Trivia / The Rose

• The Cameo: Pioneering openly-gay musician Sylvester ("You Make Me Feel Mighty Real") as the African-American female impersonator in the gay bar.
• Star-Making Role: Gave Bette Midler her first taste at movie stardom.
• What Could Have Been: Ken Russell was offered to direct this film, but chose to direct a biopic about Rudolph Valentino, which tanked at the box office. Russell stated that it was the biggest mistake in his career. The film was picked up by Mark Rydell.