Route 66 Intro

[mrstevehartman]

Wheres 1 Adam 12 ??

[dokokai]

@cutandpaste1 You make a good point except for forgetting one fact~ TV was still a fairly new medium at the time this show was on & they were creating the hour long drama genre with shows like Route 66. Over a decade passed by the time MASH aired & show creators, writers, etc had time to develop & refine their craft by the time shows like MASH were on. They just got better at what they did. Surely you are better at your job now than you were 15yrs ago. Cut this era of show some slack. Great chat

[dokokai]

@cutandpaste1 Calm down... they only had an hour each week to tell the story. Character development has to happen fast. Even today if you watch a show like Law & Order & it's spinoffs, they go from crime to investigation to trial & closure in an hour also. You know in reality, that process can take months or years to wrap up. It's the story and writing that counts, not the natural length of time it takes for events to unfold.

[polemeros]

beautiful fella. great show. I watched it faithfully when I was a kid.

[YehiaYMishriki]

Brings back memories; good memories.

[mrstevehartman]

Well, it used to be easy to get a job !

[903davesharonpoky]

One of my all time favorite tv shows. MASH and the Fugitive are the other two dramas I love. Hope for a complete dvd box set of the series.

[bionicledude567]

this show was a bit weird... i mean, two guys chasing after a half-naked woman in a blast area? LMAO! still like it tho

[kennnmoran1]

The car is sliding around on ice!

[RQVOutdoorMoovies]

I never got to see this originnally, so, watching the 5 days a week reruns several years ago was a treat. I plan to purchase the DVD series when I can. A few years ago, Martin milner appeared on my publiuc access TV series (SEE: route 66 festival with martin milner)...he was so kind and a joy to be around. I knew him better from ADAM 12. Watching ROUTE 66 is like taking a road trip, you never know where you'll wind up. Great concept!

[elodionocesa]

that's the guy from psycho!!!

[midmodgal]

@elodionocesa Nah, it's a guy named Martin Milner. He shows up in 60's and 70's tv shows and it's always "Hey, that's that guy from "Route 66"

[hirschbichl6]

A young Steven Hill of Law & Order in a supporting role.

[willowthewhispful]

I wish they'd show this on TV again.

[hammerogod]

Some really great drama, writing and acting.

One of the best TV shows ever.

And all wrapped up in that Corvette (the real star of the show back then).

[chicodkid]

I remember this show. On my bucket list is renting a Corvette & driving the entire Route 66.

[00000stephen]

Did you see him use his legs to get up. 60s tv fail.

[StephenB58]

I used to love this show. I'd forgotten this car. I do remember the '63 or '64 they used later. How long did this show last?

[tonybklyn]

LOL: 2:12 Was he hitting on him?

[lightlyone]

They were on and off hwy 66 with film crew and semi truck rolling production center, first of its kind. Prime time sunday show.

[lennhart]

This series was a huge influence. It captured the existentialist mystique that is --or was --at the very heart of the American experience. In those days, we believed that we could shape our own destinies. Several American tragedies intervened --Viet Nam, the murder of JFK, the cover-up that followed, Viet Nam, Watergate and the 'beat' goes on ...and on ...and on...and on! Meantime --TV shows like this disappeared because ASSHOLES like Rupert Murdoch and FOX want to brainwash us. Fuck 'em!

[dokokai]

@lennhart You're absolutely spot on.... however, not only did these types of TV shows disappear, but the actual opportunity to do what they represented went away too. The idea that this country was wide open to explore different lifestyles such as these two seekers are doing here. Now it's a corporate, sterile, soulless, generic regurgitation of those ideas... sold back to us in big box stores and chain restaurants. To hell with that!!

[e22378]

reminds me of the supernatural premise

[brizpeg47]

Great show! Perfect mix of writer.stars.concept, and theme music. It epitomised the wanderlust experienced by most of us in the 60s. Some of the dialogue was almost lyrical. Thank you

[cudaj2]

@brizpeg47 I was born to late to experience the Golden Age of American TV. I did not even know this series existed until I found some episodes on a movie site. I do recognize Mr. Milner from Adam-12 which was a great series in it's own right but Route 66 seems like one of those VERY rare series that accurately captures the times and aurora of the US as it was happening. It's "relevancy" so to speak. The only US series in recent memory for me to do that has been Twin Peaks. Oh for a time machine!

