This TV special marked the first filmed appearance by superstar Marion Davies since she had retired from the screen in 1937. It also marked her final filmed appearance although she did attend the inauguration of family friend John F. Kennedy in January 1961. Looking fabulous yet very frail, Miss Davies was fighting cancer when she appeared on this show. She died September 22, 1961.
Lucille Ball was preparing for a TV variety show to be broadcast on Christmas Day 1959 as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958), the same anthology series that would present the very last The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957) session just four months later, bringing the end to an era. In return for this appearance, Hedda Hopper made a brief appearance as herself in the show, titled The Desilu Revue (1959).
Jody McCrea says he's working with his father Joel McCrea on a series called Wichita Town (1959). Unfortunately for the father and son, the series was canceled after just one season.
The show assumes that viewers know who he is on sight, so Gary Cooper does not introduce himself, nor does Hedda Hopper's voice-over.
Gary Cooper ends his segment with his trademark "yep" something he memorably did in It's a Great Feeling (1949).