As stated by Dick Van Dyke in a number of televised interviews, he had been a fan of Stan Laurel since he was a kid and that once he was looking for a number in the Santa Monica phone book and by accident stumbled on a listing for Stan Laurel. He called him up and to his amazement, he found himself talking to the great man.
Laurel said how much he liked Van Dyke's show and Van Dyke confessed that he had stolen a lot of Laurel's material. In a humorous fashion, Laurel said that he was aware of this. Laurel then invited him over for a visit. After this, Van Dyke started doing Laurel impersonations and comedy bits at parties. Then, with Laurel watching from home, he did a bit on his television show. Afterwards, Laurel called him up and gave him twenty minutes of notes on how to do an even better job.
Stan Laurel died in 1965. He willed his derby to Dick Van Dyke, but someone had apparently stolen it.
Laurel said how much he liked Van Dyke's show and Van Dyke confessed that he had stolen a lot of Laurel's material. In a humorous fashion, Laurel said that he was aware of this. Laurel then invited him over for a visit. After this, Van Dyke started doing Laurel impersonations and comedy bits at parties. Then, with Laurel watching from home, he did a bit on his television show. Afterwards, Laurel called him up and gave him twenty minutes of notes on how to do an even better job.
Stan Laurel died in 1965. He willed his derby to Dick Van Dyke, but someone had apparently stolen it.
When he is introduced as the regular entertainer at Sam Pomerantz' resort, Danny Brewster (played by Lennie Weinrib) briefly does an impression of then-President John F. Kennedy. This marks one of the rare times that someone does topical humor on the show. Normally, producer Carl Reiner tried to avoid any such references or the use of contemporary slang.
The title of this episode, "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals," comes from popular theater revues called "George White's Scandals," which were featured on Broadway during the 1920s and '30s. Like this episode, George White's Scandals featured a variety of entertainment, like comedy bits, songs and dances.
According to The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book by Vince Waldron, Laurel told him that the derby hat that Van Dyke used did not match the one he used to use. He said that had Van Dyke called him, he would have lent it to him. Van Dyke was a huge Laurel and Hardy fan, so an audience with the legendary comedian was a special privilege.
When Rob turns down Laura for tennis, she says, "Well, thank you Pancho!" This is a reference to tennis pro Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González, who won thirteen Grand Slam Tournament and was ranked number one in the world in 1956.