
- #022
According to TCMDb, "In the last two weeks of shooting, production moved to Los Angeles, where an East L.A. trailer park stood in for Bud's Houston digs. One day, gunfire suddenly erupted over the set. According to a security guard, six men fired over a fence surrounding the film set with sawed-off shotguns. The attackers were believed to be members of a local street gang, though this was never proven. No one was injured, but Travolta was badly shaken and the rest of the filming was done on a soundstage."
Characters & Cast (5)
- #023
Robert Evans sent Debra Winger back because he did not find her attractive enough for the lead role; she took the part only at the insistence of director James Bridges.
- #024
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer auditioned for the role of Sissy and was producer Robert Evans's preference. In the audio commentary for The Hollywood Knights (1980), writer-director Floyd Mutrux says that at one stage he was involved in directing Urban Cowboy (1980). Pfeiffer plays Suzie Q in Mutrux's The Hollywood Knights (1980). He says the female lead of Sissy in Urban Cowboy (1980) would probably have been cast by him with Pfeiffer had he directed the film himself. He notes that producer Evans also wanted Pfeiffer, but that successful director James Bridges insisted on Debra Winger and would not compromise on that casting.
- #025
Gary Busey, fresh off his Oscar nomination for The Buddy Holly Story, revealed in his memoir that he was offered the lead role of Bud as his next project. After considering it, he turned it down on his manager's advice to make Foolin' Around, where his salary would be much higher. He later regretted the decision and wished he had chosen Urban Cowboy instead, as had been his original intention.
- #026
Studio executives were initially against casting Debra Winger in the lead. Director James Bridges threatened to leave the film if she was not cast. In the end they approved the casting.
- #027
James Bridges said he disliked Debra Winger when he first saw her. "Suddenly this tough, rough broad appeared in front of me. She came dressed for the part; T-shirt, Levi's and no bra. Really tough." But after testing Winger, Bridges did a complete about-face. "The camera fell in love with her," he said.
Life & Family (1)
- #028
The story of Bud (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger) was broadly based on the real-life marriage of Donald "Dew" Westbrook and Betty Jo Helmer, who met at Gilley's when they were eighteen. They married within a few months and held their wedding at Gilley's. By the time the film was shot they had already separated, and they later divorced. Dew Westbrook did not much like the idea of John Travolta playing the part and said he thought Travolta was "too disco."
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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