Producer/star Brad Garrett and director Howard Deutch agreed to pay make-up artist Greg Cannom's salary when the network balked at the size of his fee.
Brad Garrettat a smidge over 6'8", is about nine inches taller than Jackie Gleason was. To compensate, other actors who shared scenes with Garrett wore platform shoes that would make everyone seem proportionate.
Brad Garrett and Howard Deutch paid Dave Boone to do an uncredited re-write of the entire script to get it in shape for shooting.
The writers of the movie also wrote Nothing in Common (1986), the last film that Jackie Gleason appeared in.