The night that Gary Sinise won the Emmy award for his portrayal of George Wallace, the real George Wallace died of a heart attack.
Filmed in Sacramento, to use the state of California's capital building. Alabama refused to allow the use of theirs for this movie. Wallace's inaugural speech as Governor was one of the last scenes filmed.
Gary Sinise returned in the role of Wallace on another TV movie Path to War (2002), also directed by John Frankenheimer.
John Frankenheimer was a close personal friend of Robert F. Kennedy and drove him to the Ambassador hotel the very night he was assassinated.
Gary Sinise was reluctant to accept the lead, since he had just played Harry S. Truman in a television bio-pic, and didn't want to repeat himself playing another real-life politician so soon afterwards. John Frankenheimer persuaded him otherwise by arriving at his home with boxes of research material, making his case that Sinise was perfect for the role.