The original Broadway production of "Da" by Hugh Leonard opened at the Morosco Theater in New York on May 1, 1978, ran for 697 performances and won the 1978 Tony Award for the Best Play. Barnard Hughes recreated his stage role in the movie version and the screenplay was written by Hugh Leonard who wrote the original stage play.
Cameo: In the funeral scene at the start, one of the pall bearers is played by Hugh Leonard on whose screenplay the film was based.