[Notebookwriter1]

@cudaj2 : IMO, the golden age of TV is from the late 90s to now. So many great serial dramas out there. I suggest you watch The Wire.

[doggsector]

Excellent show. I remember some of the episodes when I was a kid. My parents used to watch this but I don't remember the show. I hear they have seasons 1-3 on DVD. Maybe I will pick them up. I always liked both of these actors. Maharis was interviewed recently and said that he had never watched the show until it came out on DVD and said he really got along well with Martin Milner and loved doing the show.

[gcmc2]

Here's Steven Hill as a boy. We'd later see him most notably as the first head of the Mission impossible team and much later as Adam. the crusty old District attorney in Law and order.

[nuipret]

i'm english and 62 years old, but man i was brought up on a diet of whirlybirds, highway patrol,the cisco kid, cheyenne,circus boy,etc etc etc. i LOVED the tv in those days. we had our own shows too, but the good old american programmes were the best of all.

it brings back great memories just to see and hear the intros to these shows.

thanks to (and for ) the usa and the best tv in the world, before or since.

[gcmc2]

@nuipret Yes, second that. I was a kid in Scotland and we dodn't get TV until 1959. Whirlybirds was a huge favorite of mine. Also 77 Sunset strip, Overland trail, Laramie, Maverick etc. etc. etc. ( struggling to remember them all these days )

[strayvideo]

Good Lord, I am sick to death of all the whining! Today's kids are all on drugs & etcetera? The fact is, drug abuse is less than it was the 1970's. Shows were better then? Clearly you've forgotten some of the stinkers of the day. Remember Mr. Ed? Yes, Route 66 was a great show, and I used to love to watch it too- but to say everything back then was great and today is crap is just sad. And yes, I've had my AARP card for 10 years. You guys are my age-don't just grow old, grow up!

[gcmc2]

@strayvideo If U think that hard drug use was higher in the 70s U are seriously deluded. It is the type of drugs that ( mostly ) young folk are using these days that is the issue. Non specific statistics as U present them don't account for the fact that the great majority of drug users back then were pot smokers. If U were better informed U'd also know that the majority outgrew the habit. I'm afraid it's U who needs to grow up on the drug issue.

[jeff1969z]

Does anybody know when season 4 will be released on dvd? I got the first 3 seasons!

[Whatever4690]

When i was having a hard time in a shitty job this series somehow comforted me,and that was in 1990.

Guess the dream of just getting in a car and just driving away from it all really appealed to me,it was a well made classic and i loved the music.

[jamocha101]

This show actually inspired David Morell to become an author...Just goes to show what good the classics brought to us.

Now TV is clogged up with anime and dirty sexual interactions.

[Gnomon914]

Which came first.... the savage morons or the toilet-type television programs? It's academic, but we do need more shows like Route 66

[utubemusiccritic]

Very compelling. Excellent script and acting. Anybody recall that Steven Hill had the lead role in Mission Impossible? I think he had it before Peter Graves.

[1rickmar]

Marcyrick1

I was 22 years old when that series came on the air on Friday nights, and life as depicted in that series was just the way it really was! I loved the theme music, Martin Milner and George Maharis, and every episode. Also, every single show had a moral to the story -- you sure don't ever see that anymore on TV.

Route 66 will always be my favorite TV series. I just loved the way life was back then, truly American. Just loved those two guys and music.

[82abnoff]

Just Nice.

[sporran564]

All those people fawning over George Maharis probably had no clue that he was gay.

[donwert]

I used to love this show! I was 12-13 when it was on, living in a rural area that I thought was soooo boring. The idea of not being in school and driving around the

country with my best friend in a Corvette----man, I thought was so cool!

[JubalCalif]

How cool to see Steven Hill at such a young age...one very handsome fella! Loved him as the head DA on the original "Law & Order" show.  A gifted actor. This was one intelligent, well written & well cast show. Gotta love any show that has a character named "Smudge"! THANKS for posting this fascinating clip! :)

[ilovemartinmilner]

"Everybody here is paid in full" They sure are.

[htrrz]

I remember seeing this show when I was around 8 years old, the shows always had point to them like many of the time, what we used to call a moral, now tv is all violence, and sex jokes, tv tried to remake this show in the 90's, but they forgot it was all about the moral, not the car.

