Trivia

According to Emily Soares at the Turner Classic Movies website, Milos Forman's only casting regret was Nicholas Ray as The General. "Though he performed well, Ray had to endure clouds of heavy smoke for his big scene, and it was only weeks later that Forman learned he was dying of lung cancer."

Cheryl Barnes previously had appeared in the Broadway stage productions of "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." In the magazine 'Turnaround,' director Milos Forman said of Barnes' audition, "As she started to sing the tune she had prepared, a hush came over the room. She had a voice like a bell, flawless musicality, and great presence."

A maid in a Maine motel, Barnes had taken the bus into New York for the open call and walked away with the role of Hud's fiancée. Her first take of "Easy to be Hard," thought by many to be the finest version of the song, was reportedly perfect. After shooting wrapped in Barstow, CA, where Hair's base sequences were filmed, Barnes decided to stay, and though she went through the motions of pursuing a singing career, Hair (1979) would be her biggest role.

Over 20,000 extras and background artists participated in the musical numbers "3-5-0-0" and "Let the Sunshine In," which were both staged at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

During the closing number, when Berger sings the third verse, background singers are singing lines from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "Eyes, Look your Last, Arms take your last embrace" and "The lips, oh you the doors, of breath, sealed with a righteous kiss" are both from Romeo's final monologue. It's followed by "The rest is silence," the Prince's last line in Hamlet.

Approximately 10,000 New York residents appeared in the Central Park sequences as extras and background artists for musical numbers including "Colored Spade," "Ain't Got No" (a.k.a. "I'm Black"), and "Aquarius" (a.k.a. "The Age of Aquarius").

Nicholas Ray: The General.