As of November 16 2022, with the death of Robert Clary, Kenneth Washington is the last remaining main cast member still alive.
As "Hogan's Heroes" (1967) was unceremoniously canceled in 1971, this was the series' final episode that aired, although not the last one that was filmed. No official finale episode was shot or aired, so the fates of the main characters were never resolved. The real-life STALAG XIII-C was a prisoner-of-war camp located in Hammelburg, Bavaria, the same area as the fictional Luft-STALAG 13 of the series, but other than the name and location, the two bore no resemblance to each other. STALAG XIII-C was liberated by Combat Command B of the U.S. 14th Armored Division on 6 April 1945. Task force Baum reached STALAG XIII-C in March, but was not able to get back to American lines. Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on 8 May 1945.
Last show of the series. CBS chairman Fred Silverman had the show canceled, even though it was still popular in the Nielsen ratings, as part of what came to be known as The Rural Purge when he canceled all shows he felt only appealed to older audiences or to audiences that lived in rural areas. Advertisers preferred younger and more urban audiences as they were more likely to buy their products.
This was the second series finale that Marlyn Mason guest starred in. She was also in the Perry Mason (1957) finale, The Case of the Final Fade-Out (1966).
Although Marlyn Mason's character has the same name, Lily Frankel, used in her previous appearance, Six Lessons from Madame LaGrange (1970), it is clear that Frankel and Hogan do not know each other here, and therefore this episode occurs earlier in time than Six Lessons from Madame LaGrange (1970).