If you grew up in the early seventies, or if you’ve spent any time digging through the bargain bins of old DVDs, you’ve probably stumbled upon a mustachioed man with a gleam of pure madness in his eyes. That’s John Astin. And he’s the anchor of the evil roy slade cast, a group of actors who somehow turned a rejected TV pilot into a cult masterpiece that basically invented the "spoof" genre before Blazing Saddles even got its boots on.
Honestly, this movie is weird. It’s a 1972 made-for-TV Western that shouldn't work. It follows the "meanest villain in the West," a man raised by vultures because even the wolves found him too mean to adopt. But the real magic isn’t just the slapstick; it’s the way this specific group of comedy legends committed to the bit.
The Man, The Myth: John Astin as Evil Roy
John Astin is the soul of this thing. Most people know him as Gomez Addams, but in Evil Roy Slade, he dials that manic energy up to eleven. He’s not just a bad guy; he’s a guy who is proudly bad. His name is actually an acronym for Sneaking, Lying, Arrogance, Dirtiness, and Evil.
He plays Slade with this bizarre, high-octane joy. There’s a scene where he’s trying to think of a new "good" name to impress a schoolteacher, and he suggests "Evil Jake Ferguson" and "Evil Fred Noland." He literally cannot conceive of a life without the word "Evil" in front of his name. Astin’s physical comedy is top-tier here, especially when he visits a psychologist and realizes he can't actually stand upright without the weight of his gun belts to balance him out.
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The Weirdos Chasing Him: Dick Shawn and Mickey Rooney
You can't talk about the evil roy slade cast without mentioning Dick Shawn. He plays Marshal Bing Bell, a singing cowboy who is so vain it’s a wonder he can see past his own reflection. Shawn was a legend of the "it" comedy scene, and he brings this weird, theatrical energy to the role. Every time someone says his name, there’s a running gag where someone asks, "Is someone at the door?" and Mickey Rooney has to scream, "THAT'S HIS NAME!"
Speaking of Mickey Rooney, he plays Nelson L. Stool. Stool is a railroad tycoon with a "legendary stubby index finger." That’s the level of humor we’re dealing with here. Rooney, being Rooney, doesn't do "subtle." He spends most of the movie shouting at the top of his lungs. Some critics think he overdoes it, but in a world where the protagonist was raised by buzzards, "over the top" is the only reasonable zip code to live in.
The Support Crew of Comedy Legends
The depth of this cast is actually insane for a 1972 TV movie. Look at these names:
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- Pamela Austin: She plays Betsy Potter, the sweet schoolmarm who thinks she can fix Roy. She’s the straight man to all the chaos.
- Dom DeLuise: He appears as Logan Delp, the psychologist. His chemistry with Astin is gold. Watching DeLuise try to "phrenologize" Roy—only for Roy to ask "What's science?"—is a highlight of 70s comedy.
- Henry Gibson: The Laugh-In star plays Clifford Stool. He’s got that quiet, dry delivery that balances out Rooney’s screaming.
- Edie Adams: She plays Flossie, adding a bit of old Hollywood glamour to the dusty sets.
- Milton Berle: "Uncle Miltie" himself shows up as Harry Fern.
And if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see uncredited cameos from a very young John Ritter as a minister and Penny Marshall as a bank teller. This was basically a "who's who" of people who were about to dominate television for the next two decades.
Why the Casting Worked (When It Shouldn't Have)
The movie was written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson. If those names sound familiar, it’s because they basically ran 1970s television (Happy Days, The Odd Couple). They had a knack for taking "broad" comedy and making it feel personal.
The evil roy slade cast worked because nobody was "winking" at the camera. John Astin truly believes he is the meanest man alive. When he tells a cello player to "take that big fiddle out from between your legs," he isn't trying to be funny; he's just offended by the instrument. That commitment to the internal logic of a stupid world is what separates a good spoof from a bad one.
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The Legacy of a "Failed" Pilot
Believe it or not, this was originally intended to be a series called Sheriff Who?. The gimmick was that a new sheriff would show up every week, played by a big guest star, and Evil Roy Slade would kill them by the end of the episode. The networks passed on the series—probably because killing your guest star every week is a tough sell for advertisers—but they kept the footage and turned it into this movie.
Honestly, we probably dodged a bullet. As a 90-minute movie, it’s a concentrated blast of absurdity. As a weekly series, the joke might have worn thin. Instead, we got a cult classic that feels like a precursor to Airplane! or The Naked Gun.
What You Should Do Next
If you haven't seen it, stop reading and go find it. It's often available on YouTube or tucked away on retro streaming services.
- Watch for the "stubby finger" gags: Mickey Rooney's dedication to his character's deformity is a masterclass in weirdness.
- Pay attention to the dialogue: The rapid-fire jokes are so fast you’ll miss three while laughing at one. "I can't read, you dumb love of my life!" is a line that deserves more respect in the halls of cinema.
- Check out the rest of John Astin's 70s work: If you like his energy here, hunt down his guest spots on Night Gallery.
There's something incredibly refreshing about watching a group of professionals just have fun. The evil roy slade cast wasn't trying to win Oscars. They were trying to make each other laugh in the middle of a desert, and fifty years later, that joy is still pretty infectious.