Inspiration
Inspiration can from from anywhere. I suspect it comes more from sources one isn't considering than one is at any given time. I watched a LOT of tv when I was younger. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was and is one of my favorites. Because of this, it's likely that when I needed a grumpy sidekick for Lucco, Ed Asner was somehow in my head. As for the body type, I don't know why Villechaize was in there but he must have been. Hadn't realized his part in this until I was re-watching "Man With the Golden Gun" the other day. So there you go.