Facts about Oz

[ArnieBragg 1]

On-screen brothers Ryan and Cyril O'Reilly are played by real-life brothers Dean Winters and Scott William Winters. Their brother Brad Winters is also one of the writers for Oz.

 

Actors Terry Kinney and Kathryn Erbe (Em City manager McManus and death-row murderer Shirley Bellinger respectively) are married in real life.

 

The arm that is being tattooed in the opening credits belongs to series creator Tom Fontana.

 

During the opening credits, the likenesses (faces) of all characters; specifically, main or recurring characters,are cut off by the camera so they cannot be identified during the opening montage. Rather, you can identify those characters only from their shoulders on down.

 

The original idea was for the show to be about a minimum-security prison. The title was supposed to be Club Med.

 

The first one-hour drama ever produced by HBO.

 

In the third season, the medical ward was privatized and taken over by a company called The Weigart Corporation. The Weigart Corporation is also the name of the company that bought St. Eligius Hospital in "St. Elsewhere" (1982). Series creator Tom Fontana was a writer on "St. Elsewhere".

 

The full name of the prison known as "Oz" was Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary. The name was later changed to Oswald State Correctional Facility

 

Terry Kinney was absent from the show for a few episodes in the fourth season because he was directing a production for The Steppenwolf Theatre Company which he co-founded with Gary Sinise. On the show, it was explained that Tim McManus had been fired.

 

Kirk Acevedo was absent from most of the first half of the fourth season because he was working on "Band of Brothers" (2001) (mini). On the show, it was explained that Miguel Alvarez had escaped. Acevedo returned for the second half of the fourth season. But shortly after production began on the second half, he landed a recurring role on "Third Watch" (1999) and had to leave "Oz" again. This time, it was explained that Alvarez had been put in solitary confinement. In some episodes, archive footage of Acevedo from past episodes was reused.

 

In the fourth season, it was explained that Officer Wittlesley moved away to London, England. In real life, Edie Falco left the show to star in the London production of the play "Side Man".

 

Christopher Meloni left the show towards the end of the fourth season because he was also working on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and he felt that he could no longer do both shows at the same time. On the show, it was explained that Keller was transferred to another prison. But Meloni missed "Oz" and decided to return. He decided that being able to work on two great shows simultaneously was worth the physical and emotional toll.

 

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje left the show to work on The Mummy Returns (2001).

 

Dr. Nathan learns that Nurse Carol Grace previously worked at St. Eligius which was the name of the hospital in "St. Elsewhere" (1982). Tom Fontana was a writer on that show.

 

The 100-minute series finale was titled "Exeunt Omnes" which is Latin for "all go out". It is a theatre term indicating that all characters exit the stage.

 

Most of the actors who played inmates on the show, played police officers on other series.

 

With the exception of Jackson Vayhue and Jason Kramer, none of the inmates who survived until the end of the series ever made it out of Oz. The ones who were paroled (Beecher, Poet) all returned to the prison shortly after they were released. The two who escaped (Alvarez and Busmalis) were eventually recaptured

 

The prison set was actually an old warehouse that Tom Fontana had revamped. Fontana was also able to move his production offices into the space. Fontana would renew the lease on the space one year at a time in case the show got cancelled. During production on the fourth season, Tom Fontana learned that the owner of the property signed off a 10-year lease to NY1, a local New York City news station. The fourth season finale was titled "Famous Last Words" and ends with a fiery explosion in the prison. This was so that the episode could also serve as the series finale in case Fontana was unable to find a new filming location for the show. Fortunately, Fontana found a similar looking warehouse in New Jersey he could use and the show was able to continue.

 

Tom Fontana named the prison Ozwald after Russell Oswald, who was the real-life warden of Attica when the infamous prison riot broke out there.

 

Jefferson Keane is executed halfway through the first season because the actor portraying him, Leon, refused to commit to a series. When Leon asked Tom Fontana why he was being killed off, Fontana told him it was because he said he wouldn't commit to more than four episodes, and Leon replied that he thought he'd been talked out of that, and actually wanted to stay.

 

Some cast members that played prisoners have noted that, throughout the series, if you showed up late to the set, your punishment would be that your character would either die or be raped the next week.

 

muMs da Schemer (who played "Poet") really wrote himself all the poems he read in the series.

 

By the time of the fourth season finale, they didn't know whether they would be renewed and so Tom Fontana wrote two endings: one where Beecher got paroled and one where he didn't. If the show was canceled they would end on the happy note of Beecher being paroled. The show was renewed but Fontana liked the sequence of Beecher's parole so much that he used it as a dream sequence in the season finale.

 

Chuck Zito was the only cast member who had actually done time in prison.

 

Prior to the boxing scenes in season 3, series creator Tom Fontana asked the actors involved if they had experience boxing. All said yes, but it turned out that only Chuck Zito had ever done any actual boxing.

 

Chuck Zito first auditioned for Oz as a Biker being a veteran member of the Hell's Angels Biker Club. However because of his complexion and heavy New York accent, Tom Fontana thought he'd fit in better with the Italians on the series.

[edjr 6,578]

You didn't even give me credit!!!

[ArnieBragg 1]

You didn't even give me credit!!!

 

For?

[edjr 6,578]

For?

 

Read my 2 posts in this thread.

 

posted just this morning.