[spactick]

This was such a great show. I wish they'd show it as re-runs. I understand that the present owners of the show don't want to have it run on TV. I don't get it. It was wonderful. One of my favorites from childhood.

[guyNbluejeans]

Now days it seems like angry blacks have taken over the newspapers and TV programs. Everywhere you turn there seems to be another angry black giving an ear full about how rotten and racist Caucasians supposedly are. I've reached the point where I just simply tell people that this black/Caucasian thing is nice in some idealistic fantasy, but not in an actual reality. Every day I turn on the news and there's another Caucasian that's been raped or beaten or murdered or car-jacked or some other...

[ShandonOhio]

@guyNbluejeans

give it a break.  you are an idiot. just sterotyping. didnt you watch Julia?

[guyNbluejeans]

@ShandonOhio Give what a break, the truth?

[TheHauptsturmfuhrer]

This is life,the way we want to try to recall it now

not exactly,how it was,but what TV would allow

This is how we thought we honestly should be,

just a decade or two after the invention of TV

These were much better times,it's true,

things aren't better because there new

Now our TV's are full of crime and perversity,

thanks to Forced integration and diversity

[teendude16]

@TheHauptsturmfuhrer , I agree fully, thats why politicans are all crooks, crime driven and full of SHIT. Thx.

[mobydoug]

Fascinating opening scene. Here was a show with a social conscience.....actually trying to engage with serious social problems. How many other TV shows from the era dared deal with the anger and frustration of wounded Korean War vets? It presages the anger of Viet vets in the war to come, and looks back to groundbreaking movies like Kazan's The Men, starring Brando, about paralyzed WWII vets. Most of the population prefers to forget warehoused wounded vets of Nam...or Iraq and Afghanistan.

[RQVOutdoorMoovies]

This series was so cool, but, I didn't get to see it on it's original run. If you type into search: route 66 festival part 1, you'll see an interview with Martin Milner I lucked into few years ago. your clip was very appreciated. i liked how each intro was different. Thanks for posting.

[dorothydanridge]

Stiles, Buzz, Smudge

[joncates2838]

we watched every episode.

[ftsjr]

I was just a child when this show was originally on, so I didn't see it then. I did see a number of episodes when it was on TV Land. I got hooked on it. I wish some station would re-run this series again.

[japanime87]

I really wish they would have run that guy over

[ilovemartinmilner]

Could Tod be any cooler? I don't think so.

[QueensLadyDay]

What was the name of this episode?

[nkarnok]

Steven Hill, the former DA from Law & Order!

[jerseyoldschool]

Wow! I'd like to see the rest of this episode! It's sad that classic old school shows like this are not shown on TV Land or elsewhere.

[nodlon20]

My sister had a big "crush" on George Maharis. We couldn't even go grocery shopping on Friday nights she would drive my poor mother crazy, "hurry up we got to get home in time to see Route 66!!" LOL!

[PJCoan]

Is that the VA hospital in Long Beach, CA?

[MrClassicredbird]

@PJCoan  Yes.

[FarrarMax]

If you drive the section of Historic Route 66 in Arizona between Seligman and Kingman you see beautiful scenery, interesting retro stores and gas stations, and half a dozen sets of "new" Burma Shave signs!!

[casquetero666]

George Maharis singing show went to Argentina and Uruguay in the 60s.

I was able to see on tv his arrival on the corvette.

I love that show,there are a lot of copies around to buy ,also some are original on dvd

[jadesystem]

I've never seen this series ever !! Yet was born in the late 50s. lt looks like a great TV series with the acting, B&W screen, soundtrack, and background theme. It reminds me of the original Twilight Zone with Rod Serling back at this time. It also

reminds me of "HIghway to Heaven" TV series in the 80s.

[hulaqte]

takes me back....sigh....

[Lindylou1947]

I was lucky enough to get to see Martin Milner and George Maharis when they filmed 3 episodes in Philadelphia. The Thin Red Line was my favorite. My mother worked for the permits department for the city, so I knew where they were filming. I have the series on DVD and watch when I can. It is amazing to see your city on tv back from the 60's. Of course the only thing I recognize now is the Ben Franklin Bridge. It was a great show.

[MarthaMartian]

My dad was an extra along with his business partner in a scene from an episode filmed in Minneapolis during the Aquatennial. It was entitled "Where are the Sounds of Celli Brahms?" (1963) He was proud of that. During a bar scene.

