The character of Smiley Rogers is played by actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter Timmie Rogers. Timmie Rogers got his start in vaudeville and was a pioneer in (Black) comedy, and never wore blackface (while most African-American comedians wore blackface back then) and he was also the first African-American to wear a tuxedo during his routine, something that was also rare for the era. As a singer he would accompany himself with a 10-string tiple, which is a steel stringed instrument in the guitar family and sounds similar to a ukulele. Rogers plays the Martin tiple in this episode, in his duet of "'Tis Autumn" with Redd Foxx.