Paul Gilbert was born into a family of vaudevillians, performing with a troupe of aerialist, eventually becoming a nightclub performer, singer, and comedic dancer (see the flip pratfall in this episode). He was also, with his wife Barbara Cowan, the adopted father of Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert.
Billy Jones was Billy De Wolfe's real name. William Andrew Jones was born February 18, 1907, the son of a Welsh immigrant. The family returned to Wales for Billy's first nine years, which explains his opening his act with Welsh mining songs. De Wolfe did work the vaudeville circuit before transitioning into musical comedy films. De Wolfe died of lung cancer on March 7, 1974, age 67.
Among the many celebrities who pledge is Dick Van Dyke. This series' creators Bill Persky and Sam Denoff were writers on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961).