*Loaded with memorable lines, scenes and stars, it’s been 30 years since 1992’s “White Men Can’t Jump,” resulted in classic status and a place in the hearts of movie fans who still can’t get enough of the funny streetball stylings of lead characters Sidney Dean and Billy Hoyle. And while a good part of the film’s success came from Wesley Snipes, who played Sidney, Woody Harrelson, who played Billy and Rosie Perez, who left a memorable impression as Billy’s “Jeopardy!”– obsessed girlfriend Gloria Clemente, additional laughs were supplied from supporting players that many times stole the show.
Among those players was the late Reynaldo Rey, a comic genius who made the most of his brief time onscreen as Tad, a convenience store worker who ends up calling the shots on a guy who tries to rob him. Rey’s scene is one of a few that stood out for “White Men Can’t Jump” by director and writer Ron Shelton.
The filmmaker’s appreciation for Rey runs deep as he carried a huge love for the funnyman as a fan of Rey’s brand of humor since he first saw the comic/actor perform years ago in Los Angeles.
“I was a huge fan of Reynaldo Rey, who I first encountered at the Parisian Room on Washington Boulevard in L.A., one of my favorite jazz clubs,” Shelton told EURweb. “He was the opening comic and he always slayed me. We became friends and I hired him a couple of times. He was a writer for [comedy legend] Redd Foxx and was trying to get a movie about Foxx made when he died, sadly. I love Reynaldo.”
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Born Harry Reynolds in Sequoah County, Oklahoma, Rey was best known for his work as a stand-up comedian and actor with notable appearances on TV series such as “227,” ” Sister, Sister,” “The Royal Family,” “The Parent ‘Hood,” “The Wayans Bros.,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Ozark.” In addition to “White Men Can’t Jump,” Rey’s time on the big screen featured roles in more than 50 films, including “Friday,” “Do the Right Thing,” Harlem Nights,” “A Rage in Harlem,” “House Party 3,” “Sprung,” “First Sunday” and “Pawn Shop,” his final film.
Rey’s work with Shelton included a role as a sportswriter in 1999’s “Play It to the Bone. The feature, which Shelton directed and wrote, also starred Harrelson and fellow “White Men Can’t Jump” alum Snipes and Cylk Cozart. Rey died on May 28, 2015 from complications of a stroke he suffered a year prior. He was 75.
As Shelton remembered Rey, the memory of another “White Men Can’t Jump” cast member came to mind with Alex Trebek, who died on November 8, 2020, after a 20-month battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. The beloved “Jeopardy!” host’s appearance came as the culmination of a goal of Perez’s character, Gloria Clemente, to “triumph magnificently” on the long-running game show when she appeared.
During an appearance on PeopleTV’s “Couch Surfing,” “The Flight Attendant” star confessed to being totally starstruck at seeing Trebek, thinking she would be saying her lines to someone playing the host.
“I thought that they were going to get an actor to play Alex Trebek,” Perez stated. “On the day of filming the scene we didn’t have any real rehearsal, we just started shooting and out comes Alex Trebek and my mouth dropped. And all of a sudden, I was so nervous. You can see in the scene my shoulders are kind of hunched and I’m holding on for dear life because I was shaking, I was literally shaking because I’m a nerd and watched “Jeopardy!” and then watched “Wheel of Fortune” afterward. In this scene, I mess up the word and I say, ‘What is Mount Vesuvius?” And I was mortified and Alex Trebek ad-libbed in that scene and said, ‘Well, let’s check with the judges. Yes, we will accept that answer.’ And I was like, “Oh my gosh!” Then when they yelled cut I ran over to the director and said, ‘We’ve got to do that again, I messed up.’ He goes, ‘Oh no, that scene is in the film.'”
Overall, the “Jeopardy!” scene earned high marks for Shelton, who detailed how it came about and made it into “White Men Can’t Jump.”
“We had a blast shooting “Jeopardy!” on the real set with the real judges and technicians and, of course, Alex Trebek, who was as gracious and a total pro,” Shelton expressed. “The “Jeopardy!” idea came from a friend who knew a woman who moved to LA from the East Coast in an effort to get on “Jeopardy!” because she felt it would change her life. She never said how, exactly, but she was committed. That was the inspiration for Gloria, Rosie’s character.”
Shelton’s memories of Trebek and Rey come amid the 30th anniversary of the arrival of “White Men Can’t Jump” in theaters. The film, released on March 27, 1992, starred Snipes and Harrelson as Sidney Deane and Billy Hoyle, two rival streetballers who ultimately team up to hustle other streetball players by getting them to pick Billy as Sidney’s partner. In addition to Snipes, Harrelson, Perez, Rey and Trebek, “White Men Can’t Jump” featured Tyra Ferrell, Cylk Cozart and Kadeem Hardison.
WATCH below to see Reynaldo Rey’s scene from “White Men Can’t Jump.”
