George Maharis, starul „Route 66”, a murit la 94 de ani

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

“George is well known for his stardom in Calea 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 Ceasul mortii și The Zoo Story. After early appearances in a roster of TV series including The Philco Television Playhouse, sitcoms Mister Peepers și Spectacolul Phil Silvers, and the crime drama Oraș gol, Maharis debuted as Buz Murdock in the aforementioned Calea 66 opposite Martin Milner (pre-Adam-12). The series featured the pair as friends who travel the country in a Corvette in search of adventure.

In 1962, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead) for Calea 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 Calea 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 și Happening, before landing another regularly scheduled role on the 1970 series The Most Deadly Game. The drama ran for 13 episodes.

Throughout the remaining course of his career, Maharis appeared as a guest star in TV series like Galerie de noapte, Cade’s Country, Centrul medical, Cannon, Mission: Impossible, Barnaby Jones, Regina Ellery, Femeia bionică, Police Story și Fantasy Island. He was also the second centerfold in the magazine Playgirl în 1973.

His final credit was in the 1993 film Dublura.