Ty Hardin's appearance as a cowboy star is an in-joke on the show. The series had different characters, primarily Jeff, talking about going home to watch the western Bronco (1958), which starred Mr. Hardin.
Maritza is a very obvious caricature of Zsa Zsa Gabor, right down to the accent, multiple marriages, obsession with jewelry, and constantly addressing everyone as "dahling". Additionally, Nona is a parody of headstrong columnist Louella Parsons, while Holtz Von Ulrich is based on the flamboyant Austrian director Erich von Stroheim.