Jump to:Cameo (1) Spoilers (2)

During filming, Robin Williams and the rest of the cast and crew worked closely with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to fulfill the fantasies of several children who were at the time undergoing cancer treatment. The children appeared with Williams in scenes at the pediatric ward.

131 of 131 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Patch Adams said that whenever the film's production would get stressful, Robin Williams would improvise a set to make the cast and crew laugh.

66 of 66 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

One of the film's producers, Mike Farrell, met the real Patch Adams when Adams served as an advisor to the TV series M*A*S*H (1972), in which Farrell played B.J. Hunnicutt, one of the Army doctors.

57 of 57 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

While the real Patch Adams made a brief cameo in the film, he 'hated' the film and the portrayal of himself.

132 of 138 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Filmed partially at the University of North Carolina. Robin Williams did stand up comedy for some classes that were in session while filming.

54 of 55 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

In 2014, co-stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams died within nearly six months of each other.

125 of 131 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

The poem that Patch reads to Carin is an English translation of 'Sonnet XVII' by Pablo Neruda (see Goofs).

33 of 34 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Patch's (Robin Williams) roommate in the mental hospital is played by Michael Jeter. In The Fisher King (1991), Jeter also played an insane companion of Williams'.

42 of 45 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

21 of 22 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Bill Murray declined the role of Hunter 'Patch' Adams.

13 of 13 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

The song 'Faith of the Heart' performed in this film by Rod Stewart, was later used as theme song of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).

23 of 25 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

When Dean Walcott is walking down the hall, right before he enters the room where Patch is playing with the hospital bed, there is a page that comes over the intercom for Dr. Maslow to dial 214. Dr. Abraham Maslow, noted psychologist, developed the 'Hierarchy of Needs' that explains how the personality reacts to environmental factors and needs.

24 of 27 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Michael Jeter, who plays the unstable mental patient, Rudy, went on to play a mentally unstable prisoner on death row in The Green Mile (1999).

22 of 25 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

The fifth time Robin Williams played a doctor in the space of nine years, after Awakenings (1990), Nine Months (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), and What Dreams May Come (1998).

32 of 38 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

The famous movie quote 'What's wrong with Death, sir?', which Patch Adams said in this trial can be seen as a direct reference to the book 'Gesundheit' by Hunter Adams, which the movie is partly based on. The chapter 'Humor and Healing, or Why we're building a silly hospital' contains a part named 'Fun Death', in which Adams criticizes that the society is uncomfortable with death that only a few are willing to discuss this matter. It is mentioned in the book that the real Patch Adams even asks his patients what kind of death they want.

15 of 17 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Critic Roger Ebert wrote a withering review of the film ('This movie is shameless. It's not merely a tearjerker. It extracts tears individually by liposuction, without anesthesia'). Later, attending an event with the actual Patch Adams, Ebert avoided him until Adams introduced himself by walking across the room and declaring, 'I agreed with every word of your review of that loathesome film about me'.

17 of 20 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

After Patch catches up to Carin when she has stormed out of the study group, he makes a reference to Walt Whitman. In Dead Poets Society (1989), Walt Whitman is the favorite poet of Mr. Keating, also played by Robin Williams.

17 of 22 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Tom Hanks was considered for the title role, but was busy shooting Saving Private Ryan (1998) and declined.

5 of 5 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

When Patch is bothering his classmates with the anatomical skeleton he makes a joke about the 'Donner Party.' This is a historical reference to the Donner Party, a group of wagon train pioneers who left for California in 1846 and became stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountain range during the winter after an early November snow fall made the trip through impossible until the spring. When food supplies ran out, some of the group resorted to cannibalism to make it through the winter. Of the original 87 members, only 48 survived and reached California.

19 of 26 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Patch Adams is shown as being one of the highest testing students in the school, yet he is never seen studying, even when he is at the study table with his colleagues.

25 of 38 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Patch Adams: The real Patch Adams appears in the scene where the medical school staff returns with the verdict. He sits right behind Robin Williams.

105 of 107 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

In real life, Patch Adams close friend who was murdered was a man, not a female love interest. Carin is a fictional character.

114 of 114 found this interestingInteresting?Share this

Monica Potter performed her final audition for her role in Robin Williams' house in front of his wife. Although riddled with flu at the time, Potter still had to play out an intimate kissing scene.

36 of 36 found this interestingInteresting?Share this