<P> Leo Gordon had played a semi-regular supporting character in seasons one and two of the original Maverick TV show: gambler Big Mike McComb . Gordon also later wrote a few episodes of the show . Margot Kidder had been Garner's co-star in the short - lived western TV series Nichols . Danny Glover's cameo appearance references Donner's Lethal Weapon film series starring Glover and Gibson as cop partners . Their meeting in Maverick sees them share a moment of recognition, and as he leaves, Glover says Roger Murtaugh's catchphrase: "I'm getting too old for this shit ." </P> <P> Country singers also cameo including Carlene Carter as a waitress, Waylon Jennings and Kathy Mattea as a gambling couple with concealed guns, Reba McEntire, Clint Black as a sweet - faced gambler thrown overboard for cheating, and Vince Gill and his then - wife Janis Gill as spectators . </P> <P> The steamboat used in the film--dubbed the Lauren Belle--was the Portland, the last remaining sternwheel tugboat in the US; at the time it belonged to the Oregon Maritime Museum in Portland . Over several weeks, the boat was decorated to alter its appearance to resemble a Mississippi - style gambling boat, including the addition of two decorative chimneys . In August 1993, the production requested permission to film scenes of the riverboat along the Columbia River in Washington State . The artificial smoke released by the boat's chimney was considered to violate air - quality laws in Washington and Oregon and required approval for the scenes before their scheduled filming date in September 1993 . After filming concluded, the decorations were removed and the boat was returned to its original state . </P> <P> In Five Screenplays with Essays, Goldman describes an earlier version of the script, in which Maverick explains he has a magic ability to call the card he needs out of the deck . Although he is not able to do so successfully, the old hermit he attempts to demonstrate it for tells him that he really does have the magic in him . This scene was shot with Linda Hunt playing the hermit but it was felt it did not work on the context of the rest of the movie and was cut . </P>

What river was the movie maverick filmed on