Martin Milner ("Marty" to his friends) is an actor whose career has spanned 7 decades. Though he is best known as "Officer Pete Malloy" of Adam-12 fame and "Karl Robinson" of Swiss Family Robinson fame to younger baby-boomers, or as "Tod Stiles" of Route 66 fame to older baby-boomers, Milner's career has encompassed much more than being leading man over the combined 12 years these three shows ran on television (1960-1964 for Route 66 and 1968-1975 for Adam-12 and 1975-1976 for Swiss Family Robinson).

Milner has done it all. In his teens and twenties, he acted on film sets with the likes of William Powell, Tyrone Power, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Orson Wells, Elizabeth Taylor, and Natalie Wood, to name a few. He also appeared on numerous classic television shows in the 1950s, including as a regular cast member on the popular Stu Erwin Show and The Life of Riley. Then came his three television series as he reached his thirties and forties, followed by made-for-television movies, then theatre and guest appearances on other TV series as he reached his fifties and sixties. To date, he has compiled over 410 episodes of television series appearances (most of which he starred in), 41 big screen films, 17 made-for-television films, half-a-dozen live plays (including one Broadway production), over 30 hours of celebrity television game show appearances, and numerous other public appearances in parades, on television talk shows, and in community service projects. He has even been the co-host of a radio talk show and co-host of a sport radio show dedicated to fishing.

Through it all, Milner stands out as a man dedicated first and foremost to his family -- his wife of 51 years, and his children and grandchildren. In Hollywood and beyond, Milner has left his mark admirably. But in many respects, this Hollywood star is a not-so-Hollywood kind of guy... 

"Sure, stardom is swell, but so much depends on luck and timing, things like that. Love and marriage don't depend on luck. Those you have to earn, but once earned, they're yours for life!"

 -- Martin Milner, Screen Album, October 1961

BIOGRAPHY

1931-1945: Being a Kid, Weathering a Storm...

Martin Sam Milner was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 28, 1931. He was the only child of Sam Gordon Milner, a construction worker at the time, and Mildred E. "Jerre" Milner (Martin), a dancer with the Paramount Theater circuit. While Milner recalled that he was very close to his father, he remembers his mother as the disciplinarian in the household. When he was just 6 months old, his parents moved from Detroit to Cleveland. He would live in other cities, including Denver and San Francisco, as his dad looked for work. Employment during the Great Depression was hard to find, so Martin's father (estranged from his own dad, a wealthy Texan discontent with his son's marriage) moved frequently to find work, eventually becoming an advertising space salesman for a national magazine. Martin would later refer to his childhood as "one long, violent storm" during which good-paying jobs and financial security for his father were hard to come by.

Milner would later recall the frequent moves during his childhood and the impact they made upon him, "If you move around a lot, even as I did every few years, you just have to leave your old friends and make new friends, so you get in the habit. Gee, I can remember when I was a kid, moving. While the movers would be putting the stuff in the house, I'd be wandering up the street saying 'Hi, my name is Martin Milner and we're moving in. I'd like to be your friend'" (Silver Screen, February 1963).

By the time Martin was 9, the family lived in Seattle, where he got his first job, watering lawns for an apartment house next-door to his home. He soon moved up to being a stock boy, an office boy, and a box boy in a supermarket. At the age of 10, he became enamored with studying drama and theater in elementary school. At the age of 11, he directed an abbreviated performance of "Robin Hood."  Soon afterwards, his mother enrolled him in an after-school children's theater group, the Cornish Players, and he started performing in plays at the Cornish Playhouse. By the age of 12, he had written and produced a couple of school plays and thought he had found his life's ambition in being a director. However, when he had to take over for one of his actors in an emergency, he found an even greater love for acting. The latter would prove to be an ambition which he would fulfill successfully over the course of the next seven decades.

1946-1948: From "The Schnook" to "John Day"...

Martin was 14 when the family relocated to Los Angeles, where his father was now working as a film executive for Eagle-Lion. He enrolled at North Hollywood High School. His family's financial situation had improved, so at his request, his parents acquired an acting coach to work with him after school two days a week. Next, his father got him an agent, Stuart Stewart, to help him pursue an acting career (Stewart worked with Milner for over twenty years, and Milner named his first son after him).

One of Milner's new friends in Los Angeles was the nephew of Walt Disney who would distinguish himself in creating Disney animation. Roy E. Disney recalled in an interview with Pomona College Magazine (Summer 2000) that as a youth he had shot 16mm movies of neighborhood kids. One such movie was entitled "The Schnook Who Was a Thief" and the star was none other than Martin Milner dressed as a sheik!  As to the quality of the movie, Roy said, "It was pretty stupid." But, it was probably a lot of fun for the two teenagers, and was definitely starting them both on the right career paths.

Milner had his first real screen test and landed his first film role as the second oldest son, "John Day," in the big screen production Life with Father. He appeared with lines throughout the film as he convincingly responded to one scenario after another in the red-headed household of "Clarence Day" (played by William Powell). Because of his natural red hair, Milner was the only cast member in the Day family who didn't have to get his hair dyed red. Filming took more than three months, however, and the 14-year-old's rapid growth during that span left the film's wardrobe department in fits as they tried to keep up with him. From the beginning to the end of the film (April to August 1946), Milner grew three inches (Selected Film Criticism, 1941-1950). Wardrobe was not the only department the young Milner frustrated. He himself recalled that he frequently held up production because he would be off boxing with Mushie Callahan (the ex-middle weight boxer who ran the gym at Warner Brothers studios) or playing ball between scenes. As he would later confess, "I'd sweat all my make-up off and hold up the production twenty minutes. I was a kid. I didn't have the discipline. If they'd give me two hours for lunch, I'd take off and play baseball. I'd give 'em fits, I guess" (TV Picture Life, December 1972).
Life with Father screenshots

When filming of Life with Father was completed, Milner was looking forward to returning to his school friends. Four months working on the film, as he later recalled, "was an awfully long time when you're a kid. I was very bored by the end of it and was eager to get back to school and my friends" (Photoplay Magazine, February 1973). His return to normalcy lasted briefly. Just over a week after the filming of Life with Father had ended in August 1946, 14-year-old Milner contracted polio. He later described the terror he experienced when the disease struck, "One day, I was laughing, jumping and running. The next day, I was flat on my back and wondering if I'd ever walk again. I thought the world had come to an end. I couldn't move" (TV Radio Mirror, August 1961). He remained bed-ridden, in a 3-month-long battle with the painful, crippling disease. Following an additional 6 months of intensive physical therapy, whirlpool baths, and massages (known as the "Sr. Kenny method" of treatment), he was recovered completely enough to soon learn to drive the "Model A" he earned from playing his first movie role.

He attended the opening of Life with Father in August 1947 with his mother and cast members. The film and its entire cast received rave reviews (based on its own 1947 review, the New York Times in 2004 listed the film in its book entitled New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made). By September 1947, the high school junior was at work for a week on the set of the film Wreck of the Hesperus in a minor offstage part; Hesperus opened in February 1948. A senior in the Fall 1948, he worked briefly at Samuel Goldwyn Studios on the film The Green Promise which starred 10-year-old Natalie Wood.  Milner, 16 years old at the time, had a bit part as "Joe," a teenager in the Millbrook 4-H Club giving a report on a project. Aside from bit parts in Hesperus and The Green Promise, Milner focused on his high school education, excelled at tennis and baseball, and sharpened his acting skills as he finished his high school studies.

1949-1951: College, Golf, and Gin Rummy...

In the Spring of 1949, Milner graduated from North Hollywood High School, and took some courses at junior college. In July, the filming began for Sands of Iwo Jima, in which he had landed a minor part as "Pvt. Mike McHugh." He had been offered the part in the film by John Wayne himself  when the two met while both happened to be playing golf for the first time. Milner's character arrived about half-way through the film. He had only a few lines, but the most memorable of his few scenes included a failed attempt to throw a live grenade (he dropped it on the wind-up causing everyone to rush for cover) and the scene in which he was shot and killed on the beach at Iwo Jima. Despite the brevity, it was Milner's first real performance as an adult. He later recalled lying about his age to get the part in the film, telling producer Herbert Yates he was 18 when in fact he did not turn 18 until December 28, 1949, two weeks after the film premiered in Los Angeles.
Sands of Iwo Jima screenshots

After filming for Sands of Iwo Jima ended in August, Milner enrolled in the Theater Arts program at the University of Southern California for the Fall semester of 1949. He also joined a fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa. Milner landed a minor part in Our Very Own, a film about a high school girl who found out she was adopted. Filming had started in August 1949 and continued through early October, but he managed to juggle school and acting for time being.

In January 1950, he continued his education at USC while pursuing film roles. In February, he started filming a minor role in Louisa, a romantic comedy about a dating grandma starring Ronald Reagan as her shocked son. Then, on March 23, he made his television debut as "Dick McHenry" in The Lone Ranger episode "Pay Dirt."  Louisa opened May 31.

Milner's next project was the film Halls of Montezuma, which was filmed from mid-May to mid-July 1950. It was on the set of this movie that Milner began a decades-long working relationship with future Dragnet and Adam-12 producer Jack Webb, who was also acting in the film. He managed to win $150 from Webb in a game of gin rummy, which Webb wasn't able to pay at the time. As Milner later recalled, "The end of the picture came, and Jack didn't pay up. I could have used that hundred and a half but my father said to forget it -- that Jack would never settle the debt. But a couple of months later I got a phone call. It was Jack. He said, 'Come down to NBC Radio and pick up your check.' So, I took the bus and went down to the studio where he was doing 'Dragnet' on Radio."  Webb then offered him a job on the radio series. "Because I couldn't be seen, I played old guys and middle-aged guys. One whole summer I was even Jack's police partner in the series" (TV Guide, August 4, 1973).

According to Milner in a 1975 interview, the amount Webb owed him from the card game was $200. He also provided more information about his father's advice to him at the time: "my father was worried about my going on location in a big movie. He gave me some stern advice: 'Don't fool around with girls, don't drink, and don't gamble,' he lectured. So I met a marvelous girl I fooled around with, I drank a little, and I got in pretty deep playing gin rummy with Webb and when the picture ended he owed me $200" (Boston Globe, December 1975).

Our Very Own opened in theaters on July 27, 1950. Milner enrolled in college again in the Fall, but when he landed a role in the film Operation Pacific (filmed in September-October 1950), he decided to quit school and pursue an acting career full-time. He then had but a month's rest before he got a part in Fighting Coast Guard which began filming in mid December.  

On December 23, 1950, he appeared as "Drexel Potter" (the boyfriend of Stu's oldest daughter "Joyce") on the popular comedy, The Stu Erwin Show (aka Trouble with Father), in an episode entitled "Problem Party." Over the course of the next two years, Milner would return to the show and appear as "Drexel" in several episodes before becoming a regular cast member (playing "Jimmy Clark") on the television show during the 1954-1955 season.
The Stu Erwin Show page

On January 4, 1951, Halls of Montezuma hit the box offices. Milner appeared as Private Whitney, a green soldier seeing battle for the first time. Although his lines were  limited, he  appeared frequently  throughout the film,  from beginning  to end. He distinguished  himself in two  compelling scenes. In  the first, he broke down  in tears at the death of another young soldier (played by Robert Wagner). In the second, he recited the prayer "Our Father" in response to the reading out loud (by Jack Webb) of a letter written by the recently killed doctor in the outfit (played by Karl Malden).
Halls of Montezuma screenshots

The first of two additional World War II movies for the year, Operation Pacific, opened in theaters on January 27, 1951. Milner played a young ensign aboard the submarine Thunderfish, "Mr. Caldwell" as "Captain Duke Gifford" (played by John Wayne) called him. Milner was in scenes throughout the film, including several with John Wayne alone. In one, he and Wayne were swimming to rescue a downed pilot under enemy fire.

Operation Pacific screenshots

Shortly after the opening of Operation Pacific -- on February 5, 1951 -- Milner's father died at the age of 45. Years later, he recalled that his father was disappointed when he chose to quit college and pursue acting in the Fall of 1950. "My dad was concerned (and with good reason), that this wasn't a stable business, but he needn't have worried. He died when I was 19, but I think he knew that I would never have stayed in unless I was making good money" (Photoplay Magazine, February 1973). Milner expressed regret that his father had died before he could really witness his success as an actor.

On June 1, 1951, the second World War II film for the year, Fighting Coast Guard, came out in theaters. Milner played "Al Prescott."  He spent his summer filming I Want You, in which he played "George Kress Jr.," a young man drafted into the Army for the Korean War whose father wanted to keep his son home. In late August, he began filming Belles on Their Toes, a sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen, in which he played the obnoxious college football-star suitor of "Ernestine," one of the twelve siblings in the family. In late September 1951, he started filming The Captive City in which he played "Phil Harding," a young newspaper photographer working with a reporter (played by John Forsythe) who was investigating organized crime. Milner's character was beaten up by the mob in the film, which was reflective of the actual investigations of organized crime that were underway at the time, led by Senator Estes Kefauver.

In October 1951, he starred in the television show The Bigelow Theatre in an episode entitled "T.K.O." as a boxer who was told to take a dive in a fight. Co-starring in the episode with Milner was James Dean in his first television appearance. He ended the year with another appearance as "Drexel" on The Stu Erwin Show in the episode "Jackie Knows All" on December 7. Also in the episode as "Randy," a friend of "Drexel," was James Dean in his second appearance on television.

The Captive City screenshots
Belles on Their Toes screenshots

1952-1956: Uncle Sam Calls--Wild Bill Hiccups & Leads the Life of Riley...

