A heart line of the nation is Route 66, thru the southwest from Chicago to Los Angeles, and that is the title of the new CBS-TV one hour series for the cross-country adventures of Marty Milner and George Maharis. It will be seen in Chicago on channel 2 starting Sept. 30.
There is as much excitement on this road for the youthful pair traveling in their trim convertible as there was for the wagon train pioneers of a century ago. No Indians, but plenty of swindlers, oddballs, and pretty girls.
Milner plays a lad raised in wealth and Maharis one from a poor background. They are looking for a place to settle down. As this series is scheduled for a full season--and several seasons, Milner hopes--it is evident they are not going to find a community in which to stay put.
"This is the first series in which I've starred," Marty said, "and we think it has a good chance of success. There is great variety in the scripts and situations, and we don't try to beat one idea to death by repitition."
"George and I have romances, but neither of us ties up with a girl. After all, the car in which we are riding is a two-seater so we have no room to tote a steady girl friend from one town to another."
The series is filmed on location--in oil fields, stockyards, canyons, and on water fronts and the Great Lakes. The latter sites are, of course, some distance from route 66, but the great highway is a connecting thread in the episodes.
Milner has been on more than 150 television shows and scored in films including "Sweet Smell of Success" and "Marjorie Morningstar." His wife is Judy Jones, who retired from acting and singing after their marriage in February 1957. They have a daughter, Amy, 2.