George Maharis

George Maharis (born September 1, 1928)[1] is an American actor who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series Route 66. Maharis also recorded numerous pop music albums at the height of his fame, and later starred in the short-lived TV series The Most Deadly Game.

George Maharis
Maharis in 1962 publicity photo
Born (1928-09-01) September 1, 1928
Astoria, Queens, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor, singer, artist
Years active1953–1993

Early years

Maharis was one of seven children born to Greek immigrants in Astoria, Queens.[1] He attended Flushing High School and served in the United States Marine Corps for 18 months.[2]

He studied at the Actors Studio and appeared in off-Broadway productions of Jean Genet's Deathwatch and Edward Albee's The Zoo Story. He appeared on Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Stirling Silliphant's Naked City and Otto Preminger's Exodus, and in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow as Bud Gardner, one of Joanne Gardner's relatives who married Janet Bergman Collins.

Route 66

In 1960, Maharis appeared as Buz Murdock in the TV series Route 66, which co-starred Martin Milner. Maharis was 32 at the time the series started, although the character he was playing was only 23. He received an Emmy nomination in 1962 for his continuing performance as Buz.

Maharis departed without completing his third season of the series, which saw him with health problems, including hepatitis.[3][4]

Maharis said he left Route 66 for health reasons, due to long hours and grueling conditions while shooting on location. "I have to protect my future", Maharis said in a 1963 interview. "If I keep going at the present pace, I'm a fool. Even if you have $4,000,000 in the bank, you can't buy another liver."[5]

Series producers Stirling Silliphant and Herbert B. Leonard disputed Maharis' stated position, arguing that he desired to break his contract in order to make movies.[5] After Maharis' departure, the show's appeal declined. Glenn Corbett acted in the role of Milner's new sidekick, Linc Case. A year later Route 66 was canceled.

Later career

Maharis, circa 1972

For Maharis, a string of films followed, including Quick, Before It Melts (1964), The Satan Bug and Sylvia (both 1965), A Covenant With Death and The Happening (both 1967), and The Desperados (1969).[6]

Returning to series television in 1970, Maharis starred as criminologist Jonathan Croft in The Most Deadly Game. The series lasted 12 episodes, ending in January 1971.

He modeled fully nude for the July 1973 issue of Playgirl magazine as one of the first celebrities to do so.[7][8]

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Maharis had featured roles in several television movies and also guest-starred on numerous television series, including Mission: Impossible, Fantasy Island, Kojak, McMillan & Wife, Barnaby Jones, Police Story, Switch, Cannon, Night Gallery, and The Bionic Woman, as well as Murder, She Wrote in 1990.[6]

He appeared as Count Machelli, King Cromwell's War Chancellor in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982). He also starred with the Kenley Players in productions of Barefoot in the Park (1967) and How the Other Half Lives (1973) and in national touring company productions of Company and I Ought to Be in Pictures. In the 1980s, he performed in Las Vegas. Doppelganger (1993) was his last motion picture role.[6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1953The Philco Television PlayhouseDancer at the Dance Club
1957Goodyear Television Playhouse
1958The MuggerNicholas Grecco
1959Brenner
1960Alcoa TheatreJohnny Cesare
1959–60Naked CityJohnny Gary
1960ExodusYaov
1961Splendor in the Grassuncredited
1960–61Search for TomorrowBud Gardner
1960–63Route 66Buz Murdock
1963The Judy Garland Show
1964Quick, Before It MeltsPeter Santelli
1965SylviaAlan Macklin
1965The Satan BugLee Barrett
1965Hullabaloo
1966A Small RebellionMichael KolinosTV film
1966Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreMiles Catlan; Michael Kolinos
1967A Covenant with DeathBen Lewis
1967The HappeningTaurus
1967The Danny Thomas HourPhil Pearson
1968Escape to MindanaoJoe WaldenTV film
1968Journey to the UnknownDrake
1969The DesperadosJacob Galt
1969The MonkGus MonkTV film
1970Land RaidersPaul Cardenas
1970El Último Día de la Guerra (The Last Day of the War)Sgt. Chips Slater
1970The Most Deadly GameJonathan Croft
1971Night GalleryPeter Lacland
1971Cade's CountyDeck Minty
1971Medical CenterEvan Kenbrook
1972CannonPaul Stubber
1972The VictimBen ChapelTV film
1973Mission: ImpossibleThomas Bachman
1973Barnaby JonesWarren Davis
1974Movin' OnHarry Armour
1974The Wide World of MysteryWalter
1974ShaftWally Doyle
1974Marcus Welby, M.D.Curtis Haynes
1974The Snoop SistersRobert Duware
1974ThrillerMark Fields
1974Death in SpaceDr. Dan SummitTV film
1974McMillan & WifeWalter Webley
1974NakiaJoe Arnold
1975Murder on Flight 502Robert DavenportTV film
1976Ellery QueenDr. Tony Bender
1976Rich Man, Poor ManJoey QualesTV miniseries
1976Good HeavensGary Lawrence
1976Jigsaw JohnRobert Derek
1976Bert D'Angelo/SuperstarLee Mitchell
1976Look What's Happened to Rosemary's BabyGuy WoodhouseTV film
1976Gibbsville
1976The Bionic WomanSgt. Bob Welton
1977SST: Death FlightLes PhillipsTV film
1977KojakRinger
1973–77Police StorySgt. Hank Delany; J.R. Peters; Salter
1977The Feather and Father GangSherwin
1977SwitchClouston
1978Return to Fantasy IslandBensonTV film
1978Logan's RunGavin
1978CrashEvan WalshTV docudrama
1979–82Fantasy IslandJoe Capos; Prof. Alan Blair; Mario Ferini; Dr. Hal Workman; Jack Becker
1982The Sword and the SorcererMachelli, Cromwell War Chancellor
1984Matt HoustonDr. Charles Brockway
1984The MasterSimon Garrett
1989SuperboyJack McAlister
1990Murder, She WroteAlex Burton
1993DoppelgangerMike Wallace