1952 was a busy year. My Wife's Best Friend started filming in early April and Springfield Rifle started later that month. Milner had minor parts in both films. Battle Zone and Torpedo Alley both filmed in June/July. Milner had a major role in the former, a film about a Marine motion picture unit in the Korean War, and a bit part in the latter World War II film. The Captive City was released in April and Belles on Their Toes hit theaters in May. Milner also appeared in two television episodes of the show Dragnet (which had begun airing on television in December 1951): "The Big Speech" (February 28) and "The Big Trial" (April 24). 

In the Spring, however, his acting career was somewhat derailed when he was drafted into the Army and sent to work in the Special Services Division at Fort Ord, California, located on the Monterey Bay peninsula. Over the next two years, he directed 20 military training films at the fort, which served as a training facility for basic combat and advance infantry training at the time for troops being sent over to Korea. While at Fort Ord, Milner befriended another soldier in Special Services, David Janssen, who had also begun an acting career before being drafted. The two worked on weekly variety shows and plays at the fort's Central Service Club to entertain both the troops as well as local civic groups. Milner and Janssen also spent their off-duty time together, occasionally obtaining passes to drive to Los Angeles on weekends to visit their families and do their laundry ("The David Janssen Archive").

While in the Army, Milner supplemented his military income by continuing to perform alongside "Sgt. Friday" (Jack Webb) in the radio series Dragnet. He recalled in a 2001 Route 66 Magazine interview that two radio shows were taped every other Sunday. He would travel from Fort Ord to Los Angeles and tape two shows for about $112, which was close to a whole month's pay from the military. Milner played the role of Sergeant Friday's partner, "Officer Bill Lockwood," as well as other characters on the radio series. He could convincingly portray Friday's partner on the radio show, but his baby face relegated him to "the house male juvenile delinquent" roles on the television show. As he later put it, "Jack really saved my sanity then. The Army drove me crazy and Jack knew it... Not only did the work keep me from flipping out, but I needed the money. The Army was paying me a fast $104 a month" (TV Guide, August 4, 1973).
Dragnet Radio page

CLICK ON this 1952 Westinghouse radio to listen to the "Dragnet" episode
"Big Bunco" (April 17, 1952) starring Martin Milner as "Bill Lockwood."
(Photo URL: http://www.radioatticarchives.com/radio.htm?radio=3376)

In January of 1953, Torpedo Alley and Last of the Comanches opened at theaters. Destination Gobi (which was mostly filmed in August 1952, but in which Milner had a substantial role as "Elwood Halsey") opened in March 1953 and was shown on base at Fort Ord. One of the many skits Special Services performed at the base was entitled "Wild Bill Hiccup" and featured both Milner and his buddy Janssen. It was performed on April 22, 1953, at the Central Service Club.

Playbill for "Wild Bill Hiccup" (Milner is in the center.)

In addition to their regular entertainment duties, Milner and Janssen worked on a few of their own projects together. In a letter Janssen wrote home to his mother on July 8, 1953, he described how he and Milner had recorded a "disk jockey show" from which they hoped to make some money, and planned on recording a second show. On November 11, the pair were again performing in a skit for the troops at Fort Ord and sharing master of ceremony duties for the base's Armistice Day show ("The David Janssen Archive"). 

Because of military duty, Milner was only able to act in a few off-base productions which he could complete while on leave. In June, he made his third appearance on the Dragnet television series in the episode "The Big Market."  In the early Fall of 1953, he acted in Alfred Hitchcock's film Dial M for Murder in a bit part as a policeman. He appeared at the beginning of the film, just after the intermission, and at the end for only about 10-15 seconds each time. He only had one line which came at the post- intermission appearance, telling a small group of people gathered on a street corner to move along. It was another way to keep his hand in Hollywood despite military duty, and make a few extra bucks at the same time.

In January 1954, Milner appeared in the Schlitz Playhouse of Stars episode, "Rim of Violence."  In the Spring of 1954, the Army granted him leave for six weeks to participate in director John Ford's film about West Point, The Long Gray Line, in which Jack Webb had helped him land a part. Dial M for Murder came out in theaters in May. In August, Milner made his fourth appearance on the Dragnet television show in an episode entitled "The Big Producer" in which he played a 17-year-old high school student, "Steve Banner," accused of selling pornographic materials to minors.

He continued to spend leisure time with his buddy from Fort Ord, David Janssen. On August 29, he spent a weekend with Janssen and Janssen's mother at Big Bear Lake, an alpine vacation spot near Los Angeles. On October 16, he took another Sunday off at Big Bear Lake with Janssen and his family ("The David Janssen Archive").

After his discharge from the Army, Milner returned to his acting career full-time in the Fall of 1954. Along with a bit part in the film Mister Roberts, he found more regular work as "Jimmy Clark," the boyfriend and then husband of Stu Erwin's daughter Joyce, on The Stu Erwin Show television series (aka Trouble with Father) during the show's final season (1954-1955).
The Stu Erwin Show page

By 1955, the 6-foot-tall, 180-pound 23-year-old with a freckled complexion, sandy red hair, and hazel eyes had established himself as one of Hollywood's newest young stars. He lived in an apartment in North Hollywood with his mother and step-father (his mother had married Guglielmo "Bill" Cini, a jewelry designer, in 1954). He enjoyed skiing, golf, book collecting, and book binding in his leisure time.

In 1955, he appeared in four films at box offices: The Long Gray Line (as "Jim O'Carberry"), Mister Roberts, Francis in the Navy (as Rick), and Pete Kelly's Blues (as drummer "Joey Firestone").

He had a bit part in the film Mister Roberts as a shore patrol officer who told "Mister Roberts" (Henry Fonda) that his ship's crew was no longer allowed to take shore leave for its misbehavior. For the brief appearance, Milner took center stage as he depicted a laid-back, slow-talking Alabamian who went into a lengthy tirade about the misadventures of the crew of the U.S.S. Reluctant. The film was mostly directed by John Ford (who became ill half way through) and starred William Powell (from Life with Father) in his last film. Milner would later comment about the role, "I was just out of the Army, and I was happy to have a job. I had done a movie for John Ford prior to that [The Long Gray Line], and he cast me for the role... it was a good scene, and it helped my career" (Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2001).

In Francis in the Navy, Milner co-starred with his Fort Ord Army buddy, David Janssen, and another former Fort Ord soldier, Clint Eastwood, in a not-so-serious war film that included a talking mule. Eastwood had served at Fort Ord on the faculty as a swimming instructor and lifeguard at the pool. Special Services, as Milner would later recall, encompassed both the entertainers (like Milner and Janssen) and oversight of the sports programs and facilities, including the baseball team, the golf course, and the pool. Although Eastwood was therefore in Special Services, along with Milner and Janssen, he did not socialize with the two, though he may have been influenced by the two established actors to pursue an acting career after he was discharged (Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2001; "The David Janssen Archive").

In Pete Kelly's Blues, he played a hot-tempered drummer in a jazz band led by "Pete Kelly" (played by Jack Webb). When the band refused to get involved with organized crime, Milner's character verbally insulted the crime boss and then physically assaulted one of his men. The drummer was then shot down in an alley. Although Milner's character thus exited the film early, his performance was a memorable one.

Milner's 1955 television appearances included: The Schlitz Playhouse of Stars episode "The Schoolmarm" (February 11), the Dragnet episodes "The Big Key" (February 24) and "The Big Note" (May 5), and the comedic Halls of Ivy episode "Changing of Professors" (May 31). He also was performing as a regular cast member on the popular television series The Life of Riley, playing "Don Marshall," the boyfriend of "Babs Riley" in 1955.

1956 was a productive year for Milner. He continued in his regular cast role as "Don Marshall" on the television series The Life of Riley. On January 20, the episode "Bab's Wedding" was seen on television as Milner's character moved up a notch in the Riley family, becoming Riley's son-in-law.
Life of Riley page

In addition, he appeared in some substantive roles in three films: On the Threshold of Space, Screaming Eagles, and Pillars of the Sky. He also appeared in eight episodes of different television series: The Great Gildersleeve (February 9), TV Reader's Digest (May 7), The Charles Farrell Show (August 27), West Point Story (October 5), Telephone Time (October 14), Science Fiction Theatre (November 9), Crossroads (November 16), and Navy Log (December 5).

He landed a part as one of the Earp brothers in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and began filming for that in the Spring. Though his part in O.K. Corral was brief, Milner, 24, superbly portrayed the handsome, likable 18-year-old lawman who was gunned down in the street, prompting the showdown between "Wyatt Earp" (played by Burt Lancaster), his two remaining brothers, and "Doc Holiday" (played by Kirk Douglas), and the Clanton gang. As in many other appearances, Milner convincingly portrayed characters younger than his actual age.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral screenshots  

In the Fall, he began filming Man Afraid, and he ended the year 1956 by landing an important role in Sweet Smell of Success, which started filming in November. Burt Lancaster, co-star in Sweet Smell of Success and partner in its producing company, Hecht-Lancaster Productions, recommended Milner for the romantic lead role opposite newcomer Susan Harrison in the film.

1957-1959: The Sweet Smell of Success...

Milner has recalled that 1957 was the most important year in his life. In February, the 25-year-old actor married Judith Beth Jones, a 22-year-old actress and singer from Waukegan, Illinois. The ceremony took place in the Waukegan home of Judy's parents, Allen and Marjory Jones. Milner's step-father, Bill Cini, designed the engagement and wedding rings for Judy. Milner had met Judy at  a Hollywood dinner party hosted by a mutual friend in May 1956. She had given him her phone number, he called for a date a week later,  and the rest was history. He later recalled knowing after only 3 to 4 weeks of dating that he and Judy would be married. Once married, Judy made it clear she did not want to work. Prior to marrying Milner, she had been a popular telephone girl for TV personality Tom Duggan and had a promising career ahead of her. Her career of choice was to be a full-time homemaker. When film and TV series offers were made to Judy after they were married, she declined. As Milner later described it, "She told me flat out that she had no intention of working after we were married. She really wanted to make a home and have children. She wanted six... until she had four. I was really pleased because that's the kind of life I had in mind too" (Photoplay Magazine, February 1973).
Marty & Judy Milner scrapbook

It was also during the first three months of 1957 that Milner completed a major role ("Steve Dallas") in Sweet Smell of Success. As he said in a 2001 interview with Route 66 Magazine, "It was a challenging role with very well written dialogue. I think it was one of the best performances of my career."  His character, a jazz guitar player named "Steve Dallas," was in love with a gal whose powerful brother (played by Burt Lancaster) did not approve of the relationship. So, he sent his hatchet man (played by Tony Curtis) to ruin the musician. He first smeared him in the newspapers by getting a columnist to brand him a marijuana user and communist. Then, he planted marijuana on him and got a corrupt police detective to beat him up and arrest him. Milner's performance was top-notch. Lancaster's and Curtis' characters were so despicable that Milner's character, who got the girl in the end, came off as the audience favorite. In 1993, Sweet Smell of Success was named to the National Film Registry.
Sweet Smell of Success screenshots

It was roughly at the same time as Sweet Smell of Success was in production that Milner filmed a bit part in Desk Set, which starred Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. In an interview a year later, he listed the two as his favorite actors -- so working with them, no matter the size of his part in the film, must have been a personal thrill.

Soon after his February wedding, Milner appeared on the television series West Point Story for a second time (April 26), and shortly thereafter, the films Desk Set, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Man Afraid, and Sweet Smell of Success were released at the box offices. Still working on the cast of The Life of Riley, he ended the year filming substantial roles in Marjorie Morningstar and Too Much Too Soon.

1957 was also a challenging year for Milner and his wife when they bought their first house which was old and needed a lot of repair. By November, they knew a baby was on the way in 8 months. A film in which he was to have a part was canceled before production started. He was working on a pilot for a new TV series, Starr, First Baseman, which would be completed early in 1958, but it didn't sell. (In the prospective show, he played a New York Yankees ballplayer who was hit in the head with a pitch and struggled back to recovery. It would not be publicly aired until 1965.)  So, he learned how to do carpentry and repaired the house on his own. He would continue to use his new carpentry skills in future homes as well.

Milner started off the year 1958 with two television series appearances: The Millionaire (March 19) and Wagon Train (April 9), and two films: Marjorie Morningstar (opened April 5) and Too Much Too Soon (opened May 31). The former film was a starring role for him opposite Gene Kelly and Natalie Wood that won widespread acclaim.  Wood played "Marjorie," a young woman who fell in love with an older man, "Noel Airman," (played by Kelly) while working at a summer camp. Milner's character, "Wally Wronkin," was in love with her, while Kelly's character was uninterested. A few months after the release of the Marjorie Morningstar, Martin and Judy had their first child, Amy Elizabeth, on July 2, 1958. In October, he began filming for Compulsion in which he had landed another major part. In November, he appeared in the television show Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse to end the year's performances.

In an October 17, 1958, interview with Screen News, Milner reported that he still enjoyed book binding, golf, and attending ballet in his leisure, and could boast of such skills as tap dancing, juggling, and knife throwing. He also enjoyed playing Scrabble, completing crossword puzzles, buying new clothes (especially sports clothes), and driving his car, an Austin-Healey. He indicated that he worked out three times a week at the Hollywood Athletic Club and very much enjoyed taking steam baths. He expressed a musical preference for Dixieland jazz; classical works by Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Borodin; and popular tunes by Frank Sinatra and June Christy. His favorite actors, he said, were Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, David Wayne, and Paul Muni, and he hoped someday to be able to play in a comedy with Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant. A Methodist, he said he attended church every Sunday, and enjoyed his quiet time, preferring to avoid a lot of noise or "noisy people."  He considered himself very systematic -- for example, he read the newspaper every day from column to column. He added, "I don't know how many room-mates I've driven to distraction because I'm neat to the point of sickness."

