Karen Ann Quinlan passed away on June 11, 1985, 10 years after she fell into a persistent vegetative state and 9 years after her breathing tube was removed.
At the time of his death 20 years after completing this movie, Keith was suffering from emphysema and terminal lung cancer. He had been a heavy smoker until 1986, quitting a decade before his diagnoses. He was also mourning the death of his 27-year-old daughter, Daisy Keith, who had committed suicide 10 weeks earlier. He also had financial problems. All of these were contributing factors to Keith's own suicide on June 24, 1997. His last work appeared after his death: voice-over work in the final episode of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994), and an on-screen appearance in Follow Your Heart (1999). He is interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California.
Mel Gibson is not listed as a cast member.