Imogene Coca

Imogene Coca originally turned down the part of Aunt Edna in "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983), because she did not think she could portray such a mean character. Even during filming, she was often concerned that she was being too mean to her fellow cast members.

Coca suffered what is believed to have been a stroke during production. Director Harold Ramis said they filmed a scene that morning, and by that afternoon she couldn't remember anything they did. After getting out of the hospital, she and her husband worked together to relearn her lines, and get her back on-set to finish the movie.

It was originally scripted that after Aunt Edna was tied to the roof of the car, there was a shot of her fingers moving, implying she was, in fact, still alive. This was considered "cruel" to have a live person on the roof of a car by the ratings board, so it was cut, and she remained dead.

In real life, Coca was very afraid of car travel. She may have had a good reason: Hours after Coca and her hsuband completed their New Year's Eve 1972 performance of "Fourposter" at the Showboat Dinner Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida, they were involved in a serious auto accident. Donovan sustained a slight leg injury, and the rear-view mirror entered Coca's right eye, smashing her cheekbone. Transported to the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, Coca underwent plastic surgery and a cosmetic lens covered her now-blind eye for the rest of her career.

Happy Birthday, Imogene Coca!