In 1959, Milner appeared in seven television series episodes: Rawhide, Clint Eastwood's series, (January 23), Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (March 23), Playhouse 90 (April 16), Steve Canyon (June 2), The Millionaire (September 16), Hotel de Paree (October 16), and U.S. Marshall (October 31).

He also starred on the big  screen as "Sid Brooks" as the murder courtroom drama Compulsion hit theaters in April. Set in 1924 Chicago and based on a real-life thrill killing of an adolescent boy, Compulsion starred Orson Wells as the attorney defending the two law students responsible for the murder. Milner's character, a fellow law student working as a reporter, assisted the prosecution by helping discover a clue to the murderers' identities. Shortly after the release of Compulsion, Milner began filming of The Private Lives of Adam and Eve in July and August. He ended the year filming Sex Kittens Go to College.

1960-1964: The Route 66 Years...

1960 marked the beginning of Milner's career as a leading man in popular television shows that would keep him in the weekly public eye for most of the next 15 years. He began the year with an appearance on The Twilight Zone (February 26). He also had major roles in two films, 13 Ghosts (opened in July) and Sex Kittens Go to College (opened in October). In addition to playing a leading role in Sex Kittens, he was also Associate Producer with Robert Hill who wrote the screenplay.
Twilight Zone screenshots

Next, Milner turned his attention toward the hour-long television series Route 66 that appeared on CBS on Friday nights at 8:30 beginning on October 1, 1960. Route 66 ran for four seasons (116 episodes), with its final airing on March 13, 1964. The series focused on "Tod Stiles," (Milner's character) who, following the death of his father, drove around the country in his Chevy Corvette in search of adventure. Milner's traveling companion was played by George Maharis ("Buz Murdock," 1960-1963) and Glenn Corbett ("Lincoln 'Linc' Case," 1963-1964). When the show began to air, Milner told an interviewer, "This is the first series in which I've starred 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 repetition" (Chicago Daily Tribune TV Week, August 27, 1960). Eleven episodes of Route 66, including the pilot, appeared on TV in 1960.
Route 66 page

The show was the brainchild of producer Herb Leonard and writer Stirling Silliphant, who created it in the Spring of 1959 and tried it out on a show they were producing called Naked City. The idea was to pair up a wealthy preppy kid with a poor street-wise kid. They did so in a Naked City episode, a sort of "mini-pilot," and when it worked, they set out to produce a real pilot. They decided that Maharis, who had worked on Naked City, would fit the bill for the street kid. For the preppy kid, Leonard had narrowed it down to two candidates: Robert Redford and Martin Milner. Milner got the part because of his television and film experience; Redford only had stage experience.

Milner later summarized the show's focus, "It represented the spirit of movement and adventure in the country. It was a natural. From the very beginning the show had a great following and became very popular. I tried to talk them out of using a Corvette in the show. I did my best to convince them to use something really exotic. I said, 'Let's get a Ferrari. A Corvette is too ordinary.'  Remember, I'm a Californian and I was used to seeing 'vettes. To me a Ferrari was really something special. But we went with Chevrolet and used Corvettes. It was the perfect vehicle ("A Route 66 Portrait").

The pilot episode, "Black November" introduced "Tod Stiles," a Yale-educated rich kid whose father had died leaving him nothing but his car, a stylish 1960 Corvette. "Buz Murdock," who worked for Tod's father, was left without a job when the father's shipping business died with him. So, the two hopped in the car and started driving, literally looking to start a new life. The first episode supposedly took place in the fictitious town of Garth, Alabama, but when a town could not be located in Alabama to fit production needs, Concord, Kentucky, was chosen instead. To this day, the small town points to the filming of the first episode of Route 66 there as its claim to fame.

Route 66, though filmed in black and white because CBS did not yet have color technology, was unique because it was the first television show to be shot entirely on location throughout the country at a time when most series were shot in studio back lots. The first season alone brought Milner to New Orleans, Louisiana; Kanab, Utah; Port Hueneme, California; Grants Pass, Oregon; Merlin, Oregon; Page, Arizona; and Carlsbad, New Mexico. According to a TV Guide article the week of July 22, 1961, Milner and the Route 66 crew had traveled over 19,000 miles and filmed in 36 different locations in 11 states, having finished its first season and having been renewed for its second. Despite the challenges of filming around the country, the company of between 35 and 50 cast, crew, and management was able to turn out Season 1 episodes of the show in just 3-1/2 weeks after filming (the normal lag time for producing a show was 6 weeks).

In a December 1989 interview, Milner recalled that what made Route 66 unique, in addition to the locations for filming, was the content, dealing with controversial subjects. "I thought we were breaking new ground." He gave the example of the episode "The Thin White Line" in which "Tod" inadvertently took LSD at a time when the general public didn't know too much about it. That episode, according to Milner, was his personal favorite of the series because it was the most challenging for him as an actor, having to exhibit a wide range of emotions over a short period. He credited the director of that episode, David Lowell Rich, for helping him get through the performance. As far as memorable episodes were concerned, the production manager of the show, Sam Manners, recalled that the most memorable episode for him was the one in which Milner "accidentally splattered Lee Marvin's nose wide open."  According to Manners, "It wasn't funny for Lee, but at the time it was funny for us. Unfortunately, Lee zigged instead of zagged and Marty hit him flush on the nose with his right hand. The doctor had to put 20 stitches in Marvin's nose to patch him up and then we couldn't shoot anything but long shots until his nose healed" (Corvette Quarterly, Summer 1990). According to the New York Times (August 16, 1961), 27 stitches were needed to sew up Marvin's nose at Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh on the evening of August 15 when the accident occurred while cameras were rolling as Milner and Marvin acted out a fight scene in a restaurant. Milner has also recalled some unique moments in filming the series, "We were filming on a boat off the coast of Louisiana and were shooting on an actual boat in a terrible rainstorm. Our electricity for the lights and everything charged the boat, so every time we touched a piece of metal we got an electrical shock, but we had to keep going. I also remember crashing the car a couple of times as well" (Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2001).

Because filming was done on location around the country, Milner spent much of his time away from his home in Sherman Oaks, California, where his wife Judy and 1-1/2-year-old daughter Amy remained when the series started filming. On location in New Orleans for a month, he recalled phoning his wife. Judy informed him that their daughter had told her playmates that she did not have a father. As Milner put it in an interview with Silver Screen in February 1963, "she couldn't understand why I wasn't around. I had been gone for a month, and she figured I was gone for keeps."  It was then that he and Judy decided the family would stay together on this Route 66 adventure. Judy and Amy joined him for the remainder of filming for the season.  Despite the challenges of taking his family on the road, Milner thought Route 66 was doing the right thing filming on location. He told a TV Guide interviewer in July 1961 that , "We're doing it the way it should be done and it would be very easy to have done it all at Hollywood. I figure to give it four more years. By that time I will have had an education on the road and my daughter Amy will be starting in school. I want to be home for that. Furthermore, I'll have enough in the bank by then to be able to do what I want to do, maybe even take a year off and go around with Judy and the girls."  By 1962, his yearly intake for the show was $125,000, plus a new automobile each year from Chevrolet (Milner asked for a station wagon, not a Corvette like his acting partner George Maharis).

In late 1960, Judy and Amy took a respite from traveling with the Route 66 crew during Judy's last few months of pregnancy with her second child. Milner later recalled in a March 1962 interview with TV Picture Life that, despite the difficulties of traveling, he wouldn't change a thing. When Judy and Amy went home to the San Fernando Valley so Judy could give birth to Molly, Milner recalled, "It was awful. I don't function as well without her. As tough as it is moving a family about the country every eight or ten days, it's worse not having them along."

In January 1961, after long delays, the film The Private Lives of Adam and Eve was released at box offices. It had mostly been filmed in July and August of 1959, with some additional scenes completed in May 1960, but the controversial nature of the film (a comedy/science fiction fantasy that featured a dream in which Milner's character was the scantily-clad Biblical Adam in the Garden of Eden) delayed final release. The film was rated "Condemned" by the Catholic Legion of Decency for its sexuality and nudity, and co-director Mickey Rooney had to leave more film on the cutting floor than he would have preferred.

Milner flew home from Phoenix, Arizona, to visit Judy and Amy, arriving late in the afternoon on January 20, 1961. He recalled being exhausted and, when he finally got home, told Judy (kiddingly) not to have the baby that night because he was "too pooped" to drive her to hospital. When Judy went into labor that night, he managed to get her to St. Vincent Hospital just in time for the 2 am arrival of his second child, Molly Bess, on January 21. As he later put it, "God got us there... I wasn't in any shape to."  For the remainder of the season, Judy stayed home with Amy and Molly. They would join the Route 66 caravan once again the Fall 1961, going home again just before Judy gave birth to their third child. On March 4, 1962, the Milner clan once again increased in size with the arrival of the first boy in the family, Stuart Martin (Milner flew home from Dallas just in time for Stuart's birth). The females would still have the advantage, however, for almost the next two years. 

When asked in the Spring 1962 about how long he expected to be starring in Route 66, Milner said, "I'm fully prepared to go the length of my contract--five years."  But, he added that it would be possible for a TV series to be on the air too long, to the detriment of the stars involved in a show. "Six or seven years is too long. 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" (Detroit Free Press Weekly TV Channels, June 3, 1962).

In April 1962, Route 66 co-star George Maharis caught hepatitis and was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. Everyone on the set, including Milner, was immediately inoculated for the infectious disease. Maharis was hospitalized a month before he was able to return to work. The Route 66 crew waited until Maharis was ready early in the Summer before traveling to the next film locations in Washington and Oregon. In mid-November 1962, Maharis again left the show, indicating he had experienced a relapse. While Maharis was away from the show,  Milner's work load doubled. He ended up doing six episodes on his own. There were rumors that Maharis was unhappy with the show, the travel, and even Milner. When asked by TV Guide in January 1963 about the rumors and critical comments made by Maharis about Milner, a self-effacing Milner praised Maharis' talent and said, "He sounds like he's kind of mad at me. I'm sorry. We never had any trouble during the first years of the show. I guess this illness has sort of gotten to him, which is understandable." Maharis never returned to the show, so Glenn Corbett was hired to replace him as the character "Linc."  In Movie Screen Yearbook in 1963, Route 66 creator and writer, Stirling Silliphant gave his opinion about Maharis' leaving the show, "I think Maharis is impatient to get on with his own career. He has had no regard for this company, his co-star, Marty Milner, and the 50 or 60 other people on the show."

Milner and Corbett developed a camaraderie that was reflected in the characters of "Tod" and "Linc."  Milner later recalled one incident in particular, "Most of the time we worked thirteen out of fourteen days on the road; we took every other Sunday off. So it was always a big deal to get a day off. Occasionally, if we didn't have a cover set and it rained, we'd take a day off or finish early. In Poland Springs, Maine, we had someplace we wanted to go; I was really hoping to get off early. It's 4 or 5 o'clock and it was a real cloudy day, and Glenn always joked that he could do a rain dance and make it rain. He'd done it several times before, so the associate producer, Lenny Katzman, who now produces 'Dallas', and I set this joke up. We drew all the hieroglyphics on the ground that Glenn used to draw when he was gonna do this Indian rain dance, we drew a big circle and put the Indian symbols in there, and we drew it right close to a barn where we were working. And Glenn got in the circle and started to do his rain dance. He was bobbing up and down and bending over and throwing his head up to the sky and Lenny and I climbed up on the roof with two buckets of water, and then when he threw his head up to the sky we just doused him in water!" (TV Collector, July-August 1986).

By the end of the third season, Route 66 had become a winner in the network ratings wars. According to Producer Herb Leonard, the show "could have run for years... The people at Chevrolet and I had been discussing taking Tod and Buz to Europe after the fourth season. Route 66 could have been the first American series shot abroad" (Motorbrook International, 1966). As it was, the series ended after the fourth season, and Robert Culp and Bill Cosby would have the distinction of being the first American series shot on location abroad in their 1965-68 show, I Spy. 

By January 1963, Milner's Route 66 entourage included him, his wife, 4-1/2-year-old Amy, 2-year old Molly, 10-month-old Stuart, a shaggy terrier named Cupcake, and a housekeeper, Mrs. Mildred Miller. Miller had served as housekeeper for Milner's family since 1948, so she was part of the family. Cupcake had to attend special doggy school to learn how to spend a lot of time in a car without getting car sick.

Milner had a huge rack built on top of his new Chevy Green Briar sports wagon to carry luggage and belongings and built extra cribs or beds as needed to accommodate his growing family. While filming went on during the daytime, Judy dropped off and picked up Amy from preschools (a new one in each town), bought groceries, went to laundromats and dry cleaners, and shopped for two of her favorite things, antiques and pewter. 

In addition to the exposure to new sights and people at filming locations around the country, the Route 66 crew kept entertained by fielding a softball team to take on small-town teams whenever possible. Although his co-star George Maharis did not play on the team, Milner relished playing shortstop. He also enjoyed collecting antiques from across the country to decorate his home in Sherman Oaks, California; meeting new people; and specking out local cuisine (especially the varieties of garlic bread).

