Ricki Lake began rapidly losing weight due to the intense dance lessons she had to take for the film. She reportedly had to "eat like crazy" in order to stay plump.
In Rachel Sweet's title song "Hairspray," Debbie Harry has an uncredited verse in the song. When Sweet sings, "Hey, girl, what you doing over there?" Harry sings the response, "Can't you see? I'm spraying my hair!"
During a road trip to promote the film following its release, John Waters and Divine were making the circuit. Two weeks into the trip, Divine collapsed and died. Waters was devastated and later made the comment, "After you've worked hard all your life and finally succeed, I think you deserve more than two weeks to enjoy it."
There was a scene filmed but cut, where, prior to her Corny Collins audition, Tracy breaks into Amber's house, destroys Amber's room, and dyes her hair blonde. This scene explains why Tracy's hair changes from brown to blonde between scenes.
Buddy Deane: The model for Corny Collins (The Buddy Deane Show (1957)) appears outside the Governor's Mansion as a newsman.
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