One of the classics of 1960's TV, "Route 66", starring Martin Milner and George Maharis, captured the imagination of the hundreds of thousands of people who had memories--"good, bad and ugly"--of traveling the "Mother Road" in its prime. Bobby Troup's (former pianist with the Tommy Dorsey Band) theme song "Route 66" urged viewers to "get your kicks on Route 66."
The series, filmed on location along its length, first aired in October of 1960. Its theme was about two young men who traveled the Route in a baby-blue Corvette convertible looking for some action. They usually found it.
Guest stars included Robert Redford, Rod Steiger, Martin Sheen, and a young Robert Duvall battling a heroin habit. Other social issues the program dealt with were racism in the South and union busting in the North. One especially poignant episode involved a dying blues singer (Ethyl Waters) and her attempt to reunite her band for one last gig.
The show was canceled in September of 1964.
