Henson credits the character's name based on the personality of a "magnificently rude" restaurant owner and namesake of Oscar's Salt of the Sea which Henson and Stone frequented. Henson's office was on East 67th Street, just around the corner from Oscar's Salt of the Sea on Third Avenue. In the early 1960s, Henson and Stone often had lunch there and observed that the owner, Oscar Karp, dressed in black, looked unkempt, and had a gruff disposition.
Henson credits the character's name based on the personality of a "magnificently rude" restaurant owner and namesake of Oscar's Salt of the Sea which Henson and Stone frequented. Henson's office was on East 67th Street, just around the corner from Oscar's Salt of the Sea on Third Avenue. In the early 1960s, Henson and Stone often had lunch there and observed that the owner, Oscar Karp, dressed in black, looked unkempt, and had a gruff disposition.