McMurtree took some literary license with the story of Judge Roy Bean. In real life, Bean lived to the age of 77 and died in his sleep after a night of heavy drinking in 1903. It is not well known, but Bean's older brother Joshua was the first mayor of San Diego, California.
Judge Roy Bean lived a colorful life in which he encountered such luminaries as Jay Gould, Lily Langtry and Bob Fitzsimmons. He died in bed of natural causes in 1903 at the age of 78.
Judge Roy Bean was infatuated with Lily Langtry (1853 - 1929) and named his saloon (The Jersey Lily) after her. When Call and Famous Shoes depart, Bean is reading a newspaper with a headline about Langtry.
This 5-hour (including commercials) miniseries was originally broadcast in two parts of 3 hours and 2 hours. When it was released on DVD in 2010, it was restructured into three parts of approximately equal length.