Production designer Peter Jamison was having trouble finding the right kind of house to match Barry Levinson's exact specifications, namely a three-storey wooden structure with a little lawn, set back from the road, and in need of a new frame. Levinson told him to go to 4211 Springdale Avenue, Baltimore, which was the house where he grew up.
After becoming frustrated with professional performance in his 20s, Rodney Dangerfield quit comedy for several years, got married and moved to the suburbs where he claimed to have made a living as an aluminum siding salesman. According to "The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy" by Kliph Nesteroff, Dangerfield was, in fact, a real life "tin man" and was investigated by the FBI for unethical, fraudulent sales practices; which was even reported in the newspaper under his birth name (Jake Cohen) and initial stage name (Jack Roy). Although he avoided jail time or sentencing, Nesteroff speculates that his return to comedy and name change were both at least partially motivated to distance himself from the investigation.
Some movie posters for this film featured a long blurb that read: "The Year - 1963. Selling the American Dream is a risky, funny business - you could wind up paying with your wife!".
The exterior for the Life Magazine scam scene was writer-director Barry Levinson's childhood home in Baltimore.
The second film in writer-director Barry Levinson's series of four "Baltimore Films" . The others are Diner (1982), Avalon (1990) and Liberty Heights (1999). However, Allmovie states that Tin Men (1987) is "the second [film] of director Barry Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy (the first was Diner (1982), the third Avalon (1990)".
Barry Levinson: [Ralph Tabakin] Ralph (Mr. Hudson) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).