Robert Duvall On The #route66 TV Show

The Oscar winner got his start in television, including this series that celebrated travel and the open road.

by Rich Watson 

This post is part of the Robert Duvall Tribute Blogathon. At the end I’ll tell you where to find more posts like this. 

Route 66 was the name of a CBS TV show from the early sixties which had little to do with the actual road, but had everything to do with driving across America and seeing its unfamiliar parts. Those who saw it remember it fondly as a quality dramatic series which captured the spirit of mid-twentieth century travel.

Among the future TV and film stars who appeared on the show included the late Robert Duvall.

Rock Cafe, The #route66 Restaurant That Survived a Tornado

Have lunch at the Oklahoma restaurant that endured disastrous weather and provided inspiration for a movie.

by Rich Watson 

Oklahoma, according to Wikipedia, lies between a semi-arid zone, a humid continental one and a humid subtropical one. This means weather can get weird in a hurry. The biggest weather problem people have there is with tornadoes.

The staff of the Rock Cafe, on Route 66 in Stroud, OK, know about tornadoes. They survived one that nearly wiped the town out.

#route66: When In Illinois, Look Out For the Gemini Giant

One of the first major landmarks on the Mother Road is this space-age statue, a relic from a time when such monuments were popular.

by Rich Watson 

He stands thirty feet tall. He wears a bullet-shaped helmet and a blue-green jumpsuit. And he holds a miniature rocket in his hands. 

A movie superhero? Nope, he’s the Gemini Giant—one of many so-called “muffler men” across the country over the years and one of a number that remain along Route 66.