Filming was begun in 1972. An answer print was struck in 1977, but the film was not released until 2003.
Comedian Patton Oswalt mentions the movie on his 2007 CD "Werewolves and Lollipops", where he does a stand-up routine on it. He even specifically tells people to look up the movie on the IMDB to verify that he wasn't joking about its existence.
Director George Barry's inspiration for Death Bed came in a dream, which the films bizarre surreal nature is attributed to.
Until its official DVD release in 2003 Death Bed had been circulated via pirated bootlegs and unbeknown to George Barry the film had gained an underground fan base. Barry said he discovered people discussing it on the Internet one evening and decided to put an official video release of the film into works.
Filmed almost entirely at the Gar Wood mansion on Keelson Island in Detroit. The mansion has long been completely demolished.