Trivia: The most famous line in this film is purely ad-libbed. Apparently a tough New York cabbie broke through and drove across one shoot, nearly running down Jon Voight (Joe Buck) and Dustin Hoffman (Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo). Notice Voight's startled expression. Hoffman, still in character, slams on the hood and shouts at the cabbie, "Hey, I'm walkin' here. I'm walkin' here."
Trivia: The only X-rated film (as the rating was replaced by NC-17 in 1990) to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Trivia: The John Voight role was originally offered to Elvis Presley. Unbelievably ,as it would surely have kick started The King's movie comeback, Col. Parker, without consulting Elvis, turned the role down.
Answer: Probably not. The man was a masochist who derived sexual pleasure from being physically abused. Joe apparently crammed the phone receiver into the man's mouth and left, unknown if he died from it or not.