10 Interesting Fact About Bill & Ted

This past Sunday was kind of overcast and cold where I lived, so my 8 year old daughter suggested that we have a triple feature of Bill & Ted movies! We had already seen them before, but we hadn't watched "Face The Music" since it came out this past summer at the drive in. Watching these movies back to back to back was really fun and everyone had a most EXCELLENT time, but after the movies, I found myself digging online about the history of these films and discovered some sweet trivial tidbits that I would like to share with you most triumphant readers. I was gonna do 69, but that would be too many, so here are 10 facts about Bill & Ted!!!

1. The original phone booth from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was given away as a prize in a Nintendo Power Magazine! The magazine hosted a contest to help promote the arrival of the "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" video game by LJN. The winner was Kenneth Grayson. He had the booth installed in his room and Nintendo Power paid to have the booth installed with a working phone! They even paid the family's phone bill for an entire year! Truly a most excellent prize! I wonder where it is now?

2. The original idea for Bill & Ted came from a 1983 UCLA improv class where Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson played Bill & Ted, who were 2 high school students who knew nothing about history. Even though they knew nothing about history, that didn't stop them from attempting to talk about it with their friend Bob. Thankfully for us, the person who played Bob lost interest in the skit and we were left with the dynamic duo of Bill & Ted!

3. Bill & Ted's creators, Ed Solomon & Chris Matheson have cameos in each Bill & Ted movie. In "Excellent Adventure" they are the Ziggy Piggy guys, in "Bogus Journey" they are Missy's friends at her séance and in "Face The Music" they are demons in Hell! 

4. Clarence Clemons from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band was one of the 3 Most Important People In The World in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! He also acted on television on the shows Diff'rent Strokes, Jake and the Fatman and the Simpsons! Unfortunately this world class saxophonist & Rock and Roll Hall of Famer passed away in 2011 due to complications from a stroke.

5. Bill & Ted had a 1990 cartoon that brought back Alex Winter (Bill), Keanu Reeves (Ted) & George Carlin (Rufus) for the first 13 episode season! In 1991 the second season of the series changed production companies and voice actors & lasted only 8 episodes before being cancelled. The voice actor change was due to a new Bill & Ted live action show being produced by FOX. The creators of the show thought it would make sense to put the tv actors in the roll as Bill & Ted for continuity between the programs.

6. Bill & Ted had their own short lived live action TV show! In 1992 someone at FOX thought it would be a good idea to create a show based on a beloved movie. They would replace the actors and keep the budget low. This mostly despised program ran for 7 episodes and 1 unaired pilot. As a plus, the show did have Diedrich Bader in an episode and Lisa Wilcox of "Nightmare On Elm Street 4" fame played Missy!

7. Joss Ackland told the BBC he regretted being in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" and said he only performed the role of De Nomolos because of a bet. Makes me wonder what he did to be in that strange Pet Shop Boys video for "Always On My Mind"? Extra Trivia: De Nomolos is producer Ed Solomon's name backwards!

8. The Princesses were played by different actresses in each of the Bill & Ted movies. In Excellent Adventure they were played by Kimberley LaBelle & Diane Franklin, in Bogus Journey by Sarah Trigger & Anette Azcuy and in Face The Music by Jayma Mays & Erinn Hayes.

9. "God Gave Rock And Roll To You II" by KISS was a reworked cover of the song "God Gave Rock And Roll To You" released by Brittish band Argent in 1973! The KISS version was released as a single from the "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" soundtrack in 1991 and was included on KISS's 1992 album "Revenge".

10. Bill & Ted have had several comic book series based on their adventures like "Bill & Ted Go To Hell", "Bill & Ted Save the World" and most recently "Bill & Ted Are Doomed" from Dark Horse comics. Their first official comic book appearance was in the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure adaptation from DC comics in 1989! Now that we know all that, go learn how to turn George Washington's head into a mushroom.

I hope you enjoyed this little peak into some of the lesser known corners of the Bill & Ted Universe. Below you can see Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter in their audition for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Remember to be excellent to each other and ...PARTY ON DUDES!!!!