Trivia

A promo of the show featuring Dan O'Herlihy was broadcast during an afternoon repeat of Papa a raison (1954) on November 22, 1963, and played after the announcement of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It came on after the announcement because ABC did not have their news studio prepared (CBS News was also caught unprepared), so they continued showing commercial television until the news studio was fully operational. The promo remains preserved on ABC's master tape of the broadcast.

When Kurt Russell discovered it was Charles Bronson's birthday while doing the show, he gave him a birthday gift which was a remote control airplane, Bronson took the gift and left without a word, leaving Russell worried that he had upset him. Later, Bronson called Russell to his dressing room and quietly said he had never received a birthday gift before. Bronson grew up very poor, with 14 siblings, and worked in mines from a young age, never completing school or experiencing much kindness. Bronson was touched by Russell's gesture, he later gifted Russell a skateboard for his birthday, and they became lifelong friends.

The novel of the same title, upon which the series is based, won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

The Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay) were just starting to become known, as they were also appearing on Andy Williams' TV variety show concurrently. This was just before brother Donny joined the act. Although this show only lasted two years, The Osmond Brothers continued on Andy Williams' show until it ended in 1971 and they became international music stars.