History Trivia / TheMusicMan

* RemakeCameo: In the first revival (the short-lived 1980 production starring Dick Van Dyke), the role of Mayor Shinn was played by Iggie Wolfington, who had originated the role of Marcellus Wallace in the original production decades before.

* RoleReprise: Robert Preston (Harold Hill), Pert Kelton (Mrs. Paroo) and The Buffalo Bills reprised their roles from the 1957 Broadway production for the 1962 film.
** While David Burns originated the role on Broadway, Paul Ford had taken over for him and played the role on Broadway almost as long as Burns had.

* HideYourPregnancy: The movie had to shoot around Shirley Jones' pregnancy, getting as many full-body shots out of the way as quickly as they could before she began to show. When she and Robert Preston filmed "Till There Was You," on one take he accidentally bumped into her... well, bump, asking "What was that?" to which she replied "My son." Years later, Preston was introduced to Jones's then-grown son and joked that they had already met.

* YouLookFamiliar: Paul Ford performed Mayor Shinn on Broadway almost as many times as the role's originator David Burns had. Ford would later go on to play the character in the 1962 film.
* Do you know why the salesman's song is called Rock Island? That's the name of the Illinois town they left to cross into Iowa.

* NamesTheSame:
** The Buffalo Bills.
** River City's Mayor, George Shinn, shares a name with the original owner of the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA's Charlotte Hornets]].

* DawsonCasting: Harold Hill's actual age is never explicitly stated, but he makes claims to have graduated from Gary Conservatory in 1905, seven years prior to the events of the story. Even though this is a lie, the fact that people believe it provides insight into his actual age. A conservatory graduate would usually be the same age as a college graduate, or about 22, making Hill approximately 29 years old. Robert Preston was 39 when he played the role on Broadway, and 44 in the movie. Matthew Broderick was also 41 when he headlined the 2003 version. In more extreme cases, Creator/DickVanDyke and Creator/JeffGoldblum both played the role when they were in their ''fifties''. Creator/HughJackman will also be playing Hill in his early fifties.

** In the 2003 film, Canadians Victor Garber (Mayor Shinn), Clyde Alves (Tommy Djilas) and Patrick [=McKenna=] (Charlie Cowell) play Americans.

* DawsonCasting: Harold Hill's actual age is never explicitly stated, but he makes claims to have graduated from Gary Conservatory in 1905, seven years prior to the events of the story. Even though this is a lie, the fact that people believe it provides insight into his actual age. A conservatory graduate would usually be the same age as a college graduate, or about 22, making Hill approximately 29 years old. Robert Preston was 39 when he played the role on Broadway, and 44 in the movie. Matthew Broderick was also 41 when he toplined the 2003 version. In more extreme cases, Creator/DickVanDyke and Creator/JeffGoldblum both played the role when they were in their ''fifties''. Creator/HughJackman will also be playing Hill in his early fifties.

* DawsonCasting: Harold Hill's actual age is never explicitly stated, but he makes claims to have graduated from Gary Conservatory in 1905, seven years prior to the events of the story. Even though this is a lie, the fact that people believe it provides insight into his actual age. A conservatory graduate would usually be the same age as a college graduate, or about 22, making Hill approximately 29 years old. Robert Preston was 39 when he played the role on Broadway, and 44 in the movie. Matthew Broderick was also 41 when he toplined the 2003 version. In more extreme cases, Creator/DickVanDyke and Creator/JeffGoldblum both played the role when they were in their ''fifties''. Hugh Jackman will also be playing Hill in his early fifties.

* HideYourPregnancy: The movie had to shoot around Shirley Jones's pregnancy, getting as many full-body shots out of the way as quickly as they could before she began to show. When she and Robert Preston filmed "Till There Was You," on one take he accidentally bumped into her... well, bump, asking "What was that?" to which she replied "My son." Years later, Preston was introduced to Jones's then-grown son and joked that they had already met.

* NamesTheSame: The Buffalo Bills.