In a February 1963 interview with Silver Screen, Milner reflected on married life, his career, and himself. He clearly believed his wife Judy was what kept him going each day. He knew that soon after they started dating, "it seemed to me after three or four weeks we just knew we were going to get married. I knew that I was in love with Judy, and I didn't figure I could get along very well without her."  The two shared a philosophy of life from the beginning. As Milner put it, "She's kind of an old-fashioned girl, I guess... she wasn't too interested in a lot of frills, a lot of fancy things. Her tastes were a lot like mine, simple. And she was interested in real things."  According to Milner, Judy was not the typical Hollywood girl, "Compared with the average Hollywood girl, Judy was quite a contrast, quite a breath of fresh air" -- someone who would just as soon spend a quiet evening at home or seeing a movie as opposed to going out drinking on the town. Judy also shared Milner's view of married life. "Judy's used to the kind of home where the man had a great deal to say," Milner explained. At the same time, he fully expected to share responsibilities with his wife. As he put it, "I guess maybe I'm the last of the breed of man that doesn't mind taking responsibilities. You know, in many cases, women have taken over a lot of the male responsibilities, but I think the males surrendered it willingly, to get out of the bother of it. You know--'Don't bother me with the household problems. You pay the bills. Don't bother me with the children.'  I never felt that way. I want to have my say-so."  Milner's "say-so" was that he wanted his family kept together, no matter what.

When Route 66 came along, then, it was no surprise that Judy and the kids were along for the ride. "When I was first offered the show, I was offered a couple of others at the same time, but I felt this one had the best chance to be successful, and would do the most for me if it were. So Judy and I discussed it. I knew exactly what the show would entail and I went into it with open eyes. And Judy said, 'Well, do whatever you think would be best for you, the only provision being that if you're going to travel a lot, I want to come along...'. Her feeling is that she would prefer to be at home, but not without me. She would prefer to come along on the road, get along as best she can with the children rather than stay home alone."  Life on the road was not easy, he admitted, but by the same token, he and Judy didn't need too much to keep them happy. "I think I'm a pretty sensible type fellow, not too frivolous. I like to do ordinary things. We don't live an exciting life by Hollywood standards or by New York standards. But it's very pleasant. We enjoy it," Milner said (Silver Screen, February 1963).

In the Spring of 1964, as Route 66 came to the end of its run, Milner switched gears again. On May 31, he appeared on The Dupont Show of the Week in a comedy-drama about an average married man who became rich overnight and began leading a life of extravagance. He then took a few months to settle back into a more sedentary lifestyle with his wife, daughters Amy (5-1/2) and Molly (3), son Stuart (2), and newborn Andrew William (who had entered the world on January 5, the day before his dad was supposed to return to Florida to finish filming Route 66).

1965-1967: Between "Tod" and "Pete"...

As 1965 rolled around, Milner was in high gear, appearing on ten television shows: Slattery's People (January 8), Kraft Suspense Theatre (February 25), four episodes of Bob Hope Presents Chrysler Theatre (March 5, April 2 & 9, June 4), The Virginian (March 10), Vacation Playhouse (July 23), Gidget (September 29), and Laredo (September 30). Two of the Chrysler Theatre episodes featured parts I and II of a TV movie, Memorandum for a Spy (aka: Asylum for a Spy). The Vacation Playhouse episode was the first airing of the old pilot, Starr, First Baseman that had been filmed back in 1957-1958.

In addition to his TV appearances in 1965, Milner was also part of the first stock company that played the Broadway comedy "Any Wednesday" on the Florida circuit of Palm Beach and Coconut Grove under the direction of Howard Erskine. Also starring were Zachary Scott and Ruth Ford in the performances at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse on February 22-27, and again at Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse in March. Written by Muriel Resnick, the enormously popular play was about a New York executive's mistress, "Ellen Gordon," who fell for the executive's handsome young associate (played by Milner) when he was inadvertently sent to use the apartment where the executive and his mistress met on Wednesdays.

In June, he starred in the big screen release of Zebra in the Kitchen as "Dr. Del Hartwood," a veterinarian at a zoo in the family-oriented comedy about a boy who released all the animals at the zoo.
Zebra in the Kitchen screenshots

His guest appearance as "The Great Kahuna" on Gidget in September 1965 was a memorable one. A youthful 34-year-old, he played a 28-year-old surfer who lived in a hut on Malibu Beach. Nicknamed "The Great Kahuna" and revered by the adolescent beach-goers as the world's greatest surfer, Milner's character was a man free of all cares in life except hitting the waves when someone yelled "surf's up!" The much younger "Gidget" (played by Sally Field) became infatuated with him until her father conspired with "Kahuna" to persuade her otherwise.
Gidget screenshots

In 1966, Milner resumed his role in the play "Any Wednesday" with a new lead actress, Connie Stevens. The play was performed January 11-23 at MelodyLand, a brand-new 3,200-seat theatre-in-the-round in Anaheim, California. He appeared as a guest star in episodes on four television series in 1966: Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (February 2), A Man Called Shenandoah (May 2), The Virginian (November 2), and 12 O'Clock High (December 16). He also traveled to Europe to star in the film Liebesspiele im Schnee (aka: Ski Fever in the U.S.). He played a girl-chasing American music student teaching skiing at a resort in the Alps to pay for tuition. Although the film was released in Europe in December 1966, it would take another 3 years for American audiences to see the movie.  Filming for another movie, Sullivan's Empire, was also completed in 1966.

Milner's TV appearances in 1967 were on Run for Your Life (two episodes as "Col. Mike Green" on February 13 and April 18), The Rat Patrol (February 27), Felony Squad (October 26), and Insight (November 12). On the episode of Rat Patrol, Milner made his only guest appearance on the World War II television show, playing "Sgt. Roberts," a German spy who had infiltrated the U.S. Army and was plotting to disrupt the Allied command.
The Rat Patrol screenshots

He appeared in two films in 1967: Sullivan's Empire which was released in January, and Valley of the Dolls which opened in theaters in December. In the former, he played the leading role as the oldest of three brothers who went in search of their missing father in the Brazilian jungle. Filmed as a pilot for a proposed TV series in which Milner would have starred, it was released at theaters but the series never came to be.

In the Fall of 1967, he was rehearsing in Paramus, New Jersey, and at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania, for the Broadway sex comedy "The 90 Day Mistress" when he was contacted by his old friend, Jack Webb. Webb wanted him to do a pilot for a new TV series. Milner had a week's break in rehearsals, so he flew out to Los Angeles to film the pilot.

He then returned for the November 6 opening of "The 90 Day Mistress" at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, playing the male lead, "Danny Liken." As Milner later recalled, "I was sure that the play was gonna be a big hit and didn't really think too much of the chances of the pilot. And the play was just an awful failure, just went into the toilet, and fortunately I'd done the pilot and the pilot sold, so once again I was lucky and not smart!" (The TV Collector, May-June 1995). The play ended its run on November 25, and Milner headed back to Los Angeles to work on the set of a new show based on the pilot, Adam-12.

    Cast of "The 90 Day Mistress" from left to right:
    Martin Milner, Dyan Cannon, Ruth Ford, Walter Abel.
New York Times (November 5, 1967) p. D3.

1968-1975: "The Strawberry Fox" Drives a Patrol Car Now...

Milner began the year 1968 filming another pilot for a proposed television show starring Rory Calhoun, Land's End, which aired on April 21. In June, a 1965 episode of the TV show Laredo in which he had appeared was pieced together with other episodes and released as a feature film entitled Three Guns for Texas. Then, life changed dramatically.

From the Fall 1968 to Spring 1975, Milner starred as "Officer Peter Joseph Malloy" in the half-hour-long NBC television series Adam-12. His partner throughout the 7-year series was Kent McCord who played "Officer James Reed."  Milner (11 years older than McCord) played an experienced officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) who took on training the rookie probationer. "Pete Malloy" (nicknamed "The Strawberry Fox") was the consummate bachelor, a lady's man whose various dating experiences and rants against marriage contrasted to the younger officer, "Jim Reed," who praised the settled married life. "Reed" and his wife "Jean" welcomed "Malloy" into their family, which included a newborn son to whom they asked "Malloy" to be godfather.
Adam-12 page

Milner's long-standing friendship and working relationship with the show's producer, Jack Webb, was not the only reason he was tapped for the starring role in the show. As Milner told TV Guide in November 1968, "I'm probably the best in the business at hitting camera marks while driving. With all my experience, I can pull right into a close-up."  All that driving around the country for Route 66 had paid off. Milner's part was actually filled after that of the rookie officer in the police duo. Kent McCord, like Milner, had worked for Jack Webb on the Dragnet series, but by himself in the episode "The Big Interrogation." Because of that performance, Webb had already decided to cast McCord as "Officer Jim Reed" before a decision was made on who would play "Officer Pete Malloy."  For the role of "Malloy," according to producer Robert A. Cinader, Martin Milner was the natural choice: "The guy had to be physically right, and he had to have the range and facility as an actor to project the totally credible illusion of a cop, and do it in an attractive way. As soon as Milner's name came up, everybody said 'that's the guy.' Along with his experience and maturity, there's this wholesome and still youthful quality about him."  

One of the main goals of the producers of Adam-12 was to depict the daily life of LAPD patrol officers. Consequently, both Milner and McCord spent six months sitting in the back of real LAPD patrol cars on duty so they could get a feel for the job they were to portray. Milner rode around South Los Angeles and McCord around Hollywood. Writers for the show had to do the same. The episodes themselves were based on actual LAPD case histories and criminal records. Each of the 16 divisions of the LAPD had to take turns sending a sergeant as a technical adviser during the filming of each episode. The badges used by the actors were actual LAPD badges delivered to the set on a daily basis. Realism and authenticity was essential. Scenes involving Milner and McCord sitting inside the patrol car talking while on patrol were shot using cameras mounted on the hood (or the trunk in later episodes) as the car was towed or driven through the streets of Los Angeles. The film crew even had to devise a canopy system for the hood of the car to prevent glare on the windshield during filming. Filming itself went on three to four days a week, but on those days, Milner often skipped lunch to watch daily screenings in order to improve his performance. 

On the home front, the Milner family by the Fall of 1968 lived in a mock-adobe house on a dead-end street in Van Nuys, California. Judy was occupied taking care of the home, the kids, and her husband. She drove their kids, who now ranged in ages from 10 to 4, along with some of the neighborhood kids, to school each day in a 6-door airport bus. Milner proudly drove the other car in the family, a restored 1953 Bentley Sedan de Ville that once belonged to Frank Lloyd Wright. He spent his leisure time at home, often working on projects in his small woodworking shop in the furnace room. He repaired pieces of primitive American furniture to use in the house, and made miniature doll houses for his wife and daughters, complete with electrical wiring and furniture. He became obsessed with completing the first doll house, according to his wife Judy. Milner said, "She says I've got a completely one-track mind, and I guess she's right. While I was working on it, I was called about doing a Tarzan guest spot. I didn't want to go to Acapulco and the part didn't sound very exciting, but the real reason I turned it down was that I couldn't leave the doll house right then" (TV Guide, November 23, 1968).

On December 12, 1968, Milner appeared on an episode of Dragnet with Kent McCord. The two played their Adam-12 characters being interviewed in an internal affairs investigation about another officer. "Sergeant Friday" (Jack Webb) and his partner (Harry Morgan of MASH fame) were the interviewers.

In March 1969, Milner's last big screen production, Ski Fever, opened at the box offices in the U.S. In the romantic comedy, he played Brian Davis, an American music student  at a European  university who taught skiing at  an Austrian resort  to pay for tuition. The film had been produced in and released in western Europe in 1966 as Liebesspiele im Schnee, and was the last film directed by German-born Curt Siodmak. It was shelved in the U.S. until 1969, when Milner's popularity in Adam-12 convinced the film's distributor to release it to American audiences.

At home, Milner revealed in an interview with TV News in July 1969, that he had a couple of new hobbies, fishing and water skiing. A few months later, he said he spent much of his free time working on his house, having just remodeled two rooms. "We live in a big old house with six bedrooms and lots of acreage. So, we have ample room in which to entertain friends, but we seldom do. And we're not entertained by the 'in' group -- very few of our friends are in the industry. We're not the way  Hollywood people are supposed to be. We're just ordinary. Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't be more flamboyant!  But the fact is, Judy and I don't like to run with the crowd. For example, if everyone rushed out to buy a Mustang, then we don't seem to want one. I drive a Bentley that's several years old, and Judy has a Checker elongated airport bus. It's painted white with a blue racing stripe -- and it's her only car" (Inside TV, October 1969).

According to Milner, he and his family tried to be ordinary folks. "There's just my wife and our kids. We don't belong to any group. Sometimes I worry because we're such an ordinary family and live such a completely ordinary life" (Inside TV, October 1969). While the family Rottweiler, 150-lb. "Hector" as they named him, might have been rather ordinary, the Milner family also had an alligator as a pet. Among the other ordinary aspects of Milner's life was the fact that, despite a rigorous schedule working on Adam-12, he made it to every one of his kids' graduating ceremonies, clearing his schedule of everything to ensure he could be the gloating parent.

