Trivia / Sweet Charity

• Acting for Two: There's been a recent trend in productions where all three of Charity's love interests are played by the same actor.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $20 million. Box office, $8 million. Its disastrous reception dealt a huge blow to Universal Pictures. Bob Fosse rebounded with his next film, Cabaret.
• Creative Differences: Original producer Ross Hunter dropped out of the filmafter a conflict with Bob Fosse over how to handle the racy story line.
• Dyeing for Your Art: According to Bob Fosse and Charny, the fake ponytail she wore was actually so heavy that it gave her a pull burn, resulting in an infected scalp. In addition, Fosse insisted she wear shoes a half size too small.
  Suzanne Charny: Between my head and my feet, I was in agony! But it is better to look marvelous than to be comfortable.
• Recursive Adaptation: The 1969 film, being an adaptation of a stage play, which was an adaptation of an earlier Italian film.
• Star-Making Role: Ben Vereen's debut film performance.
• Uncredited Role:
  • Gwen Verdon was assistant choreographer in the film version.
  • Shirley MacLaine's dance double in the film was an uncredited Georgina Spevlvin, who later became a famous porn star.
• What Could Have Been: Nichelle Nichols wrote in her memoir that she auditioned for the role of Helene in the film version.

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