BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 American romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. Initial release in October 5, 1961 (New York City) Story by Truman Capote

12 Things You Didn’t Know About “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”

 1. Audrey Hepburn hated danish pastries, making this scene a bitch to film.

2. Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe for the role of Holly Golightly, and she was in fact lined up to play Holly. Monroe dropped out, however, after she had been advised that a call girl-like character would harm her image.


 3. People often mistakenly think Hepburn’s iconic sunglasses are Ray-Bans. They are in fact by Oliver Goldsmith. People often mistakenly think Hepburn's iconic sunglasses are Ray-Bans.  The style is called the “Manhattan” and is still available today. A pair costs $440.


4. The exterior shots of Holly’s brownstone were shot on-location.  Her address is 169 E. 71st Street.

5. An alternate ending had been shot.  According to Sammy Wasson, author of Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman: “In the other ending, Holly and George are in the alley, they recover the cat and then just kind of walk up the street and it fades out. There’s no romantic crescendo or embrace. It’s bittersweet.”

6. The cat who played “Cat,” was called Orangey and Orangey was apparently quite the professional. He has his own IMDb page. Although Orangey won an award for his work in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, it’s suspected that Orangey is probably not one cat, but several — all lookalikes. Other sources say that nine cats were used to film the cat’s role.

7. Hepburn was paid $750,000 for the job. (Which is roughly equivalent to $5.9 million today.) At that point, the only actress paid more than that for a film had been Elizabeth Taylor. Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

8. Holly’s couch is an actual bathtub split in half and covered with cushions. Holly's couch is an actual bathtub split in half and covered with cushions.

9. “Moon River” was written specifically for this film by Henry Mancini, who composed the song for Hepburn’s vocal register.

10. Hepburn was apparently extremely self-conscious about her role as Holly. Hepburn was apparently extremely self-conscious about her role as Holly. Hulton Archive / Getty Images Because she knew Truman Capote was disappointed that the film had failed to secure Marilyn Monroe as the lead, Hepburn felt mis-cast and uncomfortable when Capote was on set.

11. The character of Holly Golightly (the film version) caused quite a stir and is thought to aid in changing views of women at the time.  Holly was controversial as one of the first party girls on film — she was wild, a drinker, a seductress, and not tied down by a man. And even though the movie version was much tamer than Capote’s depiction in his book, the implication that Holly was a sort of call girl was a bit shocking.


12. The scene where Paul and Holly attempt to have a Cracker Jack ring engraved at Tiffany’s — the production crew reportedly went through 200 boxes of Cracker Jacks before finding a ring. The toy-du-jour was apparently a whistle.