This was the last comedy performance of Buster Keaton, who had been diagnosed as terminally ill and would die a few months later. Lucille Ball and Keaton were their own mutual admiration society, Lucy considering him her mentor and Keaton championing Ball's talent, even before her TV fame.
The tribute was not well-received by critics, who opined that the program felt less like a celebration of Stan Laurel's career than a promo for the new fall shows; the same critics were, however, in general agreement that Dick Van Dyke's devotion was palpable and heartfelt. Consequently Laurel and Hardy biographers tend to regard it as well-intentioned, but ultimately inconsequential. Wrapping up the season in April 1966, TV Chronicle's Neil Compton would dismiss the special as "not much of a tribute to the late comedian (who appeared briefly in a number of film clips brutally hacked out of their original context), and did not enhance the reputations of participants such as Dick Van Dyke, Lucille Ball, or Phil Silvers."
Dick Van Dyke (who was also one of the producers) reportedly complained that his vision for the Salute had itself been hacked to pieces by network corporate types. Van Dyke had delivered the eulogy and Stan Laurel's funeral. An appearance by Fred Gwynne in full Herman Munster regalia clearly had more to do with CBS (home of The Munsters (1964)) than with Laurel. A lengthy biography of Phil Silvers in the show's second half also has little to do with Laurel. On the whole, the special is a tribute to both Laurel AND Oliver Hardy, who passed away eight years earlier.
The underscoring of the Salute makes liberal use of "Dance of the Cukoos" which was Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's theme music. It was written by Marvin Hatley as the 'hour chime' for a radio station. It was first heard in Blotto (1930).