Trivia for
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) More at IMDbPro »

• Beverly D'Angelo and Sissy Spacek did all their own singing. Director Michael Apted also wanted Spacek to sing all of the songs live, feeling he could capture the realism in all of the performing scenes.
  
  
• Loretta Lynn is said to have fainted when she saw Levon Helm in full makeup and wardrobe because of his amazing resemblance to her real father.
  
  
• Doolitte Lynn's real name is Oliver. He picked up the nicknames Doolittle as a boy and Mooney as a young man working for moonshiners in Kentucky before entering the army in WW II.
  
  
• In preparation for her role as Loretta Lynn, Sissy Spacek accompanied the singer on one of her tours in order to study her on/offstage mannerisms.
  
  
• Joe Don Baker, who bears a strong resemblance to the real Doolittle Lynn, was the producers' first choice to play him, but he was unable to accept the offer.
  
  
• During the filming of the funeral for Ted Webb, Levon Helm refused to lie in the casket, as it seemed too morbid to him. To allay Helm's fears, director Michael Apted got into the casket himself and did a few takes to show Helm it was okay. Helm finally agreed to try it once, and the scene was done in one take.
  
  
• According to Loretta Lynn, her husband Doolittle wanted nothing to do with Tommy Lee Jones, who was playing him, until shortly before shooting began in Butcher Holler. Jones rented a Jeep, got drunk on moonshine and went tearing through the town in the vehicle, only to get arrested for drunk driving, beat up for resisting arrest and jailed. Doolittle liked him immediately after that.
  
  
• Although Loretta Lynn handpicked Sissy Spacek to portray her on screen, the first director of the film was against the casting, feeling that Spacek didn't have enough of a resemblance to Lynn. Universal Pictures felt otherwise, bought out the director's contract and hired Michael Apted to direct.
  
  
• Loretta Lynn was named after actress Loretta Young, whom her mother thought looked pretty.
  
  
• When Sissy Spacek was Grammy-nominated in the Best Country Vocal Performance category for her rendition of the title song, her character (Loretta Lynn)'s sister, Crystal Gayle' was nominated in the same category for her, "If You Ever Change Your Mind." Both ladies lost out to Anne Murray's, "Could I Have This Dance?".
  
  
• The set used for Loretta Lynn's parent's home was reassembled at Hurricane Mills, Loretta Lynn's current home, and is on the Hurricane Mills ranch tour.
  
  
• Sissy Spacek's Best Actress Oscar win for playing singer Loretta Lynn created a rarity in the Academy's history in that the real-life Loretta Lynn was in the audience witnessing the victory. That same evening (March 31, 1981) boxer Jake LaMotta was in the pavilion audience when Robert De Niro won the Best Actor statuette for his portrayal of LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), making the event even more rare.
  
  

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