Art and music

Maharis released albums and singles through Epic Records earlier in his career. His only top-40 pop hit was his version of the standard "Teach Me Tonight", which hit number 25 in June 1962, although several other singles charted below the top 40. Later, he performed in nightclubs and pursued a secondary career as an impressionist painter. As of 2008, Maharis was still painting, splitting his time between New York and Beverly Hills.[7]

Albums

Original releases
  • 1962 – George Maharis Sings! – Epic LN 24001/BN 26001[9]
  • 1962 – Portrait in Music – Epic LN 24021/BN 26021[10]
  • 1963 – Just Turn Me Loose! – Epic LN 24037/BN 26037[11]
  • 1963 – Where Can You Go For a Broken Heart? – Epic LN 24064/BN 26064[12]
  • 1964 – Make Love to Me – Epic LN 24079/BN 26079
  • 1964 – Tonight You Belong to Me – Epic LN 24111/BN 26111
  • 1966 – New Route: George Maharis – Epic LN 24191/BN 26191
CD reissues
  • 1995 – George Maharis & John Davidson (Songs from George Maharis Sings!) Sony 28950
  • 2000 – George Maharis Sings!/Portrait in Music (2 LPs on 1 CD) Collectibles ASIN B00004TRWR[13]

Singles

Original releases
  • 1962 – "After the Lights Go Down Low" / "Teach Me Tonight" – Epic 5-9504
  • 1962 – "They Knew About You" / "Love Me as I Love You" – Epic 5-9522
  • 1962 – "I'll Never Smile Again" / "Can't Help Falling In Love" – Epic 5-9545
  • 1962 – "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" / "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" – Epic 3-9548
  • 1962 – "Baby Has Gone Bye Bye" / "After One Kiss" – Epic 5-9555
  • 1963 – "Don't Fence Me In" / "Alright, Okay, You Win" – Epic 5-9569
  • 1963 – "Where Can You Go (For a Broken Heart)" / "Kiss Me" – Epic 5-9600
  • 1963 – "That's How It Goes" / "It Isn't There" – Epic 5-9613
  • 1963 – "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" / "Sara Darling" – Epic 5-9653
  • 1964 – "Tonight You Belong to Me" / "The Object of My Affection" – Epic 5-9696
  • 1965 – "I'm Coming Back for You" / "Lonely People Do Foolish Things" – Epic 5-9753
  • 1965 – "Where Does Happiness Go" / "More I Cannot Do" – Epic 5-9772
  • 1965 – "You Always Hurt the One You Love" / "Quien Sabe? (Who Knows? Who Knows?)" – Epic 5-9844
  • 1965 – "A World Without Sunshine" / "Ivy" – Epic 5-9858
Reissues
  • "Teach Me Tonight"/"Baby Has Gone Bye Bye" (At least one reissue on Memory Lane)

References

  1. "Stars of TV's 'Route 66' working on opposite coasts". Albuquerque Journal. November 16, 2003. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2012. George Maharis was born September 1, 1928, in Astoria, N.Y.
  2. Gehman, Richard (April 14, 1961). "George Maharis: TV's hard-driving rebel". TV Guide.
  3. Genzlinger, Neil (May 18, 2012). "A Half-Century-Old Road to Today". The New York Times.
  4. "George Is Back on the Road", Television Supplement to the Australian Women's Weekly, August 8, 1962, archived from the original on August 28, 2004
  5. "They Come to Blows: Route 66", Movie Screen Yearbook 1963, 1963, archived from the original on October 26, 2009
  6. George Maharis at IMDb
  7. Rahner, Mark (March 5, 2008). "George Maharis, 'Route 66' and that Corvette are back—on DVD". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017.
  8. "A Penis on Every Page: The Rise and Fall of Playgirl". Esquire. June 24, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  9. George Maharis – George Maharis Sings! at AllMusic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  10. George Maharis – Portrait in Music at AllMusic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  11. George Maharis – Just Turn Me Loose! at AllMusic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  12. George Maharis – Where Can You Go for a Broken Heart? at AllMusic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  13. George Maharis – George Maharis Sings!/Portrait in Music at AllMusic. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
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