The pianist who played the well known piano portion of the "Peter Gunn Theme" was future film composer John Williams. Henry Mancini later said that whenever he heard John Williams' name, he would immediately think of the "Peter Gunn Theme" before any of the other iconic music that Williams wrote.
Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini would later go on to create "The Pink Panther" franchise from 1963-2009.
Associate producer Byron Kane portrayed Barney, the bartender. He was never credited for playing this role.
This was one of the first television shows to have its own original score, and it was the first to feature modern jazz for a soundtrack. Previously, producers used generic music scores that were used in many television productions. RCA released an album of music from this show featuring the title song and other pieces. It reached number one on the Billboard chart, stayed there ten weeks, and stayed on the list for the next two years. It was so successful, that RCA put together a sequel. Henry Mancini received an Emmy nomination for the theme, and won two Grammys for the album.
Reached number seventeen in the Nielsen ratings for the 1958 to 1959 season.