15 things you probably didn't know about 'A Christmas Story'

Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? . " A Christmas Story " is a holiday classic, but it wasn't an instant hit upon its 1983 release. The film, which has some surprising cameos, inspired the sitcom "The Wonder Years." It almost starred Jack Nicholson as Ralphie's dad, aka the Old Man. " A Christmas Story " is one of the most beloved holiday films of all time , but it wasn't an immediate phenomenon upon its release in November 1983. It made a modest $19 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo , and was out of theaters before December 25. However, in the years since, it has become a true holiday staple after years of repeat showings on cable. Famously, TNT and TBS air a 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story" on Christmas Day, an almost 30-year tradition that's back this year. Here are some things you might not know about this film, including who almost made the cast and some blink-and-you-miss-it cameos. "A Christmas Story" is based on two books written by Jean Shepherd. Shepherd was a well-known radio personality, comedian, writer, and storyteller by the time "A Christmas Story" was released. The film is based on a set of short stories that were first published in Playboy before he compiled them into the collection "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" in 1966, per CBS. Other elements of the film were taken from his 1971 collection "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters." Shepherd and his wife, Leigh Brown, who also cowrote the film, have cameos in the movie. Besides narrating the film, Shepherd also cowrote "A Christmas Story" with his wife, Leigh Brown, and the film's director, Bob Clark. Shepherd and Brown appear in the scene where Ralphie and his brother Randy meet Santa at the department store Higbee's. Director Bob Clark also has a cameo. Clark plays one of Ralphie's neighbors who questions the Old Man about the famous Leg Lamp. This wasn't the first holiday film Clark worked on - he directed the Christmas-themed slasher " Black Christmas " in 1974. Clark got Shepherd barred from the set after he made too many suggestions to the actors. Vanity Fair reported in 2016 that there was friction between Clark and Shepherd. Shepherd, for his part, was protective of his characters, while Clark was concerned with finishing the project on time and under budget - so he barred Shepherd from the set. "Shepherd was a perfectionist with his own material, but Bob Clark had a budget and a schedule that he had to meet, and he already figured out how this all should be done, and he couldn't have Shepherd constantly interrupting," Shepherd's biographer Eugene Bergman told the publication. There have been three sequels across 28 years. The first theatrical sequel, "My Summer Story," was released in 1994, and was once again directed by Bob Clark. However, almost no one from the original cast reprised their...

Preview: ~500 words