Milner's popularity increased dramatically as Adam-12 rose in the ratings.  On September 28, 1970, he and his Adam-12 co-star Kent McCord appeared on the popular Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson. Then, in July 1971, he appeared on his first game show, Hollywood Squares. He would go on to appear on a number of episodes of gameshows in the 1970s: Hollywood Squares, Password, To Say the Least, and Tattletales, the latter on which his wife Judy would join him. In September 1971, he had the distinction of being the first murder victim, "Jim Ferris," on the Columbo television movie series starring Peter Falk as a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. He also served as guest host on November 2, 1971, on The Golddiggers, a popular variety spin-off from The Dean Martin Show.
Gameshows page

In 1971, Milner moved his family from the Los Angeles area to a 24-acre ranch with about 2,500 avocado trees in Fallbrook, California, over 100 miles away from the city. All four of Milner's kids had been hospitalized for respiratory problems when the family lived in Van Nuys. The increasingly poor air quality in Los Angeles in the late 60s and early 70s was taking its toll on many. In a February 1973 interview with Photoplay Magazine, Milner explained the move so far from the city, "Judy and I talked it over very thoroughly before we made the big move. We'd been looking for a ranch, a real working one, for several years and then we found this one with acres of avocado trees. There was only one problem: it was 100 miles from Hollywood. Judy felt that if I wanted it, fine. I was in a good series, it was a good move, so we made the big decision: I would commute." Production for Adam-12 only went on for 24 weeks of the year, so, according to Milner, "the rest of the time is my family's. I'm not the kind of guy who goes bowling with the 'boys.'  When I'm home, I'm home."  So, the family took advantage of the benefits of country living--a simpler lifestyle, less peer pressure on the kids, lots of space to ride motorbikes and horses, and plenty of fresh air. With four bedrooms, two baths, the entire second floor of the house for the kids, and an attic converted into a game room, the family was more than comfortable. Outdoors, the hills, valleys, and playhouse on the property gave the kids room to roam. Milner himself used his tried and true carpentry skills to expand the home to fit everyone's needs: "I constructed an entire room and bathroom by myself, and that includes the plumbing and electricity. When you work your knuckles to the bone putting in the pipes for a sink, then turn on the faucet and the water comes out without dripping at the joints--well there's real satisfaction there. There are other things in life besides making-believe in front of a camera" (Boston Globe, December 21, 1975).

For the 3 days a week that Adam-12 was filmed, Milner stayed in his dressing room on the Universal Studios lot. Then he drove 100 miles to his ranch and home, an authentic reproduction of a New England colonial with high-beam ceilings, fieldstone fireplaces, and wide-plank pegged floors. The house was adorned with antique hutches, framed "Gilbert Stuart" type ancestor paintings, and copper pots hanging throughout the kitchen. In addition to himself, his wife, and four kids, the house was home to three dogs and three cats. "We also have two horses," according to Milner, "but they're not allowed in the house" (TV Guide, August 4, 1973).

Milner's popularity from the Adam-12 show continued to get him plenty of work outside the series. In 1972, he appeared twice with Kent McCord on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (September 11 and December 18) and by himself on The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (December 16). Milner and McCord were on a publicity tour for Adam-12 in December 1972, promoting a public safety program for the Department of Transportation, when Milner came down with a case of blood poisoning and was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital. Doctors were perplexed as to the cause of the illness, but he responded to medication and was able to leave after five days in bed. He resumed his tour with McCord along with his Adam-12 schedule, much to the relief of him, his family, his friends, and his fans.

In 1973, Milner was at the height of his popularity. Although he was constantly busy, he could foresee a time when that would change. In February, he reflected on the possibility of retirement from an acting career, "I could turn mine off and retire. At least I think I could. It would be easy. I'd run the ranch, which takes a fair amount of time, see parts of the world I've never seen, go fishing once a month, sail. If the choice were between working harder than I'm working now, or not working at all, I'd have to opt for not working at all" (Photoplay Magazine, February 1973). In the meantime, there was a lot work to do. On January 8, 1973, he was back on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In with Kent McCord. The week of March 26-30, he appeared on Password during the daytime. On March 29, he appeared on the popular Dean Martin Show, performing an Italian medley with Dean Martin and Anna Moffo. Then he was on Hollywood Squares during the weeks of April 16-20 and August 13-17. In between the Hollywood Squares appearances, he and Kent McCord co-hosted the Mike Douglas Show for the week of April 30-May 4. On September 13, he appeared on the Rowan and Martin Special. This hour-long reunion of Rowan and Martin, whose show Laugh-in was canceled in the Spring of 1973, was indeed "special."  Milner appeared as a member of the "Hollywood Boys Glee Club." The group, dressed in full-length choir robes, sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to an astounded television audience!

Rowan and Martin Special (1973) - Ernest Borgnine, Jack Carter, Howard Cosell, Redd Foxx,
Charles Nelson Reilly, Kent McCord, Ed Asner, Martin Milner, Glenn Ford, John Wayne
(Source: http://www.kentmccord.com/)

Next, he starred in the made-for-TV movie Runaway about a runaway train which appeared on ABC on September 29, and on October 15-19 he was on Password on daytime again.  On November 2, he returned to the Dean Martin Show (this time with Kent McCord) for the "Johnny Carson Celebrity Roast." It was hard for anyone watching these Dean Martin roasts to keep from laughing, and Milner and McCord were no exception.

   

Dean Martin Show: "Johnny Carson Celebrity Roast" (1973) screenshots - Kent McCord and Martin Milner

A few weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day (November 22), Milner and McCord were the new team of anchors for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They arrived in their Adam-12 patrol car to emcee the annual New York City event seen nationwide by millions.

On the Adam-12 episode "Northeast Division" that aired on December 5, 1973, Milner's youngest son, Andrew, appeared on screen.  Only 9 years old at the time, Andrew performed as a stunt double for Johnny Whitaker, driving a mini motor cycle through the city streets with "Officer Malloy" in pursuit.

9-Year-Old Andrew Milner on the motor cycle as stunt double in the episode "Northeast Division";
color screenshots (TOP LEFT & CENTER, BOTTOM LEFT),
and black and white photos on the set (BOTTOM CENTER, RIGHT).

Milner's schedule on Adam-12, on other shows, and on gameshows, was not all that divided his attention. On March 1, 1973, the president of the Easter Seal Campaign in Orange County, California, announced that he had been named chairman of the annual fund raiser dedicated to helping disabled children and adults gain greater independence. In an interview with TV Guide in August 1973, he said he was helping raise funds for Esperanza, a ship in the Amazon delta which provided medical and dental care for the poor of the region. Because the American doctors and dentists who volunteered their time on the ship worked for free, Milner, too, donated all of his time to this worthy cause. In August, he was contacted to be a guest-star on a celebrity fishing show, Championship Fishing. He agreed to do the show at Table Rock Lake in southeast Missouri if his family could come along for a free vacation. It was a foreshadowing of things to come for Milner, as one of his most enjoyed pastimes, fishing, would eventually occupy most of his working -- as well as his leisure -- hours.

In August 1973, the executive producer of Adam-12, Herman Saunders, gave Milner credit for the six successful seasons the show was running. "We keep getting good scripts, of course," he said, "but, with all his griping about how tired and lazy he is, Marty's the cement that holds it all together. He's got an even temperament; he thinks... he just can't misread a line. Also, surprisingly, he's got a very wry comedic sense and will break everyone up with a Don Rickles-type insult line just when tedium and frayed nerves are setting in. Most important, he and Kent really like each other. That's a necessary ingredient in all successful shows. It comes through on the screen and it makes the audience like them. I think that's the main reason we got as high as No. 2 in the Nielson ratings and why this crazy little show might go on as long as Dragnet did."  Not much at accepting praise, Milner said, "The reason I like the show is because it's ideal for a guy who doesn't want to work very hard. Three days a week and I'm home at the ranch in Fallbrook with my avocados. The only thing better would be if I got promoted to sergeant and they put another guy in the patrol car with McCord. Then it would only be one day's work a week and I'd be at home at the ranch in Fallbrook with my avocados" (TV Guide, August 4, 1973).

In January 1974, Milner told TV Radio Talk that he was looking forward to retirement. "When Adam is over with, I will probably retire. I've been acting for 26 years, and I enjoy it, but I have no desire for another series. I've been fairly careful with my money and I have other interests."  His other interests included land development projects near his home, as well as his avocado farming and his pastimes, not to mention his family. As far as the avocado farming was concerned, he sold over 100,000 pounds of avocados in 1974 (December 1975, Boston Globe). Despite his talk about retiring, in addition to his Adam-12 schedule, he went on to spend eleven weeks total participating in gameshows in 1974: five weeks on Password, one week on Password All-Stars, and five weeks on Hollywood Squares -- spreading his appearances out over nine months in the year.  In the Summer of 1974, he and Kent McCord starred in the play "Tunnel of Love" by Peter De Vries.  A romantic comedy about a couple trying to get pregnant, the play was produced by the Kenley Players and hit theaters in Ohio. On September 10, another made-for-TV movie aired on ABC, Hurricane, in which he starred as a pilot evacuating people from a hurricane-ravaged town.

On the Adam-12 episode "Victim of the Crime" that aired on January 28, 1975, a second appearance was made by one of Milner's children.  This time, 16-year-old Amy guest-starred as the daughter of a shopkeeper who was shot by robbers. She acted in several scenes, mostly interacting with her dad, and doing a wonderful job portraying a traumatized, but level-headed young woman.

16-year-old Amy Milner in the episode "Victim of the Crime"; color screenshots (LEFT & CENTER),
and black and white photo on the set (RIGHT).

On May 20, 1975, the final episode of Adam-12 ran on television. It featured "Officer Reed" being awarded a Medal of Valor by the LAPD for his efforts (in episode 173) to rescue "Officer Malloy" who had caught a bullet in the middle of a narcotics raid. The actual LAPD Police Chief at the time awarded the medal and gave a speech about the significance of police work. A total of 174 episodes of the series had been produced over 7 years. Countless numbers of future police officers had been motivated to follow in the footsteps of "Malloy" and "Reed" in real-life careers. The American people had learned about their Miranda rights, police procedure, and even the use of seat belts as they were first introduced. But perhaps the greatest legacy of Adam-12 lay in its depiction of police officers as hard-working, respectable and respectful, human beings at a time when authority in general in America was being questioned at every corner. That depiction of the humanity of police officers was certainly reliant upon the writers and producers of the series, but it was the actors ultimately who made it real. Martin Milner and Kent McCord and the other regulars, especially Bill Boyett, brought their own personalities, and dedication to hard work to their performances.

The success of the performances was in part due to the friendship that developed between Milner and McCord. Adam-12 script girl Cynnie Troup commented in a 1995 interview, "I remember the outtakes. The most interesting thing about the show was that Marty and Kent were truly good friends, which is fairly rare on television shows... aside from the outtakes being very funny, what impressed me the most is that you see what good friends Marty and Kent are. That was the highlight of the whole thing" (The TV Collector, May-June 1995).

Milner's favorite episode, the one he remembered best in a 1995 interview, was "The Search" which aired October 20, 1971. As he put it, "I think the one episode that I remember more than any other is the one where the car got wrecked and I was upside down in a wrecked car in Griffith Park and I was injured and couldn't get the radio to work. And I spent the whole episode there with all the cops looking for me. That was a pretty good show" (The TV Collector, May-June 1995).
"The Search" screenshots

In November 1975, when confronted with criticism about Adam-12, Milner fired back, "I'm damn proud of that show and I make no apologies about it. Police Story may be factual and all that, but there never was a police show better than ours. It was the only one that tried to tell the truth about uniformed patrolmen, and we got letters and awards from police all over the country thanking us."  The letters and awards weren't the only things backing Milner up; Adam-12 was the biggest single moneymaker in the history of television when it left the airwaves in May 1975, even bigger than I Love Lucy (Movie Mirror, November 1975).

1975-1982: From "Karl Robinson" to TV Movies, Mini-Series, and Theatre...

Although Milner had thought going into season 7 of Adam-12 that he would be at least semi-retired from acting when Adam-12 finished its run in May 1975, he had already signed on to move to his third network, ABC, to star in the Irwin Allen- produced television series The Swiss Family Robinson to air in the Fall of 1975. The show would run for an hour on Sunday evenings at 7:00 beginning September 14. According to Milner, "They signed me for this even before Adam-12 had been canceled. Nobody would admit that Adam was through and I had not been given my release. So, there was a definite gamble signing me. But, I knew in my heart Adam had run its course and they took it for granted I was right... I had hopes in the back of my mind for a year off to get a respite from the rigors of series TV. But I couldn't resist the chance to be in an Allen show. Besides, I tried a weekend off, and I got restless."  Although he liked to spend most of his time at the ranch with his wife, "rebuilding and redecorating the old farmhouse... working the soil, trimming the trees, or building something...," he felt he couldn't pass up the chance at what promised to be a hit TV show (Boston Globe, December 21, 1975). Filming of the 2-hour pilot for the new series was completed by mid-February 1975, even before Adam-12 finished airing, and it aired on ABC on April 15, 1975. Milner played "Karl Robinson," the father of the ill-fated Swiss family shipwrecked on a South Pacific island, and Pat Delany played his wife "Lotte." In the pilot, the Robinson children were played by Michael-James Wixted ("Fred") and Eric Olson ("Ernie").  Cindy Fisher played "Helga Wagner," a young girl also shipwrecked with the Robinsons. Cameron Mitchell played "Jeremiah Worth," a sailor who had been shipwrecked on the island seven years before the Robinsons arrived. In the TV series, the same cast was used with two exceptions: Willie Aames played "Fred" and Helen Hunt played "Helga."
Swiss Family Robinson page

By December 1975, Swiss Family Robinson was looking like it would be Milner's third successful TV series in which he had the starring role. Despite running up against The Wonderful World of Walt Disney on NBC and Three for the Road on CBS -- all children's programming to meet new Federal Communication Commission guidelines making the Sunday 7 p.m. slot available for children's or public affairs programming-- the show was holding its own, even surpassing Disney a few times in the Nielsen ratings. When about 40 CBS affiliate stations refused to carry that network's choice for Sunday evening children's programming (Three for the Road), CBS decided to move 60 Minutes from 6:00 to 7:00 since it qualified as public affairs programming. Swiss Family Robinson could not compete against that, and its 20th and final episode aired on March 28, 1976.

