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Director Cameo (1)
The Blue Oyster bar used in this movie is actually called the Silver Dollar Room, located on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. Coincidentally, Spadina Avenue is also home to Protocol Entertainment, the company that would later produce Police Academy: The Series.
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Michael Winslow (Jones), David Graf (Tackleberry) and George Gaynes (Cmdnt. Lassard) are the only actors who appeared in all 7 Police Academy movies. Winslow even goes a step beyond this, as he is the only actor to not only appear in all 7 Police Academy movies, but also had a regular role on Police Academy: The Series.
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Fackler's wife riding the hood of her spouse's car, to prohibit him from joining the police academy, (with Mrs. Fackler ultimately catapulted with an abrupt stop) was the start of a comedic tradition with the film series: The Parody On A Parody. Like so many gags, this one would be "recycled" for Police Academy 3: Back in Training: Now, with Fackler riding the hood of his car to prevent Mrs. Fackler from joining the Force; complete with the couple being spotted from the interior of a limousine.
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Robert Conrad was offered the role of Commandant Eric Lassard, but turned down the part, which he regretted later on, to the point that he took the part of the Police Chief in Moving Violations which was co-written and directed by Neal Israel, who also co-wrote this film.
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Warner Bros tapped Hugh Wilson to write this film. Wilson agreed only after being offered the chance to direct it.
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Harris' trademark stick was not originally in the script. It was a prop brought onto the set by an extra, who gave it to G.W. Bailey to keep.
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While filming the obstacle course scene, the first man to scale the wall propelled himself so high that he broke one of his lower limbs upon landing.
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The "shoe polish on the megaphone" originated from a prank played on British director Michael Winner on the set of one of his movies. Hugh Wilson decided to use the gag after he heard the story from a crew member.
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G.W. Bailey's voice is noticeably lower than usual during the scene of the cadets' shooting exercise in the little western town, as G.W. was sick with the flu that day.
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The shot of George Martín leaving the women's dormitory at dawn was actually filmed at sunset.
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After Lassard and the cadets drive away from the rioting mob, they crash into the back of a meat truck which reads "Maslansky's Bologna". This is a reference to the film's producer Paul Maslansky.
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According to an interview in Entertainment Weekly, Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton and Judge Reinhold were considered for the role of Mahoney.
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Due to being filmed out of sequence, the head shaving scene of Scott Thomson and Brant von Hoffman caused problems when it was later determined that they would need to be shown arriving at the academy beforehand, with their full heads of hair intact. Producers worked their way around this by issuing wigs for all of Scott and Brant's scenes that play prior to the head shaving.
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In the scene when Jones (Michael Winslow) is knocked out of the door and tumbles down the stairs, he sits up and mimics some video game sounds. The game sounds he is mimicking are those from the popular 1980s video game Q*bert.
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According to the cast/film maker commentary, it was the film's producer, Alan Ladd Jr. who came up with the idea of having Mahoney be the recipient of the "podium gag" at the end, after watching dailies of Lassard's podium scene.
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In the cast commentary, it's revealed that Larvell Jones was not in the original script. The part was immediately written for Michael Winslow after Hugh Wilson and the casting directors saw him open for Count Basie.
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In the DVD 'making of' documentary, Marion Ramsey says she came up with Hooks' voice by reading the description of her character in the script, and recalling the time she met Michael Jackson. The voice is a parody of Jackson. She also recalls that in the moment where Hooks exclaims "Don't move, Dirtbag!" the sound techs were used to recording the "meek" voice and were surprised when she said the line so loud.
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Pay close attention to the scene when Barbara is floating down river in the camera booth: Before he passes under the bridge, the booth almost flips over. That was not planned (according to the DVD commentary). It really did almost flip over.
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The name "Sweedchuk: Fine European Tailoring" appears on the window Fackler is looking in, when Tackleberry asks him how he's going. This was a play on the name of the film's set decorator, Steve Shewchuk. The name would reappear for Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment for the shopkeeper Sweetchuck, played by Tim Kazurinsky.
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Hooks' first name Laverne is revealed in the closing credits, but is not mentioned in the films, until the scene where Hooks and Lt Callahan are at the police convention just before Captain Harris blows the whistle in Hooks face in Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach.
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Some of the film was shot in the abandoned Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital in the west end of Toronto, Canada, which later became Humber College's Lakeshore Campus.
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Director Cameo
Hugh Wilson:
the motorist who suffers a fender-bender during Hightower's late night driving session with Mahoney.
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