[kmillard]

So just how were 2 jobless guys able to afford a new Corvette anyway?????

[jennifersman]

I think Milner's character inherited it from his Dad, plus gas was a lot cheaper

[FloyedRose335]

Milner's dad gives it to him just before he died. Watch the first episode everything will be pretty clear. Plus you couldn't have a show like this without a cool car.

[VIVAELLCHEE1967]

Milners dad gave it to him before he passed away. they would travel across RT66 and would get jobs along the way. Milner was bound for an ivy league school and decided that he wasnt ready for that. Then he decided to travel and brought his best friend along. Rt 66 was on the heels of Jack Kerouac "On The Road." EVerybody wanna to take off and travel. REad the book. One of the best books ever written.

[doglips1958]

@kmillard They were gigolos!!New girls in every town.They'd take care of 70 year old women for eats and gas money,and the occasional penicillin shot!!LOL

[duckman531]

Two drifters roaming the west? Isn't this how Dick Wilson and Perry Smith got their start?

[theprophet20]

Does anyone else think that George Maharis as he appeared here, bears a striking resemblance to Eric McCormack of Will and Grace?

[SaySumtin90]

i do!! lol

[BillyAlabama]

I agree with you!

[mortygwhiz]

I worked at that VA medical center for ten years. It's on seventh street in Long Beach, Ca. They have one of the major Spinal Cord Injury treatment centers in the world. The pool they talk about is filled in. It was outdoors. They have indoor therapy pools now.There is also a large research program investigating treatment for many different diseases. I only clidked here to hear the theme song but was surprised to see old place of employment.

[grainofsandfan]

Most of the movie moguls were or had been Orthodox Jews. They worked.

[slappy6817]

Wasn't John Milner also on "Adam 12"?

[Correllbil]

Martin Milner was on Adam 12.

[bootsiebanty]

John Milner was the hotrodder on American Grafitti.

[garyowen4ever]

todays kids are savage morons punked out on booze dope sex,,,,,thats why today's tv is a toilet,,,catering to the mentality of toilet fish.

[whazzuphere]

Spoken like a true, old buzzard. LOL!!

[garyowen4ever]

an old lion with a very bad temper and sharp teeth.

[suspekt29]

@garyowen4ever Damn Gary, tell us how you really feel.

[ModGirl1967]

@garyowen4ever Toilet fish! :D :D :D

[Camohat100]

@garyowen4ever screw you, you sad bitter old person

[burrfscott]

This was one of the best shows on television at that time,perhaps it was the best. The casting of Milner and Maharis was gold. The writing was great as always, Sterling Seliphant. You cant get

much better,and the storys every week were strong. The show if done right may go today.

[estelle715]

I was just a girl when this series was 1st on. To this day there is nothing more I like to do then "hit the open road", Notice there are no RV's or motorhomes shown. These cars wd be museum pieces now.Sometimes I wished I was back there in those days!

[jonathanbirchley]

I wish too. They were wonderful days to be growing up in and we were so lucky. Rte 66 was a great series, great freewheeling title music and great stories. Some time after the old US highway was downgraded, they was a wonderful TV documentary. You could imagine Todd and Buzz coming round the corner in that Corvette and landing in the middle of some human drama.

[1915fas]

Your reference to RVs reminds me of Lost in America with Albert Brooks and whatshername? They were trying to rediscover America and themselves after quitting jobs they didn't like anymore. They drive from California out to Vegas to renew their vows and procede from there.

[frankbehr]

There is something great about driving along rt. 66. When in New Mexico I get off of I-40 and drive for as long as I can on 66 there is so much to see

[sfbscb]

I was a huge "Route 66" fan back in the day. Watched "24" last night .Todd Stiles reminds me of Jack Bauer for some reason.

[bonnellrock]

this was a real cool show! Back in the day the show came to my neck of the woods and filmed a show at the famous Poland Spring Inn in Maine.  Joan Crawford was in the show as well. And by the way Poland Spring Inn was not on rt 66 but is on rt 26 hahahha.

Loved the show!! Cool cars!!!

[jbhuntsucks]

they still remade in the 00s - the show is called "supernatural" think about it - the premise is exactly the same. Also, if you think about it, scooby doo also had the same premise

[pisces300]

sure-"Supernatural" is this show with the X-files and the Hardy Boys thrown in (but somehow it still works as a good show )

[AshburnStadium]

That would re-establish Route 66 as a U.S. route as well as preserve it from further destruction.

