Real people doing cameos in films about them?

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I've recently been watching Erin Brockovich, having recorded it off the telly a few years ago. A bit of reading up on imdb.com and Wikipedia has taught me that the real life Erin Brockovich has a cameo role in the film, playing a waitress who serves the screen Erin Brockovich and her kids at a diner. Has anything analagous been done in any other film about a living real person? (Real life Erin's then boss Ed Masry. another signficant character in the story, also played a lesser cameo, an uncredited extra in the same scene.)

[WOM]

The real Henry Hill makes a cameo as a cook in the kitchen scene in Goodfellas. Midway through the long, long shot.

[diggedy derek]

The wonderful Finnish boxing comedy drama The Happiest Day Of Olli Mäki, set in the 1960s, features the titular character as half of the old, happily married couple that the main characters stroll past in the final scene. An amazing to one of the best films I’ve seen recently.

[Sam]

The bloke upon whose life The Pursuit of Happyness is based (and who wrote the book it's based on, which is his own autobiography) walks past Will Smith's character in the street in almost the last shot of the film.

The Wire is not a film, and a lot of the roles in it are much more than cameos, but it has some good ones. Melvin Williams, who plays the Deacon, was the biggest of several inspirations for the character of Avon Barksdale, for example.

Does Being John Malkovich count? Not really a cameo, is it ...

[ad hoc]

Went to see a film called (I think) Swimming with Men last night. (brit com that just repeats every single trope from similar films. A b-movie version of Full Monty. But it's got Rob Brydon in it). Anyway the basic plot is about a group of lonely broken middle aged men who come together to form a synchronised swim team. At the end over the credits you learn that this is the true story of an actual group of blokes in Stockholm who did exactly this. And that the Swedish team featured in the film was in fact them

[Jah Womble]

Gary Lineker in the film version of An Evening with Gary Lineker.

Not that it's 'about' him, as such.

[Guy Profumo]

Sophie Wilson in "Micro Men"

(Though it's more about Sinclair, Curry, and Hauser)

She plays the landlady who ejects Curry and Sinclair from her pub

[wittoner]

Jim Garrison, the Attorney portrayed by Kevin Costner in JFK, appears in the film as Earl Warren, head of the Warren Commision.

[Patrick Thistle]

A lot of people on Oskar Schindler's list appear at the end of Schindler's List. And his wife too.

[Satchmo Distel]

The Beatles at the end of 'Yellow Submarine', having been animated and voiced by others (including Eddie Yeats) throughout.

[elguapo4]

Al Jolson in "The Jolson story "
Eddie Egan in "The French Connection "
And (pushing the envelope) George Harrison in "The Rutles ", it's become quite common I'm sure there's plenty more

[tracteurgarcon]

Eric Cantona in "Looking For Eric" although I guess it's not really a cameo.

[Gert from the Well]

Hubert Sebly Jr in the film adaptation of "Last Exit To Brooklyn"

[Jah Womble]

Soon to be remade as Last Brexit to Ooklyn.

Et and indeed cetera.

[Giggler]

Tony Wilson as a director of Wheel of Fortune in 24 Hour Party People. Mark E. Smith queueing for a gig in the same film too.

At the time it came out, FHM (I know, sorry) did a feature on it and said that Vini Reilly played himself, which was clearly bollocks when you watch the film.

[Jah Womble]

It was John Cooper Clarke who played himself, IIRC.

[Southport Zeb]

Frank Abagnale plays one of the French policeman arresting Frank Abagnale (as played by Leonardo Dicaprio) in Catch Me If You Can

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

The bloke upon whose life The Pursuit of Happyness is based (and who wrote the book it's based on, which is his own autobiography) walks past Will Smith's character in the street in almost the last shot of the film.

The Wire is not a film, and a lot of the roles in it are much more than cameos, but it has some good ones. Melvin Williams, who plays the Deacon, was the biggest of several inspirations for the character of Avon Barksdale, for example.

Does Being John Malkovich count? Not really a cameo, is it ...

Avon Barksdale is apparently mostly based on Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale. That guy Melvin Williams is apparently a bit more of the inspiration for Stringer Bell. He was a very smart guy indeed who was talent spotted by the Meyer Lansky gang. There's also a Marlow Something, and a something Stanfield, But Barksdale and the marlow guy were buddies.

The Real Jay Landsmann on the other hand plays Bunny Colvin's no.2 Dennis Mello, who himself is named after the guy who basically had that actual job in real life back in the day.

[multipleman78]

Jordan Belfort turns up at the end of The Wolf Of Wall Street.

[Sam]

Big fan of Southport Zeb's contribution.

Avon Barksdale is apparently mostly based on Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale. That guy Melvin Williams is apparently a bit more of the inspiration for Stringer Bell. He was a very smart guy indeed who was talent spotted by the Meyer Lansky gang. There's also a Marlow Something, and a something Stanfield, But Barksdale and the marlow guy were buddies.

The Real Jay Landsmann on the other hand plays Bunny Colvin's no.2 Dennis Mello, who himself is named after the guy who basically had that actual job in real life back in the day.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Landsman.

Are you sure you've got Barksdale and Williams the right way round? Wikipedia reckons Avon in the series is based on a bunch of people, with Williams being one of the biggest influences. (Either way, he obviously fits the thread as long as TV shows are acceptable.)

[andrew7610]

Not a cameo, but in The Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree is effectively a stunt double for the actor playing him, standing in for Jonny Lee Miller in some of the cycling sequences.

[adams house cat]

George Raft has a brief cameo in "the George Raft Story" in which he was played by Ray Danton.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Stretching the premise somewhat, but Labi Sifrie's in the video of Madness's cover of It Must Be Love.

[Disco Child Ballads]

Chas Hodges (of Chas & Dave fame and who is played by Ralf Little in the film) has a brief cameo in Telstar: The Joe Meek Story.

[slackster]

Marshall McLuhan turns up in Annie Hall to castigate some pontificating arse in a cinema queue about misunderstanding his philosophy for Woody Allen’s comedic purposes. I’m convinced McLuhan fluffed his lines though, as they don’t really make sense when he says: “You know nothing of my work! You mean my whole fallacy is wrong. How you got to teach a course in anything is totally amazing!”