After Joe Mantegna first voiced Fat Tony in 'Bart The Murderer' he became very protective of the character and insisted that if Tony was ever used again, they should call him and he'd drop everything to voice him. As Fat Tony only had one line in this episode, it was deemed unnecessary to trouble Mantegna so another performer filled in. When the episode aired, an irate Mantegna called the studio demanding to know why he hadn't been called in for the role. In future seasons, the writers would test Mantegna's commitment to the part by including short cameos of Fat Tony and Joe made good on his promise every time.
On the walls of the Pimento Grove restaurant, the animators placed caricatures of every single guest star who had appeared on the show up to that point, as well as pictures of the fictional celebrities of the show.
It is hinted that Troy engages in strange sexual activity. The writers initially did not know what the "unsavory" sexual preference would be, but eventually decided on a fish fetish, a suggestion from James L. Brooks, since it was "so perverted and strange, that it was over the top".
Several of the staffers have commented on how writing the Planet of the Apes (1968) parody generated a great deal of enthusiasm in the writer's room: Bill Oakley described it as "one of those rare bursts of creative brilliance. A lot of the things that people remember and love on The Simpsons were horrible late-night grinds, whereas this was just a magic visit from the joke fairy".
In a unique example, Fat Tony is played by Phil Hartman (who also voiced Troy McClure), rather than his usual voice actor Joe Mantegna.