<P> Although Cindy Williams was cast as Laurie Henderson, the actress hoped she would get the part of Debbie Dunham, which ended up going to Candy Clark . Mackenzie Phillips, who portrays Carol, was only 12 years old, and under California law, producer Gary Kurtz had to become her legal guardian for the duration of filming . For Bob Falfa, Roos cast Harrison Ford, who was then concentrating on a carpentry career . Ford agreed to take the role on the condition that he would not have to cut his hair . The character has a flattop in the script, but a compromise was eventually reached whereby Ford wore a stetson to cover his hair . Producer Francis Ford Coppola encouraged Lucas to cast Wolfman Jack as himself in a cameo appearance . "George Lucas and I went through thousands of Wolfman Jack phone calls that were taped with the public," Jack reflected . "The telephone calls (heard on the broadcasts) in the motion picture and on the soundtrack were actual calls with real people ." </P> <P> Although American Graffiti is set in 1962 Modesto, California, Lucas believed the city had changed too much in 10 years and initially chose San Rafael as the primary shooting location . Filming began on June 26, 1972 . However, Lucas soon became frustrated at the time it was taking to fix camera mounts to the cars . A key member of the production had also been arrested for growing marijuana, and, in addition to already running behind the shooting schedule, the San Rafael City Council immediately became concerned about the disruption that filming caused for local businesses and therefore withdrew permission to shoot beyond a second day . </P> <P> Petaluma, a similarly small town approximately 20 miles north of San Rafael, became more cooperative and American Graffiti moved there without the loss of a single day of shooting . Lucas convinced the San Rafael City Council to allow two further nights of filming for general cruising shots, which he used to evoke as much of the intended location as possible in the finished film . Shooting in Petaluma began on June 28 and proceeded at a quick pace . Lucas mimicked the filmmaking style of B movie producer Sam Katzman in attempting to save money and authenticated low - budget filming methods . </P> <P> In addition to Petaluma, other locations included Mel's Drive - In in San Francisco, Sonoma, Richmond, Novato, and the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord . The freshman hop dance was filmed in the Gus Gymnasium, previously known as the Boys Gym, at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley . </P>

Who played the leader of the pharaohs in american graffiti