Alton Benes, played by Lawrence Tierney, was originally going to be a recurring character like Jerry's and George's parents. But Tierney's notorious volatility terrified the cast and crew and they did not want him back. According to the producers, Tierney took a knife from the set and hid it under his jacket. When Jerry Seinfeld asked him about it, Tierney pulled the knife and proceeded to imitate the famous shower scene and score from Psycho (1960). Unsurprisingly, Tierney would go on to play tough guy Joe Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992).
The character of Alton Benes is based on novelist Richard Yates (author of 'Revolutionary Road' (1961), basis for movie of same name made in 2008), whose daughter Monica once dated Larry David.
The plot of this episode was completely based on the writer's experience.
The running gag of George (Jason Alexander) attempting to restrain Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) by pulling on his sleeve is introduced in this episode.
Lawrence Tierney plays Elaine's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) father Alton Benes. Lawrence was known for his bad-guy roles in films during the 1940s and 1950s, such as Dillinger (1945) and The Hoodlum (1951). Tierney's appearance in the episode is one of his only comedic roles. Cast and crew members were very impressed with Tierney's performance, and intended to make Alton Benes a recurring character. However, they were frightened of him; during filming it was discovered that Tierney had stolen a butcher knife from the knife block in the Jerry's apartment set. Various cast members remember Jerry Seinfeld encountering Tierney and stating, "Hey, Lawrence, what do you got there in your jacket?" Tierney, realizing he had been caught, tried to make a joke about how he thought taking the knife would be funny, by reenacting a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), holding the knife above his head and making threatening motions towards Seinfeld. Tom Cherones, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus saw this happen, and, as Alexander recalled, it "scared the living crap out of all of us." Cherones stated that, afterwards, Larry David would jokingly threaten to have Tierney back on the show if he did his work badly.