On March 12, 1976, Milner was "down under" in Melbourne, Australia, as a guest on the "18th Annual TV Week Logie Awards." By May, he told Coronet that he was enjoying freedom from the rigors of a stardom in a weekly TV show for the first time in 8 years. By the end of Adam-12, he had put on a few extra pounds (he described himself to the Boston Globe as "pretty chubby" in December 1975). He said he was focusing on his health, exercising by walking and swimming daily, water skiing when possible, and playing baseball or riding motorbikes on the dirt roads near his Fallbrook home with his two sons, Stuart, 14, and Andrew, 12. He described how he had changed his eating habits: "I have learned not to turn to candy or sugar of any kind as a source of quick energy when I'm feeling tired. Instead I'll have a glass of milk, some cottage cheese or yogurt. I've discovered that if I regulate the intake of carbohydrates, stay away from starches and sweets as much as possible and stick to eating cheeses, yogurt, fish and poultry I am able to control my weight without any hassle."  Apparently his wife was taking an active role in his health too. "Judy is very conscious of nutrition and has me on a regular schedule of vitamin supplements. We eat a lot of fresh vegetable salads with alfalfa sprouts. Since we own an avocado ranch we eat a lot of avocados in salads and in other ways [including on pizza!]." He made one week's appearance on Hollywood Squares in April 1976, and worked on one made-for-TV movie, Flood. In the movie, he starred as "Paul Burke," a man in the town of Brownsville who tried unsuccessfully to convince the mayor that the local dam was about to give way. It aired on NBC in November 1976.

He started off 1977 by working on another made-for-TV movie, SST: Death Flight, about a supersonic transport on its first flight confronted with sabotage and a deadly flu onboard. The film aired on ABC on February 25.  By March, Milner was in the Midwest performing in Herb Gardner's 1962 comedy, "A Thousand Clowns," at the Chateau Louise Resort Theatre.  A March 1 review in The Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) reported that Milner shined in his theatrical performance of a New York bachelor trying to raise his gifted 12-year-old nephew. By August, he was back in California for a week on The Hollywood Squares.  In November, he appeared on two shows, the gameshow To Say the Least and the drama Police Story to close out the year.

In January 1978, he appeared in the NBC television mini-series classic Black Beauty as "Tom Gray." Then, the Milners moved from their Fallbrook ranch to a house on the beach at Del Mar. They had lived at Fallbrook for seven years, and by 1978 were ready for a change. As Milner would later put it, "it [Fallbrook] was out in the country, and I thought it would be a good thing for the kids. I was never part of the Hollywood establishment. The crime rate was getting high, and we just thought it would be a good thing to move... At the end of seven years, my wife and children were a little tired of the remoteness of the place. The kids wanted to be at the beach all the time, so Judy, my wife, would drive them round trip from Fallbrook to the beach every day. So, we moved to the beach. We moved to Del Mar" (Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2001).

In September, he appeared on the NBC mini-series Little Mo, the story of tennis star Maureen Connolly, the first woman to win all Grand Slam titles in one year. He played "Wilbur Folsom," her first tennis coach.

In 1979, he appeared in another made-for-TV disaster film, Crisis in Mid-Air, on CBS. Milner played "Dr. Denvers," a passenger on a flight that ran into trouble mid-air and relied upon a troubled air-traffic controller (George Peppard) on the the ground for help. Following a week on Password Plus in March, he appeared in two more TV mini-series: The Last Convertible and The Seekers, both on NBC.

In April 1980, Milner starred with his wife Judy in a multi-city tour of the production "The Tender Trap" which began at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida. The play was also performed at the Fiesta Dinner Theatre. Milner only made one television appearance in 1980, on the series The Littlest Hobo in November.  In 1981, he appeared in two episodes of Ricardo Montalban's series Fantasy Island: "The Man from Yesterday" (January 31) and "Show Me a Hero/Slam Dunk" (October 10).  On November 23, 1981, he had a supporting role in the TV movie The Ordeal of Bill Carney that aired on CBS.

1983-1994: Some Radio, Some Theatre, Some Television, & Some Golf...

On May 12, 1983, Milner began co-hosting (with Lee Mirabal) the weekday "morning drive" air shift in a show entitled "Radio Magazine" at San Diego's KOGO AM radio station. He had made such an impression in an interview at the station the year before while promoting NBC's Prime Times that he was invited back permanently when the NBC show failed. The San Diego radio show was heard on the airwaves as far north as Hollywood, where Milner's fans could tune in -- including former Adam-12 co-star Kent McCord who, according to Milner, "listens to me every day."  Though working at the radio station daily, Milner was quick to add that he wanted to enjoy himself and his favorite pastimes. "I'm on the golf course by 9:40 a.m.," he pointed out (TV Guide, October 1, 1983). The radio job would only last about six months, however, as the station changed its programming to an all-news format beginning November 14, 1983. The experience he gained as a radio co-host would prove useful to him in the future.

Following his stint in radio, Milner appeared on television only once in 1984 on the show Masquerade. In March 1985, he appeared on Airwolf as "Arthur Barnes," a bureaucrat working for the wrong side as an agent. He then went on tour starring as "Fr. Farley" in Bill C. Davis' two-character comedy-drama "Mass Appeal." With Scott L. Williamson as young seminarian "Mark Dolson," Milner performed the play in California and Florida over 150 times before heading to northern Michigan. As Milner told a reporter at the time, the role of Catholic priest "Fr. Farley" was his favorite. "In the 40 years I've been working as an actor, this role is my favorite over anything else I've ever done" (Record-Eagle, August 16, 1985). He was in Traverse City, Michigan, for several performances of the play at the Cherry County Playhouse in August 1985, when he was involved as a passenger in a two-car accident and had several ribs broken. He was treated at a local hospital and released the day after the August 24 accident, but his injuries had forced the cancellation of the final three performances of the play. After recuperating from the accident,  Milner went back to television work. On November 3, 1985, his first guest appearance on the show Murder, She Wrote aired. He donned a police uniform once again as "Sheriff Bodine" in the episode "Reflections of the Mind" which involved his character plotting with "Jessica Fletcher" (Angela Lansbury) to find a murderer. Viewers of the show couldn't help but reminisce about "Pete Malloy" when "Sheriff Bodine" jumped through a second-story window to catch the criminals.
Airwolf screenshots  
"Reflections of the Mind" screenshots

In November 1986, Milner and Route 66 co-star George Maharis attended the "1st Annual Route 66 Reunion" held in Tampa, Florida, where the last episode of the TV show was filmed. The annual Corvette show, sponsored by the Sun Coast Corvette Club, saw Milner and Maharis pose for pictures with Corvette owners and their cars, and answer questions at a press conference (Corvette Quarterly, Summer 1990).

Milner spent the the first few months of 1987 on the national touring company of the successful Broadway comedy, "Doubles." Written by David Wiltse, the comedy about male bonding in a tennis club ran January 6-17 at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas. Set in a blue and green locker room of a ritzy club in Connecticut, the play involved four men -- "Lennie" (Gabe Kaplan), "George" (Martin Milner), "Arnie" (Peter Shuman), and "Guy" (Peter Flint) -- who played their weekly game of tennis and then lounged in their towels gabbing. From Texas, the play traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, where it ran January 22-February 1 at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. It then opened on February 3 at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  The play was scheduled to open February 28 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, but Gabe Kaplan had left the play sometime between February 9-12, following the death of his father.  The play's cancellation was announced February 12 and appeared in the newspaper the following day (St. Petersburg Times, February 13, 1987).

Soon after "Doubles" was canceled, Milner was back on the West coast. On March 13, 1987, he served as grand marshal of San Diego's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.  The parade's theme was "Unity With Law Enforcement Personnel" which fit particularly well with his experience with the LAPD while working on Adam-12. Milner had also been spending his time working as a Drama Coach at Cypress College in Cypress, California. The school's production of "Mr. Roberts" opened its string of eight performances on April 2, 1987, at the Forum Theater in nearby Yorba Linda. In addition to playing the role of "Doc" and reuniting with his "Mass Appeal" partner Scott L. Williamson ("Mr. Roberts"), Milner assisted the 23 students involved in the play throughout rehearsals prior to opening -- teaching by demonstrating, working one-on-one at times, and sharing his decades of hands-on acting experience.

In 1988, Milner made two television guest appearances. On February 1, he appeared in his first of two episodes on the series MacGyver. In "Thin Ice" he played "Turk Donner," the coach of a hockey team who had once been "MacGyver's" coach, who calls upon his old player to coach a championship series when he is hospitalized. On December 18, he appeared in his second episode of Murder, She Wrote as "Clint Phelps" in "The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel."  Aside from his acting in 1988, Milner said he was still actively involved in raising money for Esperanza, a hospital ship in South America which provided medical and dental care to the people of the Amazon River basin ('Vette Vues Magazine, January 1988). He had worked to raise funds for the effort as early as 1973.  
"Thin Ice" screenshots  

On June 24, 1988, he participated in one of his favorite activities, a celebrity golf tournament. The "Children's Charity Classic" was held at the Greenbrier Golf and Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky. The annual tournament is one of the country’s oldest and most successful charitable golf events that provides funding for a variety of services for children with disabilities.

On October 21, 1989, TNN (The Nashville Network) aired a made-for-TV movie, Nashville Beat starring Milner as "Captain Brian O'Neal" of the Nashville PD and Kent McCord as "Lieutenant Mike Delaney" of the LAPD. McCord's character went to Nashville when several Los Angeles gang members decided to try their luck in Nashville where there was less competition. Kent McCord was co-creator, co-producer, and co-executive producer of the movie, which it was hoped would generate a half-hour weekly series for him and his old Adam-12 partner.

In 1990, Marty and his wife moved from their Del Mar beach house. On April 30, his only TV guest appearance for the year aired. He played "James MacGyver" (the father of the show's star) in the episode "Passages" in which MacGyver went into cardiac arrest and saw his deceased parents on a ship headed to eternity.
"Passages" screenshots

He only made one guest appearance on TV in 1991. The episode "Thursday's Child" aired on April 7, as he once more played "Clint Phelps" in what was his third appearance on the Murder, She Wrote series.
"Thursday's Child" screenshots

In 1992, Milner made five appearances on the show Life Goes On which focused on the Thatcher family, whose son "Charles 'Corky' Thatcher" (played by Chris Burke) had Down Syndrome. Milner played "Harris Cassidy," a storytelling bookstore owner, in the episodes: "Bec to the Future" (September 20), "Exposed" (September 27), "Premarital Syndrome" (October 4), "The Whole Truth" (October 18), and "Babes in the Woods" (November 29).

By 1992, he said he spent much of his leisure time golfing and fishing. On his golfing in celebrity tournaments around the world, he commented, "I don't usually win, but I have a lot of fun."  As far as the fishing was concerned, he enjoyed fishing and fly-fishing in exotic places around the world, and had recently been to Costa Rica where he caught three tarpon, including an 89-pounder. He reported that he had also fished in Alaska and was planning a trip to Russia later in the year, where sport fishing was new. He also described himself as an avid San Diego Chargers fan, and said he kept in shape by walking 25 to 30 miles a week ("Marty's Off...", 1992).

1994-2004: Gone Fishin'... and Talking about Goin' Fishin'...

In 1994, Milner joined up with Pete Gray as co-host of the popular radio talk show about fishing, "Let's Talk Hook-Up," which aired from 6 to 8:00 am on Saturdays and Sundays on XTRA Sports 690 AM. It was also broadcast over the internet for fishermen around the world. As Gray put it, "Marty was one of my childhood heroes. I grew up watching Adam 12, and to now be working with this superstar was a dream come true" ("'Let's Talk Hook-up' celebrates 14 years on the air.") Milner would later recall how he started the radio show, "I went on as a guest with a friend of mine who is a famous fly-fisherman [Bob Marriott, who owned a fly-fishing store in Orange County]. I had gone to Russia with him and he said 'Come on the show and we can talk about Russia, Costa Rica, and other places we've been.'  At the close of the show, the host [Gray] asked me to be his partner..." (Route 66 Magazine, Fall 2001). Gray and Milner would work together for the next ten years.

Milner continued to act while working on radio. He made three appearances on television shows in 1994. The first was as a guest star on Murder, She Wrote in the episode "The Dying Game." He played "Bill Macguire" in his fourth episode of the series  which aired on March 13. His second and third TV appearances were on the syndicated show RoboCop, The Series as "Captain Russell Murphy," the father of "RoboCop." These episodes were entitled "The Human Factor" (May 27)  and "Corporate Raiders" (November 12).
"The Human Factor" screenshots 
"Corporate Raiders" screenshots

On September 9, 1994, at the grand opening of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Milner had the distinction of being depicted in a Route 66 display (along with George Maharis) in solid white, life-size figures. Milner's figure sat at the wheel (as one might expect) of a 1961 Corvette while Maharis' figure stood, arms crossed, on the passenger side of the car. Photos of the two actors were on display on the floor in front of the driver's side door. Both actors signed a "Route 66" highway sign standing to the side of a giant Route 66 map.

