George Maharis, ‘Route 66’ Star, Dead At 94

Actor George Maharis, who rose to fame in 1960 in the action/adventure series Route 66, died Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California after contracting hepatitis. He was 94.

“George is well known for his stardom in Route 66, stage productions, singing, artist, and above all a great guy who would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you’ll be terribly missed,” wrote his friend and caretaker Marc Bahan on Facebook.

Born on September 1, 1928 in Astoria, Queens, George Maharis studied at the Actors Studio and began as an actor in off-Broadway productions of the plays Deathwatch and The Zoo Story. After early appearances in a roster of TV series including The Philco Television Playhouse, sitcoms Mister Peepers and The Phil Silvers Show, and the crime drama Naked City, Maharis debuted as Buz Murdock in the aforementioned Route 66 opposite Martin Milner (pre-am-12). The series featured the pair as friends who travel the country in a Corvette in search of adventure.

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In 1962, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead) for Route 66.

“The doctor said, ‘If you don’t get out now, you’re either going to be dead or you’re going to have permanent liver damage,’” Maharis said in an interview.

Maharis, who was also a singer, would fly to New York while filming Route 66 to work on a record he put out in 1962 for Epic Records. His song Teach Me Tonight made it to No. 25 on the Billboard charts.

He went on to appear in a number of films, including Sylvia, The Satan Bug and The Happening, before landing another regularly scheduled role on the 1970 series The Most Deadly Game. The drama ran for 13 episodes.

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Throughout the remaining course of his career, Maharis appeared as a guest star in TV series like Night Gallery, Cade’s Country, Medical Center, Cannon, Mission: Impossible, Barnaby Jones, Ellery Queen, The Bionic Woman, Police Story and Fantasy Island. He was also the second centerfold in the magazine Playgirl in 1973.

His final credit was in the 1993 film Doppelganger.