37 Easter Eggs, Secrets And Tidbits From "Will & Grace" You Never Knew
Now that Will & Grace is returning for a new season, it's the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the show.
Scroll through and learn facts, secrets and trivia that will surprise even the biggest superfans.
On June 23 at 9/8c, the cast of Will & Grace salute co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan at Logo Trailblazer Honors.
A classic comedy duo is born
All four of Will & Grace's main characters were introduced in the first episode, but Jack and Karen don't actually meet until the second.
Sean Hayes threw the pilot script in the trash
A casting agent sent Hayes the script after seeing him in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, but he didn't jump at it. "I’d only been at Sundance two days, and I would have had to buy my own plane ticket [to L.A.] just to audition. So I tossed it, thinking there’d be 10,000 more sitcoms."
John Barrowman was almost Will
The Arrow actor was originally up for the role of Will Truman, but wasn't cast because the series' producers thought he acted "too straight."
“They said I was too straight to play the part. That was supposing that all gay men act in the same way, which isn’t true anyway. I was just being myself," said Barrowman.
Grace's Elizabeth Taylor connection
Grace's middle name is Elizabeth after Elizabeth Taylor. Of course Debbie Reynolds, who played Grace's mother, had a Taylor connection of her own: Her husband, Eddie Fisher, left Reynolds for Liz.
Megan Mullally's other job offer
Mullally was offered both the role of Karen Walker and the role of Carrie on The King of Queens, which eventually went to Leah Remini.
Straight Will and Grace
The original idea pitched by co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan was about a straight couple and the Will and Grace characters were the supporting roles. NBC liked the gay guy-straight woman relationship better and Will & Grace was born.
The Cher doll
The Cher doll that Jack owned is a $60,000 prototype from Mattel. Mutchnick currently owns it.
Making Emmys history
Will & Grace is one of only three shows in television history in which all of the lead actors won Emmys. (The others are All in the Family and The Golden Girls). Over its eight-year run, Will & Grace won a total of 16 Emmys.
Will's lost partner
Several characters appeared in the pilot but were later cut—including Will's straight law partner, Andy Felner. "After seeing the strength of their foursome in action, the producers knew that Andy and company were unnecessary," writes Jim Colucci in Will & Grace: Fabulously Uncensored.
Declined, declined, APPROVED!
The cast will tell you they never improvised on the show, but on a classic episode of The Rosie O'Donnell Show Debra Messing revealed that Mullally came up with the bit where Jack slides a credit card through Karen's cleavage and rear.
The origin of Rosario's name
Karen's maid, Rosario, is named after Mutchnick's real-life housekeeper.
Karen Walker's Donald Trump connection
Years before he was (gag) president, Donald Trump appeared with Megan Mullally at the 2006 Emmy Awards. The two sang the Green Acres theme song, with Trump playing a country boy and Mullally as Karen. (She's since voiced regrets about the performance.)
A Birds reunion
Veronica Cartwright played Jack's mother and Suzanne Pleshette played Karen's mom, but the two had worked together years before in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. (Cartwright played a student in the avian thriller and Pleshette was the teacher, Annie Hayworth.)
How they landed Elton John
Eric McCormack went to high school with Elton John's husband, David Furnish, and the two performed in stage productions together. After Will & Grace's first season, McCormack and his wife were invited to Elton John's Oscars party and reconnected with his old schoolmate. He ended up sending tapes of the show to John, who eventually agreed to do a cameo.
Beverly Leslie played by Joan Collins?
The part of Karen's archenemy, Beverly Leslie, was of course played by Leslie Jordan. But originally it was supposed to be played Joan Collins. But Collins refused to have her wig torn off in Beverly's first appearance, so they cast Jordan—without rewriting any lines.
The inspiration for Will and Grace
Co-creator Max Mutchnick's real life Grace is voiceover agent Janet Eisenberg. The two dated in high school and moved to New York together after college. Series co-creator David Kohan had known Eisenberg since childhood and became friends with Mutchnick when he began dating her.
Who is the "Moody Guy" painting?
There are many theories about who did the painting that hangs near Will's fireplace. "It's a friend of a friend's painting" revealed production designer Glenda Rovello.
Some have speculated its a painting of Desi Arnaz or of Eric McCormack himself, but NBC stated it's a copy of "an original, unsigned oil painting." Set Decorator Melinda Ritz employed a collector to search out male-themed artworks for use in Will's apartment and she chose the painting image because of its resemblance to McCormack.
Whomever the painting is of, it's now part of the Smithsonian's LGBT history collection.
Where the title Will & Grace came from
The inspiration for the title came from a quote by Jewish theologian Martin Buber's I and Thou: "You need the will to pursue a relationship with God, and the grace to receive it."
The quote is about two complementary elements of faith, and Kohan thought that worked well with the show's two complementary leads.
Will & Grace: Live!
