"Actors really should be tramps. They shouldn't get possessions. Look at me. I have a home in the San Fernando Valley, a wife, two daughters, a new baby son. And how often do I get home? About every three weeks!"
Martin Milner, who’s been on the road the last two years as star of CBS’ Route 66, was talking. It wasn’t a lament, for he admitted he expected to be busy when he signed for the series.
”But”, he confessed, “I didn’t think we’d travel quite as much as we have. I thought we’d shoot more in Southern California. It’s interesting, though, that the audience reaction is better when we shoot on the road. It seems the farther away we are from Hollywood, the better the ratings.”
How long does he expect to keep traveling Route 66? “I’m fully prepared to go the length of my contract—five years,” Milner answered. Can an actor stay with a series too long? “Six or seven years is too long,” he said. “I think three years is ideal. It’s a difficult decision to make, however, because if a show runs six or seven years, you could be rich at the end of that time.
”My main worry is that after a certain point you become so identified with a character and a series that you might not be able to get work when your show goes off the air. I’m not living in a dream world. I’m preparing myself in case that happens to me.”