The Toy

The Toy (1982)

When Jackie Gleason told his son he could have any present he wanted, he picked the most outrageous gift of all...Richard Pryor.

On one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric's "toy", but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.

Date of release
1982-12-10
TMDB
5.9 / 10 (237)
Runtime
1h 42m
Genres
Comedy, Family
Director
Richard Donner

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Toy

The Toy is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The film stars Richard Pryor as a janitor at a department store owned by a businessman played by Jackie Gleason. The owner's son, played by Scott Schwartz, is told that he may have anything in the toy department. He chooses the janitor, who the owner pays to spend a week with the boy. The film also stars Ned Beatty, Teresa Ganzel, and Virginia Capers. It is an adaptation of the 1976 French comedy film Le Jouet. It was a box office success, despite being pilloried by film critics.

Production

The film was made by Rastar, the company of Ray Stark, then under the head of a production Guy McElwaine, who had been an agent of clients including Pryor before being enticed to join Rastar.

In his autobiography Pryor Convictions, Pryor wrote that he and Gleason got along like "kindred souls". He stated the stories Gleason told between setups were funnier than the film itself. Moreover, in a 1982 Los Angeles Times interview Pryor stated he had "loved Jackie Gleason for years." A national talent search was held to find an actor to play Gleason's son.

Pryor cast Annazette Chase to portray Angela after they worked together in The Mack (1973). The film was shot on location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the summer of 1982.

In May, during filming, Pryor was hospitalized with pneumonia. He was released after a week and resumed filming. Donner blamed this on the air pollution in Baton Rouge which he said was the worst he had ever experienced. The director said he would "never" work in the city again.

Michael Jackson attempted to write a theme song for the film and a possible soundtrack in 1981, but did not complete it due to his commitments working on the Thriller album. Jackson would continue to rework the track throughout his career, renaming it "I Am Your Joy", and eventually, "Best of Joy". A version recorded in 2008 was remixed by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster and Brad Buxer, being released posthumously on the Michael album in 2010.

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