Ever wonder who was the actor that said “We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges”

// November 16th, 2009 // Film & Script Reviews

This weekend I was shooting an episode of “El Vacilon” sketch comedy show with Tony Plana and in conversation we were talking about career choices and the ones we regret. He was telling me that in the 80’s he passed on “Platoon” because at first it was not a very appealing offer. SAG scale and working in the jungle didn’t sound too promising. Tony decided to go ahead and work on a movie called “3 Amigos” it paid better and was being shot right here in the states.

What Tony didn’t know, and neither did anyone else was, that “PLATOON” would go on to win oscars and solidify several actors careers.

Now in all fairness “3 Amigos” was not a box office success but it has become an all time favorite. I catch myself singing “My little buttercup” all the time and quoting from the movie.
Tony told me that when Matt Damon and Ben Affleck first met him they couldn’t stop calling him “el jefe” and expressed how much they loved that movie.

We started talking about memorable quotes in movies and one particularly I found interesting.
It’s the quote “Badges, we don’t need no stinking badges” a quote I remember from “Blazing Saddles”, cause yes I am a huge Mel Brooks fan.

Tony went on to tell me the story of an actor named Alfonso Bedoya and how he was the original actor to say those lines. He also told me that Alfonso, in his hey day was getting work because of his specific look. He was Latino and had crooked teeth, so he would always be the bad guy in whatever he was cast in. Bedoya started making good money and decided to fix his teeth only to never work again in the biz because of this. I went ahead and did some research and found this.

I hope you guys enjoy the little tid bit of Hollywood info:

Alfonso Bedoya made that quote famous in the 1948 John Huston film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It was Bedoya’s character, Gold Hat, that said, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.