Despite the hot weather he had to endure throughout his scenes while wearing a black suit, Bob Fosse did his role (The Snake) and choreography as a favor for director and friend Stanley Donen.
In 1974, Angela Morley became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Academy Award, when she was nominated for one in the category of Best Music, Original Song Score/Adaptation for the film, a nomination shared with Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, and Douglas Gamley.
Frank Sinatra was interested in the role of The Pilot and had the producers of the film behind him, but director Stanley Donen vetoed his casting.
Most of the cast were primarily stage actors, with little recognition in film. Gene Wilder, who arguably had the most "cinematic star power" of them all, first appears 63 minutes into the 88-minute movie, and is on screen for about 14 minutes.