LEFT: Source URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alibway/1487277330;
CENTER: Source URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alibway/1487269902;
RIGHT: Source URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/olivander/295195

In an interview in the Spring 1995, he gave an update on his work -- narrating seven World War II shows for The Discovery Channel and appearing on his weekly radio show. "I'm an avid fisherman and for the past year and a half my partner [Pete Gray] and I have had a fishing talk show here in San Diego, on a station with a huge signal. It carries all over southern California... We're on Saturday and Sunday mornings. You'd be amazed. It's a very narrow area of interest but the people that are interested in it are interested in the minutia. We have catch reports from all over and we talk to guides in Alaska."  He said the show reached 16 western stations, and hosted fishing trips all over the United States and Mexico (The TV Collector, May-June 1995).

In July 1995, Milner humbly told People Weekly, "I was never a celebrity -- just a working actor."  He said that what he cherished most from his acting days were the many letters he received from policemen around the country thanking him for his role in Adam-12. When asked if he'd consider working on a television series again, he replied, "a series would be so much work."  His passions, he said, were "family and fishing, in that order."  He filled the rest of his time serving as radio co-host, talking about fishing. As he put it, "I love talk and I love fishing. I'm having a ball."

Milner appeared as a guest, along with actor Steve Forrest, on actor Robert Fuller's show, Fishing Fever, in 1996.  The trio were seen deep-sea fishing in the Bahamas. On April 28, 1996, Milner guest-starred in his fifth and last episode of Murder, She Wrote, playing "Admiral Lee Spalding" in "Race to Death."

On August 8-10, 1997, he attended William Campbell's "Fantasticon '97" in Los Angeles with Kent McCord, whose ties to Galactica 1980 brought him to the Sci-Fi convention. A few weeks later, on September 18, he appeared on TV with Kent McCord on Dick Van Dyke's show, Diagnosis Murder, in the episode "Murder Blues."  The two once again were teamed up as police detectives hot on a case. Guess who was behind the wheel?

On January 1, 1998, Route 66: Return to the Road with Martin Milner  was released on VHS tape. In this 2-hour documentary, Milner drove a classic red Corvette  across the country on the "Mother Road," discovering the nation's history of fascinating people, places, and stories. The documentary was not only entertaining, but a valuable contribution to an understanding of American popular culture and social history.

In February 1998, he told Biography Magazine, "I have no complaints on any level. I'm pretty happy about the way everything has turned out. I'm married to the same girl for 40 years and we have some grandchildren now and I get to go fishing all I want. Life is pretty good."  He explained that he'd rather spend his time fishing, but enjoyed hosting his two-hour weekend call-in fishing radio show in San Diego. He also said he did little acting because he didn't want to take time away from his radio show. The one exception he had made, guest- starring in an episode of Diagnosis Murder a few months earlier, was an opportunity to act again with Kent McCord -- so he took it. In August, he and McCord were together again signing autographs at the San Diego "Comic-Con."

Martin Milner and Kent McCord at the San Diego "Comic-Con" (1998)
(Source: http://suzann.com/me/famous.htm)

In January 2000, he made the news when he tied with Ralph Branca, a former pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in having the most accurate Super Bowl predictions among 90 celebrities asked to participate in the "Scripps Howard Celebrity Super Bowl Poll" conducted by Scripps Howard News Service. The most ardent fan of the San Diego Chargers really knows his football!

In October 2000, Milner and McCord received the "Jack Webb Award" from the Los Angeles Police Historical society for their support of the Los Angeles Police Department and the community (Biography Magazine, September 2003).

On October 5, Milner appeared on cable television as he was interviewed in the A&E Biography on Jack Webb.

In 2001, the highway Route 66 celebrated its 75th anniversary, and Milner was involved in several activities associated with the event. On September 13, 2001, in San Bernardino, California, the "Route 66 Rendezvous" event was held over the course of four days. The Route 66 TV show was inducted into the "Cruisin' Hall of Fame" and Milner accepted the award on behalf of the show. A week later, on September 22, Milner served as Parade Grand Marshall at the California city of Duarte's 6th annual "Salute to Route 66 Parade" celebrating "75 Years of the Highway of Dreams" as well as the city's 44th anniversary of incorporation (The Duarte View, September-October 2001). To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Route 66 (also known as the Will Rogers Highway), nine decorative front-bumper license plates were issued for each of the states through which the highway runs, along with a "U.S." version. Each plate was unique in the central design of the Route 66 sign, reflecting the locales. All of the plates contained the text: "Martin Milner, Route 66, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Autographed License Plate" and Martin Milner's picture. View all 9 plates

Milner also commemorated the 75th Anniversary of Route 66 in 2001 by narrating an award-winning Public Radio International production on the history of the highway. Written by historian, biographer, and University of New Mexico English professor, David King Dunaway, the three-part series entitled “Across the Tracks: A Route 66 Story" was distributed by WFMT Networks in Chicago.  Listen to the series here in MP3 format at the University at Albany, State University of New York's "Talking History" website:

"Across the Tracks: A Route 66 Story" narrated by Martin Milner (2001):
Program I: "Route 66 Forever"   - Part I (29:17)   - Part II (28:56)
Program II: "Prairies and Plains"   - Part I (29:14)  - Part II (28:56)
Program III: "Mountains and Desert"   - Part I (28:56)   - Part II (28:12)

In an interview with Route 66 Magazine in the Fall 2001, Milner reported on his leisurely lifestyle at the age of 69. When at home in Carlsbad, he enjoyed the company of his wife Judy and their three Shih Tzu's. He also enjoyed co-hosting "Let's Talk Hook-up" with Pete Gray. But, he also spent a lot of time away from home on fishing trips hosting by the radio station. He had been fishing in New Zealand in April and May of 2001, and in June he was in Alaska doing the same. He said he had plans to finish 2001 by going to the Florida Keys, followed by a trip to Venezuela in December to fish for Peacock Bass. As far as his future was concerned, he really didn't feel any desire to act anymore, "No, not really. I don't like to go to Los Angeles. I'm not looking for those 12-hour days anymore. I've done just about everything in film and television, along with radio and Broadway.... I'd just like to do this radio show until I drop dead in my tracks, hopefully wearing a pair of waders. I don't make a lot of money from radio, but the perks are great -- equipment and trips, and the ability to do what I want to do."

Still working on the radio show, he continued to make autograph-signing appearances in 2002 and 2003.  On August 17, 2002, he attended the "1st International Route 66 Roadie Gathering" in Vega, Texas. One week later, he was at the first annual "Stars of the Zone" Twilight Zone Convention at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Hollywood, California, signing autographs for collectors and fans. On September 28-29, 2002, he was at the first "International Route 66 Mother Road Festival" in Springfield, Illinois. On July 11-13, 2003, he was down in Tucumcari, New Mexico, for the "2nd International Route 66 Roadie Gathering." On September 27-28, 2003, he made it to Springfield for the second annual "International Route 66 Mother Road Festival."

In 2003, Milner's radio show "Let's Talk Hook-up" got the opportunity to move to a bigger and better station. Show producer and co-host Pete Gray switched the show to "The Mighty 1090 AM" which offered the chance to broadcast on its huge signal from 7 a m. to 9 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday. AM 1090 is 50,000 watts and clear channel, meaning no other station west of the Mississippi uses the same frequency. The show continued to be popular, not just in California, but throughout  the western states, both because of the topic and because Gray and Milner worked so well together, complementing each other. As Pete Gray put it, "Marty is the guy who adds the color -- he's the John Madden of fishing" (Los Angeles Times, December 28, 2001).

During the week of February 23-27, 2004, designated "Crime Fighters Week" on The Hollywood Squares game show, Milner participated with a number of fellow TV veterans who starred in crime-fighting roles. Kent McCord shared a square with him.

In the Spring 2004, Martin Milner and Kent McCord were awarded the "Jose A. Cota Award for Merit" given to community members who are not members of the San Diego Police Department but have demonstrated "exceptional dedication to San Diego city law enforcement and or the mission of the San Diego Police Historical Association."

On August 21-22, 2004, he once more attended the "Twilight Zone Convention" at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Hollywood. The 3rd Annual Rondo Awards had nominated a DVD on which Milner had worked for "Best DVD Extra" (although another DVD won). Milner had narrated commentary on the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image" on the DVD Twilight Zone: Season One (commentaries were also done by Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Kevin McCarthy, and Rod Taylor). On September 25-26, he was in Springfield, Illinois for the third "International Route 66 Mother Road Festival."

In October 2004, he retired from "Let's Talk Hook-up" for health reasons.

A few months later, on December 18, his oldest daughter, Amy, lost her 20-month fight against leukemia at the age of 46. Amy's story had inspired hundreds of people in southern California alone to give blood and join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry as Bone Marrow Drives on her behalf were held in July and August 2004. Nationwide as well, media coverage of Amy's story prompted people to donate blood and register to donate marrow for Amy and others. Though a matching bone marrow donor was found for Amy, she was too ill by then to receive it. According the the San Diego Blood Bank newsletter, "The Milner family was not only committed to helping Amy, but all patients in need of blood transfusions and bone marrow transplants" (The Donor, Spring 2005). As Milner had put it when he asked for the public to help, "There's a good likelihood that somebody else could be saved, somebody not related to us at all... There are a lot of people waiting for good news" (North County Times, July 11, 2004).

2005-Present: Family and Fishing...

Since 2004, Milner has continued to be involved as a Commissioner for the San Diego Police Historical Association. He continues to fish when he can (he is partial to fly-fishing).

In January 2005, a DVD was released of him deep sea fishing in the Bahamas with host Robert Fuller (of Emergency fame) and guest Steve Forrest (of SWAT fame) in an episode of Fuller's 1996 TV show Fishing Fever.

In February 2010, he and his wife Judy celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. On December 28, 2009, he celebrated his 78th birthday... 

and not forgotten by his fans who still appreciate his work and his example...

Date unknown...

Fishing on the Kenai River in Alaska with John Barrett and the crew of the ESPN show Fly Fishing the World, Milner was fishing upstream from the film crew when they all started yelling and gesturing for him to come down stream. Milner figured the fishing was better where they were, and that was why they were calling him--so he continued fishing and slowly making his way downstream. When they persisted in their yelling and started pointing upstream, he turned and saw an Alaskan grizzly swimming straight toward him, about 60 feet and closing. Panicking, he started to run toward the riverbank but slipped on the rocks and fell. He quickly got up and made his way safely to shore. The bear wandered off into the woods, and Milner got a change of dry clothes. Though the whole incident was caught by ESPN cameras, it was cut from the final show because Barrett didn't want to embarrass Milner, despite him giving permission for the footage to be used on the air (Celebrity Fish Talk, 2005).

• A special thank you must go to L.A. Christy, the web master of "The Martin Milner Archives" for the compilation of articles and photos on Martin Milner that have been instrumental in my writing this biography. The website was: http://www.geocities.com/martin_milner/index.html.  Regrettably, it is no longer online.  You can try to access it at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at http://web.archive.org/collections/web.html.
• Thanks goes to Bobbie Jo Lee, Marketing/Communications Manager at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for her email assistance. The museum's website is: http://www.corvettemuseum.com
• Thanks goes to the web master of "The David Janssen Archive" for providing information on the friendship between Martin Milner and David Janssen, as well as the playbill for "Wild Bill Hiccup," and emailing me some research tips. His website is: http://www.davidjanssen.net
• Thanks goes to Pete Gray, host of "Let's Talk Hook-Up," for sending me two photos. His website is: http://www.hookup1090.com/
• Thanks to the "California Coastal Records Project" for allowing me to use a photo of the Del Mar beach: Copyright © 2002-2008 Kenneth & Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, http://www.Californiacoastline.org
  
• Thanks goes to North Hollywood High School for historic photos of the school. The website is: http://www.nhhs.net/index.jsp?rn=1990905
• Thanks goes to "The Official Kent McCord Website" for posting some articles and photos in the "Archives" which have been helpful. The website is: http://www.kentmccord.com/
• Thanks goes to Timothy Forbes, webmaster of the "The Twilight Zone Museum" website for allowing me to use a photo of Milner at the 2004 Twilight Zone Convention. The website is: http://www.twilightzonemuseum.com/welcome.php
  

1. "60s TV star seeks donor to save daughter's life." Deseret News (July 11, 2004). http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595076632,00.html
2. "1st International Route 66 Roadie Gathering." http://www.oldhamcofc.org/SpecialEvent.html
3. "The ABC Password Page." http://www.geocities.com/ABCPass/
4. "The ABC Password Page - The Celebrity Archives."  http://hometown.aol.com/ClassicTVBuff/TV_Web_Shrine/ABCPass_CelebArchives/
5. "About the Co-Hosts...." "HOOKUP690 HISTORY." http://www.west.net/~hookup/history.htm
6. “Across the Tracks: A Route 66 Story." "Talking History: Aural History Productions: The Radio Archive ~ January-June, 2003."  http://www.albany.edu/talkinghistory/arch2003jan-june.html
7. “Across the Tracks: A Route 66 Story." Directions in Sound vol. 49, no. 7 (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Radio and Television Services, July 2001) p. 4.
   
