Star John Rockwell was dumbfounded when he received his Superman costume, which was gray and brown. He was told that since the pilot was to be filmed in black and white, the gray and brown costume would read better on-screen than the traditional red and blue Superman outfit.
This pilot was filmed after the death of George Reeves, who had already agreed to do another season of Adventures of Superman (1952).
This pilot is an adaptation of the story "The Saddest Boy in Smallville," which was published in issue 88 of Superboy comics, cover date April 1961. The story was written by Leo Dorfman and illustrated by George Papp.
Although only the pilot was made, 12 additional episodes were written. The screenplays for which are included in the book, "Superboy and Superpup: the Lost Pilots".
True Ellison's debut.