Was Good Morning, Vietnam Based on a True Story?

It’s practically required to shout the title of this 1987 war comedy in the best Robin Williams impression possible. Williams played Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey during the Vietnam War, in the cult classic film Good Morning, Vietnam. His performance was regarded as his breakout film role and earned Williams an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

The real Adrian Cronauer was a comedic DJ for the Armed Forces Radio Service as an Airman Second Class in the Air Force. He managed to bring smiles to many American soldiers’ faces in an increasingly difficult time through his fast-talking takes on the war and hilarious jokes. Good Morning, Vietnam was based on the true story of the real-life Adrian Cronauer, who passed away in 2018 at 79 years old. The film, however, was very loosely based on Cronauer’s experiences and featured several key differences between the film and what actually happened.

In the beginning scenes, Cronauer arrived in Saigon, Vietnam, and began his time as a morning show host for Armed Forces Radio Service. Cronauer’s superiors, however, were less than satisfied with his show’s content, especially the jokes about the military. One day, Cronauer was on the scene when a local GI bar was suddenly blown up by a bomb, attributed to the Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese terrorist group.

Cronauer tried to broadcast about the bombing, which killed two soldiers, but the higher-ups were against it. After Cronauer was let go, they brought in a rather cringy replacement who loved to play polka music and just couldn’t amount to his comedic flair. The sudden replacement resulted in tremendous amounts of angry phone calls and hate mail, all requesting Cronauer to be back on the air. Despite the mass outcry, Cronauer was still forced to leave Vietnam and even hit a landmine as part of a devious plan concocted by Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson, who made Cronauer believe he was there to interview soldiers in the field.

The idea for Good Morning, Vietnam was first conceived in 1979 after Cronauer and his friend Ben Moses, who co-produced the film, watched Apocalypse Now. Cronauer recalled the Francis Ford Coppola film wasn’t “their story” of Vietnam and was inspired to create the Robin Williams classic, per an interview with the Associated Press. In the same interview, Cronauer shared that much of the film was make-believe, with the exceptions of his iconic opening lines, problems with censorship and the bombing.

While Cronauer did teach a class of Vietnamese students, he didn’t teach them New York slang or curse words, like the film featured. Other made-up plot elements include when Cronauer was hit by a landmine and had to escape the Viet Cong in the jungle. The real-life Cronauer was also not forced to leave Vietnam and was unaware of any friends suspected of being Viet Cong members. Despite the major distinctions between the true story and what Hollywood created, Cronauer still “loved” the film.