‘American Graffiti’ Stars Richard Dreyfuss and Candy Clark Remember Cindy Williams at TCM Festival

Before Star Wars, George Lucas made a name for himself with his classic coming-of-age movie American Graffiti, which turns 50 this year. Richard Dreyfuss and Oscar-nominee Candy Clark attended the TCM Classic Film Festival to celebrate the occasion. Sadly, the screening took place just months after Cindy Williams’ death, prompting the two stars to honor her. They also paid tribute to Bo Hopkins — who died in May 2022 — and shared fantastic stories about working with Lucas.

Towards the end of their pre-screening discussion with TCM co-host Dave Karger, Dreyfuss said he couldn’t let the moment go by without acknowledging Williams’ and Hopkins’ deaths. When he and Clark met the night before the screening, they both agreed that shouldn’t happen “because we were a tight group and we felt a real bonding and we shouldn’t be ready to go.” Dreyfuss suggested they have a moment of silence, but Clark came up with a better idea.

“She looked at me, and said, ‘Actually, that’s too serious because we’re going to burst into laughter,’” Dreyfuss recalled. “And I said, ‘OK, let’s do that.’ So I’m gonna say that in honor of Cindy Williams and Bo Hopkins and everyone else who is gonna drop dead in the next few years, I would like us all to observe a moment of silence.” After a beat, Dreyfuss let out a giggle, which gave everyone at the TCL Chinese Theatre permission to laugh too.

Dreyfuss and Clark also had wonderful memories of working with Lucas to share. “George is the only director that I’m aware of who does not like being a director,” Dreyfuss said. “He really doesn’t like it. It’s too much for him.”

American Graffiti was only Lucas’ second film, following his experimental sci-fi drama THX-1138. The movie is a two-hour nostalgic snapshot of Modesto, California, centering on teens trying to understand their place in the world in 1962. Dreyfuss played Curt, who couldn’t decide if he was really leaving for college, while Clark played Debbie, whose misadventures with Terry the Toad (Charles Martin Smith) provide some of the funniest moments in the movie. Williams played Laurie, who dated Ron Howard’s Steve through high school. The cast also included Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford, Paul Le Mat, Manuel Padilla, Jr., and DJ Wolfman Jack.

The film famously cost just $700,000 to make, and Universal Pictures had no reason to believe it would become the cultural phenomenon it still is. However, Lucas had an idea that what he had was special and showed his appreciation by making sure the cast he put together got paid.

“George Lucas is a rare bird and he’s amazingly generous and he took, without anyone asking him to do this, he took one of his gross points 1/10 of 1% and he divided it up among the 10 actors,” Dreyfuss said. “I have made more money from that 1/10 of one gross point than I’ve ever made on any money back. You see, for Star Wars, [Lucas] had four actors and he divvied it up, divvied one point among the four and they all became multimillionaires.”

Clark was the only cast member to score an Oscar nomination, thanks to running her own campaign. Although Clark lost to Paper Moon star Tatum O’Neal, she had fond memories of that night in 1974. “It was one of the most exciting nights of my life,” Clark said. “I recommend everyone to get nominated.”