Martin Milner, 1960s TV Star, Dies at 83
Ethan Hayes
Updated on March 17, 2026
Martin Milner, the actor propelled to stardom by his leading role in two 1960s TV series, Route 66 and Adam-12, died Sunday. He was 83, the Associated Press reports.
Milner began his career as a teen actor, but it wasn’t until he co-starred with George Maharis as part of a pair of travelers crisscrossing America in Route 66 that Milner became a star. Milner’s character, Tod Stiles, was a formerly rich kid whose dad left him nothing but a Corvette—which he used to travel Route 66.
After contract issues on Route 66, Milner worked on Adam-12, where he acted as a veteran cop mentoring a rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department.
“I had a long, long friendship with Marty and we remained friends up till the end,” Adam-12 co-star Kent McCord said on Monday. “He was one of the really true great people of our industry with a long, distinguished career … He was one of the great guys. I was lucky to have him in my life.”