8. “Actor injured.” Lexington Herald Leader (August 26, 1985).
9. "Actor Martin Milner seeks help for ill daughter in Encinitas." North County Times (July 11, 2004). http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/11/news/top_stories/16_53_007_11_04.txt
10. "Adam-12." TV Guide Fall Preview Issue (September 14, 1968). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
11. Adams, Cindy. "Blowout on Route 66." TV Guide (January 26, 1963). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
12. Adelson, Andrea. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Pomona College Magazine (Summer 2000). http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/pcmsu00/3.shtml
    
13. "After Seven Years, Even the Rookie's a Pro." Calgary Herald TV Times (December 27, 1974). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
14. Albert, Diane L. "Do You Remember Adam-12?" The TV Collector (May-June 1995). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
15. Alvey, Mark. "Route 66."  Museum of Broadcast Communications. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/route66/route66.htm
16. Amory, Cleveland. "Review: Adam-12." TV Guide (December 14, 1968). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
17. "Amy Milner Loses Brave Battle with Leukemia." The Donor  vol. 33 (San Diego Blood Bank Newsletter: Spring 2005) p. 2. http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/pdf/the_donor/200501_spring_donor_newsletter.pdf
18. Anderson, George. "Martin Milner: The Private Life of a Cop." TV Radio Talk (January 1974). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
19. Ardmore, Jane. "Hiding Away with Martin Milner." Photoplay Magazine (February 1973). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
20. Arnold, Christine. “'Doubles' in Trouble.” The Miami Herald (January 23, 1987) p. 1D.
    
21. Arnold, Thomas K. "Former TV Star to Be KOGO Radio Co-Host." Los Angeles Times (May 5, 1983) p. SD_A9. 
22. Arnold, Thomas K. "'Dynamic Radio' to Begin." Los Angeles Times (November 11, 1983) p. SD_A12.
    
23. Bareiss, Warren. "The Life of Riley." Museum of Broadcast Communications. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/lifeofriley/lifeofriley.htm
24. Bern, May. "The Fears that Haunt Martin Milner." Inside TV (October 1969). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
25. “Branca, Milner Come Closest in Super Bowl Poll.” Scripps Howard News Service (January 31, 2000).
26. Brown, Les. "TV Notes: How '60 Minutes' Stumbled Into Prime Time."  New York Times (November 23, 1975) p. 149.
    
27. Burton, Betty. "Marty Milner Rushed to Hospital: Mystery Illness Puzzles Doctors."  TV Picture Life (December 1972). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
28. Burton, Jerry. "The Route 66 Faithful Congregate in Tampa." Corvette Quarterly (Summer 1990). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
29. Choice, Harriet. "Adam-12: 'To Protect and Serve.'" Chicago Tribune TV Week (August 9, 1969). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
30. "The Classic Hollywood Squares Site."  http://www.classicsquares.com/
31. “Close to Home.” The San Diego Union-Tribune (March 13, 1987).
    
32. Cunliffe, Michael. "The (Nashville) Beat Goes On." Ottawa Citizen Times (October 21, 1989). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
33. "The David Janssen Archive--Ch. 6: ARMY YEARS--Jun 1952-Jun 1954." http://www.davidjanssen.net/chron06.htm
34. Davidson, Bill. "Law and Order's Peter Pan." TV Guide (August 4, 1973). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
35. Davis, Ronald L. Zachary Scott: Hollywood's Sophisticated Cad. (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2006) p. 194. 
36. Dayton, Mark. "Martin Milner: Vagabond Family Man." Silver Screen (February 1963). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
37. “'Doubles' comedy is canceled.” St. Petersburg Times (February 13, 1987).
    
38. "Do You Remember?  Route 66." TV Collector (July-August 1986). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
39. "Duarte Route 66 Parade to Celebrate 75 Years on Highway of Dreams." The Duarte View (September-October 2001). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
40. Erickson, Hal. From Beautiful Downtown Burbank: A Critical History of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in, 1968-1973 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2000) p. 262. 
41. "Even Polio Didn't Keep Him Down." TV Channels (Baltimore, MD: October 14, 1973). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
42. "Faces Familiar." TV Star Parade (April 1955). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
43. "Filming Completed on 'Swiss Family Robinson'." Los Angeles Times (Feb 18, 1975) p. G12. 
44. Flynn, Harry. "Have Family--Will Travel." TV Picture Life (March 1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
45. "Fort Ord, California." http://nimst.tripod.com/cgi-bin/FtOrd.html
46. "From Broadway to Melodyland." Los Angeles Times (November 21, 1965) p. B20-21. 
47. "George is Back on the Road." Australian Women's Weekly (August 8, 1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
48. Goodwin, Fritz. "Behind the Wheel Again." TV Guide (November 23, 1968). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
49. Grippo, Robert M. and Hoskins, Christopher. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Chicago: Arcadia Publishing) p. 112. 
50. "Heading Up: Martin Milner." Movie Stars (October 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
51. "Internet Archive: Details: Dragnet the 50's Radio Show." http://www.archive.org/details/Dragnet_OTR
52. "The Internet Movie Database - Tattletales Episode List." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071063/episodes
53. "Irwin Allen's Swiss Family Robinson." http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/swissfamily.php#cite5
    
54. Jenkins, Dan. "Talk About Putting the Show on the Road!" TV Guide (July 22, 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
55. "Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs" http://otrsite.com/logs/logd1005.htm
56. Kane, Russell W. "TV Stunt Men Battle in Flats as 'Route 66' Leaves Beaten Track." Cleveland Plain Dealer (May 25, 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
57. Kapsis, Robert E., and Coblentz, Kathie, editors. Clint Eastwood: Interviews (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1999) p. 124. 
58. Kerr, Walter. "I Love Sandy Dennis But...." New York Times (November 5, 1967):  p. D3 (1). 
59. Korman, Seymour. "Route 66." Chicago Daily Tribune TV Week (August 27, 1960). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
60. "Lee Marvin is Injured."  New York Times (August 16, 1961) p. 63.
    
61. "Legends Behind the Badge--2004 Awards--2004 Jose A. Cota for Merit." San Diego Police Historical Association website. http://www.sandiegopolicemuseum.com/LegendsSet.htm
    
62. "Let's Talk Hook-up celebrates 14 years on the air."  http://www.loscabostunajackpot.com/2005_coverage/lth.php
63. "Life of Riley." http://www.geocities.com/alcus2/riley.html
64. "The Life of Riley (1953) Episode Guide." http://www.tv.com/the-life-of-riley-1953/show/2183/episode_guide.html?printable=1
65. "The Life of Riley TV Show Cast." http://crazyabouttv.com/lifeofriley.html
    
66. "Martin Milner." Biography Magazine (February 1998). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
67. "Martin Milner." "Fancast." http://www.fancast.com/people/Martin-Milner/83040/biography
68. "Martin Milner." "The Internet Movie Database." http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0590398/
69. "Martin Milner." "Movietome." http://www.movietome.com/people/9206/martin-milner/index.html
70. "Martin Milner." "NNDB." http://www.nndb.com/people/784/000031691/
    
71. "Martin Milner." People Weekly 44.n3 (July 17, 1995): p. 48. 
72. "Martin Milner." "TV.com."  http://www.tv.com/martin-milner/person/9206/summary.html
    
73. "Martin Milner." "TV Guide."  http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/martin-milner/164902
    
74. "Martin Milner." "Wikipedia."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Milner
    
75. "Martin Milner Biography." "Film Reference." http://www.filmreference.com/film/95/Martin-Milner.html
76. "Martin Milner Filmography." "Fandango." http://www.fandango.com/martinmilner/filmography/p49407
77. "Martin Milner Named Easter Seal Chairman." Los Angeles Times (March 2, 1973) p. J6. 
78. "Martin Milner: Off-Duty with 'Adam-12.'" TV Radio Show (September 1973). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
79. "Martin Milner Shines in 'Clowns.'" The Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois: March 1, 1977). 
80. "Martin Milner Takes the Defense." Movie Mirror (November 1975). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
81. "Marty Milner Sets a Style." Screen News (October 17, 1958). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
82. "Marty's Off to Russia to Teach 'Em How to Fish." (1992). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
83. McGilligan, Patrick. Clint: The Life and Legend. (New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2002) p. 46-47. 
84. Meisler, Andy. "Reunion: Martin Milner." TV Guide (October 1, 1983). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
85. "Milner: A Traveling Man." Detroit Free Press Weekly TV Channels 3 n. 2 (June 3, 1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
86. Milner, Martin. "The Last Child in the Family has Rights too!" TV Radio Mirror (March 1969). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
87. Milner, Martin. "A Route 66 Portrait." Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
88. Milner, Martin. "Vacation at Home." TV Channels--Dallas Morning News Weekly Magazine (July 8, 1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
89. Miron, Charles. "The Day They Told Me 'You'll Never Walk Again.'" TV Radio Mirror (August 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
90. Moore, Bob. "Marty Milner: Route 66." Route 66 Magazine (Fall 2001). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
91. Mueller, Mike. "Gettin' Their Kicks in a Corvette: CBS Television's Route 66."  Corvette 1953-1962: Motorbrook International (1966). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
92. “Names . . . Faces.” Boston Globe (February 22, 1980).
    
93. The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, Updated and Revised (NY: NY Times Company, 2004) p. 556. 
94. "The Ninety-Day Mistress: Who's Who in the Cast: Martin Milner." Playbill (New York: Biltmore Theater, November 6, 1967). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
95. Norton, Karen. "Actor Milner breaks ribs in Leelanau crash." The Traverse City Record-Eagle (August 24, 1985) p. 1.
    
96. "Notes for Life with Father (1947)." "Turner Classic Movies.com."
     http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=24789&category=Notes
97. "Now Serving: One Sheriff, Well Roasted." The Miami Herald (February 9, 1987).
98. "On the 'Nashville Beat.'" Nashville Beat Magazine (Fall 1989) p. 6-7. 
99. Park, Kermit. "Romancing the Road." Corvette Quarterly (Summer 1990). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
100. Park, Kermit. "The Roots of Route 66." 'Vette Vues Magazine (January 1988). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
101. Park, Kermit D. "Tod and Buz 30 Years Later." Corvette Quarterly (Summer 1990). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
102. Peek, Jeff. "'Mass Appeal' co-stars have become good friends." The Traverse City Record-Eagle (August 16, 1985) p. 8.
103. "Poinciana Playhouse History." http://www.pbtheaterguild.org/PoincianaPlayhouse.History.pdf
     
104. Porter, William. "Roadie festival will roll out lore, TV stars, author." Denver Post (April 13, 2003): p. T-08. 
105. Prelutsky, Burt. "The Making of a Cop." TV Guide (July 5, 1969). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
106. Pryor, Thomas M. "Chamales Novel Bought by M-G-M." New York Times (November 19, 1956) p. 39. 
107. Purcelli, Marion. "How to Live Out of a Suitcase--and Like It." Chicago Tribune TV Week (July 29, 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
108. "The Quiet Man." Screen Album (October 1961). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
109. Muriel Resnick, Muriel. "Has Play, Will Travel." New York Times (August 1, 1965) p. X1.
110. Resnick, Sylvia. "How Hollywood Men Take Care of their Bodies." Coronet (May 1976). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
111. Ross, Daniel Charles. "Pilgrimage to Bowling Green." Motor Trend 47 n. 2 (February 1995): p. 96-97. 
112. “'Route 66,' 'Adam-12' star Martin Milner back for more.” The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL: September 23, 2004).
     
113. “'Route 66' star still drawn to Mother Road.” The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL: September 19, 2002).
114. Schmalbach, Laura. "Martin Milner shines in 'Clowns.'" The Herald (Arlington Heights, IL: March 1, 1977) Sec. 4, p. 3.
115. Scott, Vernon. "Martin Milner: 'Other' Star of Route 66." St. Louis Dispatch TV Magazine (February 17-23, 1963). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
116. “See Stars in Daytime at Celebrity Tourney.” Lexington Herald-Leader (June 24, 1988).
     
117. Shain, Percy. "Honesty is Marty's Policy." Boston Globe (December 21, 1975). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
118. Slide, Anthony. Selected Film Criticism, 1941-1950. (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1982) p. 118-119. 
119. Smith, Mark Chalon. "Martin Milner on a New Route as a Drama Coach." Los Angeles Times, Orange County Edition (Apr 1, 1987) p. 1. 
120. "The Stars of Adam-12." Biography Magazine (September 2003) p. 27.   http://www.kentmccord.com/images/speaks/MartinKent-BioMag.jpg
     
121. "Still Behind the Wheel." TV News (July 19, 1969). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
122. Storm, Irene. "All About TV's Forgotten Man." TV Radio Mirror (October 1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
123. Strege, Dave. Celebrity Fish Talk: Tales of Fishing from an All-Star Cast. (Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing, 2005) p. 15-16. 
124. "The Stu Erwin Show." http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/US/Comedy/StuErwinTroubleWithFather.htm
125. “Successful blood drive.” Rancho Santa Margaita News: Orange County Register (August 20, 2004).
     
126. "The Tattletales Episode Guide - Tattletales (1975)."  http://web.archive.org/web/20011224012700/www.matchgame.org/episodeguides/tattletales/tt75.html
127. "They Come to Blows: Route 66." Movie Screen Yearbook (1963). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
128. Thomas, Pete. "Fishing Show Fans Do Know Him From Adam." The Los Angeles Times (December 28, 2001) p. D9.
129. "To Say the Least." http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/5410/tosaytheleast.html
130. "To Say the Least (1977)."  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135109/
131. "Trouble with Father Episode Guide." http://www.tv.com/trouble-with-father/show/25550/episode.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabssh&tag=tabs;episodes
     
132. "TV.com: The Hollywood Squares Episode Guide."  http://www.tv.com/the-hollywood-squares-1966/show/2561/episode_guide.html?printable=1
133. TV's Top Stars (1962). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
134. TV's Top Stars (1963). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."
135. Weeks, Jerome. "'Doubles' Serves Up Weak Laughs." The Dallas Morning News (January 8, 1987). 
136. “What's Up.” The Orange County Register (March 31, 1987).
     
137. "When Being Clean Cut Isn't Square." TV Star Annual (May 1973). Transcribed by L.A. Christie on website: "The Martin Milner Archives."