Besides Salinger, Houghton could also be compared to Harper Lee.
Most of the time when scenes at Nervosa are shot only in the back corner of the cafe, or in this case on the little front porch, indicates that a larger set, which is not Frasier's home or the radio station, was used. In this case it's the bar where Ted and Martin meet that takes up all the extra studio space.
Robert Prosky (T. H. Houghton) previously appeared on an episode of "Cheers" titled "Daddy's Little Middle-Aged Girl" (S11E10), as Rebecca Howe's father, Navy Captain Frederick Howe.
The idea of an author who wrote one legendary novel and then became a recluse, never publishing again, may be partly based on J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye.
In an attempt to impress author T.H. Houghton (Robert Prosky), Niles (David Hyde Pierce) tells the tale of Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees to finance the popular 20's musical, No No Nannette. This is in fact a sports "urban legend" and had been factually debunked in several works.