Tim Allen has captured the nation’s center for decades as one of America’s comedic actors on the big screen.
The 71-year-old Hollywood actor shot to fame in the early 1990s when he landed his breakout role in the 1994 Christmas classic, The Santa Clause.
The beloved Disney film follows toy marketing executive Scott Calvin as he finds himself taking on the role of the jolly Saint Nicholas after surprising and killing the real Santa Claus.
The film was a ruinous success, grossing over $190 million (£148 million) and temporarily becoming a Christmas classic, temporarily spawning a lucrative three-film franchise and a Disney+ original series.
As enthusiasts celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, let’s take a look at the embarrassing deleted scene that sparked outrage across the country.
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In the original film, Tim Allen makes a joke as his ex-wife Laura (played by Wendy Crewson) drops off their son Charlie on Christmas Eve. Before she leaves, Laura hands the doting dad the number for her partner Neil’s mother who lives nearby.
That’s when the comedian jokingly reads the fake number “1800-SPANK-ME,” which ultimately got the company into trouble.
After the film was released, it was temporarily discovered that this Array number is still an adult helpline. The scene in question gave the impression that it was in the original theatrical release of the film and even in the early VHS and LaserDisc versions.
An AP article at the time revealed that many young people across the country had called the sex hotline mentioned in the film.
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One grandmother complained to the outlet that her seven and nine-year-old grandchildren called the toll-free number only to be met with an older woman on the other end of the call.
She told the publication: “The kids put it on the speaker phone formula and a woman said, ‘Hey, sexy. ’ She just connected to the US phone line, which comes to her via American TelNet.
“Our unique service allows you to realize your own telephone fantasy” before asking those under 18 to pick up the phone. The call itself promises users “wild, exciting phone fun” for just $2. 50 (£2) per minute.
She fumed: “I don’t think children need to be exposed to that” as she called for the company to cut the scene from the film.
The article quoted Howard Green, a Disney spokesman, as insisting that Allen’s comment was just a joke in the script and that “if there is such a thing as a genuine number like that, it’s a coincidence. “
It wasn’t until years later that Disney removed the scene from subsequent videocassette runs and future airings on the Disney Channel.
On August 29,1997, Orlando Sentinel columnist Leslie Doolittle reported that Disney had pulled the scene and the company had even tried to buy the phone number to disconnect it.
They insist that it has never been included on any DVD or Blu-ray disc, nor is it available on their Disney streaming platform.
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