In the show's Season Eight premiere, which was filmed live, Mullally is in a scooter because she hurt her ankle dancing in her house.
You get a car! You get a car!
After the success of the first season Messing, McCormack, Hayes and Mullally were given matching Porches. McCormack ended up auctioning off his car in 2008 with the proceeds going to Project Angel Food.
So many celebrities
The series was known for its high-profile guest stars. A total of 166 celebrities were featured on the show. Who was your favorite?
Sean Hayes' favorite guest
Matt Damon was Hayes' favorite celebrity co-star. In the Season Four episode "A Chorus Lie, the Oscar winner played Owen, who's competing against Jack for a spot in New York's Gay Men's Chorus, but is secretly straight and just wants to get in on the chorus' big trip to Europe.
Hayes praised Damon as "really willing to go for it."
Karen: The Musical
After the series ended, Mullally contemplated starring in a Broadway musical as Karen Walker. The idea was scrapped once NBC got into negotiations for syndication rights for the show.
Now let the music play!
A soundtrack for the show was released in 2004. It features gay classics like "I Will Survive," "Got to Be Real," and "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," with lines from the show remixed into a dance song.
Class is in session!
Will & Grace is even being taught in schools: In 2016, students at the Art Institute of California re-created the Season One episode "Secrets & Lays" for their multi-camera class—laugh track and all.
Sean Hayes had an unusual pre-taping ritual
When the cast was on Oprah Show they revealed that Hayes had to go to the bathroom before every episode taping.
"Before each show I have a PSP. Not a Sony Playstation. I have a pre-show poop. Because I get a nervous stomach," he confessed. Added Mullally, "And we cannot start the show until he has had his poop. So we check in!"
Oprah makes a Will & Grace superfan's dreams come true
During the "Wildest Dreams" season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the talk show queen granted Paolo Presta his fondest wish: A walk-on role on Will & Grace.
Iron Man-on-Man
Robert Downey Jr. was originally approached to play the part of Will's Season Three sportscaster boyfriend, Matt. Downey turned down the role and Patrick Dempsey was cast.
Let's get physical
McCormack's favorite physical-comedy moment was actually unplanned: In the 2001 episode "Past and Presents," Adam Goldberg plays Will's old high-school bully, Kevin Wolchek. In one scene, Will is applying hand lotion in his office and Wolchek walks in, surprising him. McCormack's hands slip, and he face-plants on his desk, embarrassing himself further in front of his tormentor.
Mullally on Broadway with Burrows
James Burrows directed every episode of Will & Grace, but Mullally had previously already worked with a Burrows. She starred in the 1995 Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, written by James' father, Abe.
Please welcome to the stage...
You may remember Karen's alias, Anastasia Beaverhausen. But her drag queen name was "Shu-Shu Fontana," based on the rule of combining the name of your first pet and the street you grew up on. (Jack's is "Glen 125th.")
Filming after 9/11
On Sept. 19, 2001 the cast was filming the Season Four episode, "Bed, Bath and Beyond." Emotions were still raw from the terrorist attacks the week before, so after taping Mutchnick and Kohan asked the audience to stay and Mullally sang "Smile (Though Your Heart Is Breaking)" to everyone on set. "I remember Debra and so many other people crying—there wasn't a dry eye in the house," said Shelley Morrison (Rosario). "It was incredible. And it gave all of us the release we really needed."
The real-life Rob and Ellen
Will and Grace's straight couple friends (and game night victims) Rob and Ellen are named after the writing duo Ellen Idelson and Rob Lotterstein, who Mutchnick and Kohan worked with on HBO's Dream On.
The Zelman Gallery
The Zelman Gallery, where Grace's water bra springs a leak in the famous "Das Boob" episode, is named after Messing's husband, Daniel Zelman.
Happy Gay Days
In "Secret and Lays," Tom Bosley—a.k.a. Mr. Cunningham from Happy Days—filmed a cameo as an older gay man who Jack and Will meet at a Vermont gay bar. Sadly, the scene was eventually cut.
Karen's kinky past
Viewers only hear audio from Next to Godliness,the embarrassing porn Karen starred in. But scenes for the video were actually filmed. Did someone say DVD extras?
Oh baby, baby!
Britney Spears' choreographers actually came on set to teach Hayes and Messing the "Oops! I Did It Again" dance routine.
Hidden cameos
Celebrity makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin makes a cameo in the restaurant scene with Cher. He's sitting in a booth in the background. Aucoin would die two years later from kidney failure.
Before "Sex and the City"
Sex and the City executive producer Michael Patrick King, was a producer on the first season of Will & Grace. He also wrote the classic episode "Will on Ice," in which Jack and Grace bond over their love of figure skating.
Tune in to Logo Trailblazer Honors on Friday, June 23, at 9/8c, when the cast of Will & Grace salute series co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan.