Terry Kiser's stunt double suffered several broken ribs during filming, mostly in the scene in which Bernie is dragged around the surface of the ocean, bumping into floating metal buoys.
Andrew McCarthy was asked to read the script to think about playing the part of Richard. When he read it, he loved the part of Larry, and got that instead.
This was considered as a vehicle for Corey Haim and Corey Feldman early in production before it was decided to make the leads older.
Director Ted Kotcheff made a cameo as Richard's father (the man who comes out in his underwear and blows his cover).
Richard suggests they go to Jones Beach with all the syringes. This is probably referring to the infamous "Syringe Tide" in 1987-88, when medical waste, including used syringes, washed up on several beaches in New York/New Jersey, costing massive losses in tourist dollars.