Hume Cronyn was a Golden Glove boxer and lost sight in one eye. In the scene where he hits the young orderly, without depth perception, he actually hit the young man and knocked him out.
According to Ron Howard, several members of the cast liked to get into hypothetical discussions about the chance their characters were offered in the film. Maureen Stapleton was dead against it, while Don Ameche said he'd be the first in line.
Wilford Brimley was only forty-nine years old at the time of the film's production (he was fifty when it was released). He had to have his hair dyed gray in order to make him look geriatric.
Don Ameche won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar without receiving any previous nominations in other awards, which is a rare achievement when it comes to Oscar winners.
Steve Guttenberg worked on this movie for less than his usual fee because he liked the script, and really wanted to work with Ron Howard.