Planet of the Apes Trivia

• Rod Serling of "The Twilight Zone" fame wrote the original screenplay for Planet of the Apes.
• Charlton Heston's character, "Taylor" was originally named "Thomas."
• Chariton Heston got a terrible cold in the middle of production on the original Planet of the Apes that reduced his voice to a raspy croak. The following day he had one line of dialogue: "Get your stinkin' paws off me you damn dirty ape!" One of the most famous lines from the film, it is the first thing Taylor says after recovering from a wound to his throat, and just the voice that Heston needed for the scene.
• Film director John Landis appears in Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
• Charlton Heston worked for free on Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
• Edward G. Robinson was the original choice to play Dr. Zaius, and was all set to take the role until he did the test scene. Robinson had a weak heart and one trip to the make-up chair was all it took to convince him that he wasn't up to the task of going through the laborious four-plus hour routine every day for the film.
• Burt Reynolds was originally offered the role of Brent, which was eventually played by James Franciscus, in the sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
• Planet of the Apes was nominated for two 1968 Oscars and received an honorary Academy AwardŽ for its outstanding achievement in makeup.
• The Planet of the Apes make-up test had music from John William's score for the "Lost in Space" TV show.