After purchasing the rights to the book the film was based on, Lucille Ball became very close to the Beardsleys and even treated the whole family to a vacation at Disneyland.
Tim Matheson and Jennifer Leak, who played the eldest children, met while filming the movie and dated for one year. They married on September 28, 1968 but divorced in 1971.
Helen and Frank met a little differently than in the movie. In her book, "Who Gets The Drumstick?"after Helen moved to San Francisco, she wanted to honor her dead husband's wishes by enrolling her children in parochial school. She finally found a school run by a nun, Mother Superior Sister Mary Eleanor. As she was enrolling her children in the school, Helen told Sister Mary that she was a widow with eight children. Sister Mary then confided to Helen that she has a brother with ten children who recently lost his wife to complications from diabetes. Helen asked Sister for Frank Beardsley's address and she sent Frank a copy of a prayer that she clipped out which gave comfort on dealing with a loss of a spouse.
Encouraged by her brother and sister, Helen went on a batch of unsuccessful blind dates. When a friend's husband died, Helen wanted to send her a copy of the prayer that she sent Frank. She wrote to Frank asking for a copy of the prayer. Frank sent it back and a correspondence immediately began between Helen and Frank which finally led to another blind date. This time sparks flew between them.
The wedding invitation used in the movie is the actual wedding invitation designed by Frank Beardsley, husband of the real Helen Eileen Beardsley. The children's names are listed in their real-life birth order.
The real Helen and Frank Beardsley had two children following their marriage: Joseph John and Helen Monica.