At a post-production meeting following a screening of the film, a studio executive, in reference to "Moon River," said, "Well, I think the first thing we can do is get rid of that stupid song." Audrey Hepburn stood up at the table and said, "Over my dead body!" The song stayed in the picture.
Audrey felt that she was miscast as Holly Golightly in this film, although it was one of her most popular roles.
Author Truman Capote envisioned Marilyn Monroe in the part of Holly Golightly. Monroe was originally cast as Golightly, but her drama coach, Lee Strasberg, told her that playing a call-girl was not good for her image. The film went on to be a huge success, with Monroe's replacement Audrey Hepburn receiving Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress.
Contrary to popular belief, the movie follows Truman Capote's original novel quite closely. The character of Mag Wildwood, the Amazon-like model who crashes Holly's party in the film, is a major character in the novel. Capote describes her as having a stutter. In the film, Mag does indeed stutter though this isn't explained. During the shoplifting sequence, Holly briefly dons a Huckleberry Hound mask; a direct reference to a line in her song, "Moon River." Although Audrey Hepburn's performance of "Moon River" is unsurpassed, it would not be officially released until after her death. Holly's "bad date" prior to her first visit to Paul's apartment is only heard behind a door. The man who provides this voice is uncredited, but he sounds a lot like Mel Blanc, who at the time was working with film co-star Alan Reed on The Flintstones.
Director Blake Edwards was lunching with Mickey Rooney at a posh Hollywood restaurant when Rooney objected to how his salad was being tossed by the waiter and proceeded to show the 'proper' way to do it. Edwards thought Rooney's attention-getting routine so funny that he wrote it into the movie.
Due to the Hays Code Fred's homosexuality could not be referred to in the movie.
Elements of Holly's character in the original novel, such as her flirtation with bisexuality, were omitted to make the part more suitable for Audrey Hepburn.
Holly Golightly is supposed to be just nineteen years old when she meets with Paul. Audrey Hepburn was thirty-one years old when playing Holly.
Holly Golightly wears the same dresses all the way through the movie, simply changing the accessories to give each outfit a different look. Her black shift dress features through the movie at least four times.
Holly's couch is really an old-fashioned bathtub split in half. In some scenes, you can still see the gold handles at one end and the legs on the bottom.
Holly's pad is much larger than the real-life brownstone used for exteriors.
Holly's real name is Lullamae, which means "Famous Warrior born in the Month of May". The name she chooses for herself is Holiday, Holiday meaning "Born on a Holy Day". In real life, Audrey Hepburn's birthday happens to be May 4th.
In Truman Capote's novel Holly was a prostitute, had an abortion, liked to smoke weed, was bisexual and swore like a drunken sailor.
In the book rack in the train station behind George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn can be seen in soft focus copies of a paperback version of "Peter Gunn (1962)" which was the TV show on which Henry Mancini and Blake Edwards worked.
In the Book the narrator describes how Holly would wash her hair and sit out on the fire escape thumbing her guitar while waiting for her hair to dry; this is reflected during her "Moonriver" scene, which is why she has a wrap around her hair.
In the famous "it should take you exactly 4 seconds to cross from here to that door. I give you two" scene, it takes Paul exactly 4 seconds from when he starts walking to when he reaches the door.
In the film's original trailer (included on the special edition DVD), the announcer mistakenly pronounces Truman Capote's last name as "Capot", without pronouncing the "e" at the end of his name. This mistake was repeated (on purpose) on the "Mary Tyler Moore" show - Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) is demanding better writers and he says they should get "that Truman Capot fellow". Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) tries to correct him by saying just "E". Ted then says "oh yeah, Truman E. Capot"
In the French post-synchronized version of the film, the actors are dubbed by: Jacqueline Carrel (Audrey Hepburn); Roland Ménard (George Peppard); Sylvie Deniau (Patricia Neal); Georges Hubert (Buddy Ebsen); Michel Gudin (Martin Balsam); Georges Riquier (John McGiver); André Valmy (Alan Reed) and Pierre Trabaud (Mickey Rooney).
In the Italian post-synchronized version of the film, the actors are dubbed by: Maria Pia Di Meo (Audrey Hepburn); Pino Locchi (George Peppard); Nino Pavese (Buddy Ebsen); Nando Gazzolo (Martin Balsam) and Luigi Pavese (John McGiver).
Premiered at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City.