Obituary: George Maharis

 Actor George Maharis, 94 (!), remembered by millions as the heartthrob-plus-tough guy Buz Murdock in the classic television series of the 1960s, Route 66, has died.  He died on May 24 at his home in Beverly Hills.  He was on the series for the first three seasons, until health issues with hepatitis--not a contract dispute as rumored--forced him to leave.  Glenn Corbett, a very underrated actor, replaced Maharis in a different role but as traveling companion for Martin Milner's character, Tod Stiles.

Maharis played the hardscrabble Murdock as a contrast to the educated, affluent Tod (Milner), and together they traveled all over the United States in Tod's Corvette (several of these cars were used through the series).  Two things set Route 66 (filmed in black-and-white and basically an anthology as the stories mostly centered on the characters Buz and Tod met along the way) apart from other television shows.  One was the superior writing of the episodes, except for the last two in the series, which were total crap except for the final and memorable scene.  The scripts were way literate, almost over the average viewer's head, and often were influenced by the so-called "beat era" literature.  Second was this was one of the few if not the only series in television history to be filmed entirely on the road.  Milner transported his wife and kids with him wherever the stories took them.  Maharis and the rest of the cast  did likewise travel throughout the country.  What you saw on the show were no soundstages.  Scenes taking place in houses and restaurants were actually in those places.  One of the early episodes took place in southern Oregon, where I am currently living.  Buz and Tod drove over the historic bridge in Rogue River on their way to Grants Pass.  Another early episode took place in Reno, Nevada, where I had lived for 26 years of my life.  I had my then-landlord watch this episode (I have the complete series on DVD), which included scenes shot in the historic Mapes Hotel, which was finally demolished in 2000 after having been closed for years.  Strangely enough, few of the episodes of this series were shot on the route of the famed highway.  It didn't matter.  The series was quite popular and eventually made its way to DVD.  However, the expense of filming everything on the road took its toll, and it ended in 1964 after four seasons.  It remained popular in syndication and then in home video.

Maharis had other roles in his career, but  none as famous as Buz.

Snip:

Born in Queens to Greek parents, Maharis served in the Marine Corps, then studied at the Actors Studio and worked on off-Broadway productions and early television shows such as “Naked City,” which was co-created by Herbert B. Leonard and Stirling Silliphant, who went on to create “Route 66.”

Maharis was also a singer and released seven albums, with the single “Teach Me Tonight” charting in 1962. In the 1980s, he performed in Las Vegas and later took up painting.