During the shoot of Robin Williams’ Popeye, the set was flooding with cocaine.
The troubled comedian, who took his own life in August 2014 at the age of 63 after a long battle with drugs, alcohol and depression, starred as the spinach-gobbling sailor in Robert Altman’s 1980 film — and former movie boss Barry Diller has now spoken out about the extent of substance abuse that went on behind the scenes.
The 82-year-old media mogul, who served as chief executive of Paramount Pictures from 1974 to 1984, made the comments while speaking with journalist Anderson Cooper at the 92nd Street Y in New York City while promoting his new autobiography, ‘Who Knew,’ saying there was so much cocaine on the set of ‘Popeye’ that “you couldn’t escape it.”
Barry added that during the production of the film, which also starred Shelley Duvall and was shot in Malta, the drug was so prevalent that it was transported in film cans along with reels.
He said: “Film cans were shipped daily to Los Angeles for processing. And we discovered the cans were being used to transport cocaine back and forth on the set. Everyone was high.”
Diller added that the drug’s influence may be evident in the final cut of the production, which he described as playing like a vinyl record at an abnormally fast speed.
“Think about… the speed of records,” he said. “If 33 rpm is the standard speed for playing an LP on a record player, this is a movie that runs at 78 rpm.”
The film’s composer, Van Dyke Parks, 81, previously recounted similar experiences during production.
In an interview with The Telegraph, he said:
“I was the hero of the regiment for opening a walkie-talkie to change the battery and finding a bag of cocaine. I don’t remember how much there was or who I gave it to.
“But I remember standing back, because I knew it would play a part in how people behaved, and in the difficulties of production all the way to the top.”
Van Dyke also recalled that famed film producer Robert Evans, responsible for The Godfather and Chinatown, narrowly avoided arrest when his luggage full of cocaine disappeared during filming.
Robert was later arrested for cocaine trafficking during post-production on Popeye.
Although he was eventually acquitted of the charge, Robert told an interviewer in 1994: “Bob ‘Cocaine’ Evans is how I’ll be known to the grave.”
Robin Williams was very open about his struggle with cocaine addiction while filming Popeye.