Melanie Abdo, author of The Big Lebowski: A Life in Letters, has spent decades interviewing filmgoers, friends and colleagues who worked closely with the Dude. “They were part of an iconic scene in American culture and we just got lost in that,” she says.

It seems he might have been a little lost himself at times, but it was those moments — whether on set or behind the scenes — that really defined him. By the time he left the film, he had established his status as one of Hollywood’s most versatile stand-up comics. He gave interviews in his spare time, became a star, became a father. Eventually, he met Elizabeth Olsen who became the most prolific movie actress to work alongside that famous name.

So when he did leave the game, it was no accident. “I wish I could say it was the only moment where everything went so wrong,” he once told Howard Stern. “But it isn’t. It was a great time. I saw a great deal of myself, and it will always be great.”

From “Dude!” to a life behind the scenes

In an email exchange, Abdo talks about how “Dude!” went from a cult film sensation to a beloved cult film staple, and whether that’s an exaggeration.

What was the first role you got turned down for?

“When my friend asked me if I would have a part in a Judd Apatow movie, I actually immediately said ‘yeah!'” She said, “Then he said ‘No thank you.’ I was pretty disappointed.”

What was it like to work with Richard Pryor?

“The first day he came back from his break, he gave a bunch of us a tour of the set — they were going to shoot his character as a truck driver. He said, ‘We’re gonna shoot a scene where you’re sitting in your car on the side of the highway, you’re a truck driver, watching TV when a truck comes past. That’s your scene!'” In those days, the studio was just looking for young actors, Abdo says. “I found them, we shot the scene, it was a great shot, and there was no audition. I could be in a million movies, but they were looking for me.”

How did you convince Richard to do the role of Don Draper?

“I played Don as kind of a nerd and a nerd