It could also open it up for funding to restore parts of the still-existing highway that have been allowed to deteriorate since it was bypassed by about 4 or 5 different Interstate highways.

[meteors33]

Isn't Matt, Goober from the Andy of Mayberry ???

[dlsofsetx]

Another great show ignored in syndication.BTW,have you ever noticed George maharis looks sort of like George Hamilton's evil twin?

[toothache43]

No, but I noticed he looks suspiciouly like Jack Kerouac.

[dlsofsetx]

I don't know what Kerouac looked like,however that would be appropriate.

[toothache43]

It would be if he had sold the TV rights to ON The Road.He refused.

[dlsofsetx]

Route 66 was obviously insp8ired by that book.Kerouac missed making a fortune.

[AshburnStadium]

From a book I read about US 66, Kerouac hated the TV show.

Too bad we can't get an act of Congress which would recommission US 66 and designate it as a "National Heritage Corridor".

[dlsofsetx]

I like the idea of a National Heritage Corridor.

[1959AverellHarriman]

The '80s were the best. My generation got ALL of it in the BEST reruns. I remember at one point in 1987, every night I could see Donna Reed, Patty Duke, Route 66, The Fugitive, Ben Casey (and oddly enough--The Mod Squad). They don't show any of this stuff anymore, but I liked having it while I did ;-)

[kashka1962]

George maharis is gorgeous,i have a huge crush on him!

[art4life4me]

Steven Hill was just one of dozens of actors guesting on r66 who became well-known later. Producer Herbert B. Leonard, with his NY connections, had access to up-and-coming talents in the NYC theater scene, which is where they found Maharis. Silliphant and Leonard also knew the Hollywood scene. As a result r66 and their other show Naked City consistently featured the best new actors as well as established stars. Something like Law and Order is today. You even see old r66 guest stars there!

[MusicManKevin]

Let's not forget that Steven Hill also played Dan Briggs, the original leader in Mission Impossible during the show's first season (1966-67). He left MI because the travelling took him away from his family too often,

[recordman64]

Hill didn't leave the show for anything related to traveling...he's an Orthodox Jew (real name Solomon Krakovsky or Solomon Berg, depending on what reference book you're reading), and they cannot work before a certain hour of the day or after a certain hour. Mission: Impossible had probably the most grueling shooting schedule in history (sometimes 18-hour days!) and this didn't gibe with Hill's religion, so he quit. The role he had on Law and Order obviously met his schedule better.

[MusicManKevin]

I bought the first season of Mission Impossible on DVD and it explained why Steven left - which is the same as your explanation.

[primeralives]

Wow! Steven Hill was the sour guy in the wheelchair. How young he was as compared to the old dour DA he plays on Law & Order.

[mikekorz]

They should make this into a movie...

[art4life4me]

Much better to watch the originals. The first season has been released on dvd, and the second is coming out soon.

[art4life4me]

Anyway, George and Marty are too old, Silliphant and Leonard are dead, and the old US ain't what it used to be. I don't know if they could do it again.

[marionettehymnal]

well, the way you broke it down, i'd say that's a pretty sure 'no' on whether they could do it again.

[garrisonskunk]

They tried to remake it in the 90s with the guy who used to be in Burger King commercials and played the guy George let fall off a mountain in an episode of "Seinfeld". Wasn't very good and was cancelled after a few episodes.

[bigdog49094]

Great lines

They get to stay here free?

Nope everyone is paid in full.

[art4life4me]

"Wipe the blood off before you get in the car."

[laylacalif]

Guy in wheelchair - young Steven Hill (famed for Law & Order) among other roles.

[problem49]

I may be bound to this wheelchair, but I can still be an obnoxious asshole.

[bigdog49094]

Prolly just angry with what life handed him and wanted some respect and I guess maybe the character earned some respect.

[send2meez]

as relevant now as it was then. unfortunately, in this case.

[spacepatrolman]

the man at 3:36 is james callahan he recently died.

[recordman64]

Callahan and Hill also appeared together on The Fugitive a couple of years later, in the Fugitive episode "The White Knight".

[wingsandslicks]

'62 Corvette, note the non factory wheels, appear to be chrome reverse.