Just before the cameras rolled on each of her Rose Shelton scenes, Lily Tomlin would spin around in a circle several times until she got dizzy, in order to exhibit the air-headed qualities of her character.
The original plan was to use body doubles for Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin wearing lookalike prosthetics but the results proved to be "a complete bomb" according to director Jim Abrahams that the idea was swiftly nixed. Instead the twin effects were achieved by Industrial Light & Magic after five months of post-production.
This movie was originally written for Barbra Streisand (Bette Midler's role) and Goldie Hawn (Lily Tomlin's role).
The stereophonic sound on the film does not kick in until the end of the prologue ready for the transition to modern day. The sound, until that point, is mono.