Route 66: Thursday Inspiration

Written for Thursday Inspiration #315 –
“Route 66”. Here’s my response.

For this week’s Thursday Inspiration, Jim Adams asks us to respond to the challenge by using the prompt word ‘miles’, referring to the song “Route 66”, by Bobby Troup (or another singer who covered the song), a song that mentions a road or a highway, a song that makes you think about traveling around the USA, or whatever we think fits. This week I’m writing about the TV show “Route 66”.

Top: George Maharis; Bottom: Martin Milner
© TV Guide

Even though I was only 9 years old when the show premiered, I got it. I loved that show, the storylines, the gritty B&W episodes, the theme music, and had a huge crush on co-star George Maharis. He was my first celebrity crush …. even before Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare) or The Beatles. In 1962, when I learned that George Maharis had released an album called George Maharis Sings! with the song “Route 66” on it, I couldn’t get to the store fast enough. I scraped my allowance together and my mother drove me to Belmont Records to secure my copy. That was the first album I ever bought with my own money. I wore that record out singing along with George Maharis every day.

The popular television show starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles, a recent college graduate with no future prospects, and George Maharis as Buz Murdock, a friend and former employee of Tod’s father. Buz exited the series near the end of the second season after contracting “echovirus”. Maharis was in fact battling infectious hepatitis in real life. Buz returned for the beginning of season three, had his final appearance in a January 1963 episode, was written out of the show, and was never referenced again. If only it were that easy in real life!

The two young adventurers drove the road in their Chevy Corvette for 116 episodes which aired over four seasons, from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It was shown entirely in B&W, and ran on Friday nights on CBS TV.

In 1963, Glenn Corbett joined the series, playing the part of Linc Case, a recently discharged Vietnam veteran who followed Tod on his travels and stayed with the show until the final episode.

Despite the name of the series, most episodes did NOT take place on the historic road, but in 25 different U.S. states, all on location. TV viewers were treated to episodes filmed in Carson City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Santa Fe, Reno, Tucson, Dallas and many more locales. A variety of sites was used for filming, such as an offshore oil rig, shrimp boats, a logging camp, an old ferry, Riverside Raceway and the Glen Canyon Dam, none of which were on Route 66!

A long list of well-known actors and actresses appeared on the series, including Ed Asner, Peter Lorre, Barbara Eden, Jack Lord, Cloris Leachman, Tuesday Weld, William Shatner, Joan Crawford, Julie Newmar, Martin Sheen, James Caan, Lee Marvin and dozens more.

The TV series featured an instrumental theme song, written by Nelson Riddle.