Karen Funk Blocher has written on her Outpost Mavarin blog the second and final installment about why George Maharis left the “Route 66″ show at the height of its popularity in 1963.

In short, she reports that Maharis asked for a scaled-back shooting schedule that season because he was recovering from two bouts of hepatitis. Executive producer Herbert B. Leonard said Maharis was exaggerating his illness so he could break his contract and go into movies. Leonard also cited Maharis’ homosexuality and alleged run-ins with the law as why he couldn’t be trusted.

Funk Blocher, who interviewed the “Route 66″ principals for a book project, concludes:

Personally, I think George Maharis was legitimately concerned that his health was suffering, due to the punishing working conditions he was expected to put up with when he returned to work. He was very angry about it, and did not handle the situation with tact or discretion. The producers were ticked off: he was badmouthing the show and costing them money, just another star behaving badly. I doubt that they ever seriously considered the possibility that George was telling the truth, and that 15 hours days and shooting for hours in winter-cold water really was too much to ask of a guy with hepatitis. Actors who gripe in public are typically assumed to be spoiled and greedy, and Leonard didn’t trust Maharis anyway after learning that the handsome young star was not the All-American heterosexual heartthrob the producer thought he’d hired. Aside from offering more money, which they assumed was the real issue behind the histrionics, the producers made no attempt to address Maharis’s concerns, so he left the show. It’s a tragedy in the classical sense, with hubris and a fatal flaw leading to the star’s downfall. Maharis never regained the popularity he had for the first year and a half of his Route 66 tenure. [...]
I hesitate to say outright that Herbert B. Leonard was homophobic, and that this was a contributing factor to the misunderstandings surrounding Maharis’s departure from Route 66. But based on what we were told in those 1986 interviews, it’s a little hard to draw any other conclusion. It really is rather sad. Here was a rising young actor in the role of his life, and it all came crashing down for reasons that had very little to do with the reported ones.

On a related note, I think it would be cool if the organizers of the annual Route 66 Festival invited Maharis to next year’s gala in Clinton, Okla.

The other “Route 66″ co-star, Martin Milner, is in poor health and unable to make personal appearances. I’m sure the show holds bitter memories for Maharis. But perhaps time and retirement have served as a balm to those wounds.

Personally, I think roadies would be thrilled to meet one of the stars of a classic television show that helped cement the popularity of Route 66. In turn, such an experience would be a healing experience for Maharis.

So what do you think?

I’m not quite sure how, but Route 66 News was nominated for Best Writing in the 2006 Okie Blog Awards. (And, no, I can’t nominate myself.)

I’m flattered. However, I’m fairly certain I’ll be crushed, like an armadillo that’s strayed too far into the middle of the Mother Road, by Charles G. Hill’s Dustbury. He’s been at it a long time and writes about a lot of subjects very well.

Besides, I’m not sure what I’m doing is writing. Route 66 News is a repository of news along the road. It’s basically a lot of reporting, with a little writing when necessary.

Regrettably, I didn’t find out about the nominating process until late, and forgot to do anything about it. If I had, I would have nominated my favorite Oklahoma-based blog, Yet Another Small Town Moment, which isn’t one of the nominees.

The premise by OKDad’s blog is this: “Moving from Los Angeles to a small, rural town in Oklahoma has proven to be an interesting experience for my family and me.” His observations about the Sooner State are wry, affectionate and even touching.

This is how good of a blog it is: The first time I encountered it, I went to the archives and read every entry. I haven’t done that with a blog before or since.

I might as well use my site’s decent traffic to tout YASTM and show him some love. It is hoped that others will discover its delights. That way, someone else will nominate it next year, and OKDad won’t have to rely on my disorganized and forgetful self.

As the weather cools and leaves on the trees are about to turn colors, American Road magazine put out a press release reminding people of their recently redesigned Web site.

I can vouch for the magazine; it is a good resource of two-lane attractions.

As Example A of how hot retro styling is in America and around the world, the Chrysler PT Cruiser is celebrating the production and sale of its 1 millionth car since its start in 2000, according to DueMotori.com of Italy.

Not only does it look cool, but its gas mileage is decent, and its reliability is good enough to earn Best Buy honors at Consumer Reports magazine.

Why is this car being mentioned here? It’s because retro is a big part of Route 66. Also, a limited-edition Route 66 model of the PT cruiser was introduced a couple years ago.

The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader has a preview story and pretty much all the details about the Route 66 Days festival this coming Saturday in Strafford.

If the material on Route 66 News seems a bit sparse or somewhat disorganized in recent days, there’s a good reason. I was out of town the entire weekend, and any use I had of a computer was sporadic. Projects that would have required more of my time were shoved to the back burner.

The reason for my extended departure was because of a funeral. My brother-in-law and his wife’s twin girls were born prematurely, and both babies died a few days later.

I’m reluctant to tell of happenings in my life because this is a site about Route 66, not a journal. However, my wife Emily’s blog, aka Redforkhippie, serves a more personal purpose, and that’s where many people learned about the twins, Adeline and Georgia.

Emily, her family and I have been gratified by the outpouring of support and condolences from the Route 66 community during this sad time. I think several members of the family, who are not Route 66ers, now understand why we like this road so much.

Columnist Hank Billings of the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader passed on the tale of a reader’s chance meeting with outlaws Bonnie & Clyde on Route 66. It’s a good story.