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.
About the Route 66 show
Route 66 was unusual in that stars Martin Milner and George Maharis didn’t have a clear purpose to their travels. They didn’t hunt a one-armed man who killed their wives; nor were they a crack commando unit who survived as soldiers of fortune, or anything like that. They were just regular guys who drove across the country in a Chevy Corvette.
It’s safe to say creators Stirling Silliphant and executive producer Herbert B. Leonard were inspired by the Beat Generation novel On the Road, by Jack Kerouac.
He saw similarities between his story and the show’s premise—indeed, Maharis resembled Kerouac—and considered suing. His lawyers, though, told him he couldn’t win. (On the Road did become a movie after Kerouac’s death.)
The show’s location shooting is impressive. The producers didn’t go to actual Route 66 destinations, but they did shoot in many off-the-beaten-track spots around the country. That must’ve exposed their audience to many unfamiliar parts of America.
The characters, Tod and Buz, have a strong rapport that helps them get out of the sticky situations they often find themselves in—though I’m sure they had more leisurely times, too. And the stories are well-written.
My friend Pam Sosnowski wrote a long and loving appreciation of the show on her blog Go Retro.
About Robert Duvall
The San Diego native died in February at 95. In a career spanning a remarkable eight decades, Duvall was a five-time Oscar nominee, winning Best Actor in 1984 for his role as a down-and-out country music singer in Tender Mercies. Many will remember him best for his part in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather franchise. He also had a memorable role in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Personally, I remember him well for a 1997 movie he wrote and directed called The Apostle. He gave a firebrand performance as a country preacher with a crisis of faith that leads to a life change. It was a passion project for him; he used four million dollars from out of his own pocket to make it.
I never forgot him in it, and I was convinced he was a lock to win the Best Actor Oscar. When he didn’t get it, I admit, I was perturbed.
Duvall, like many young Hollywood actors during the fifties and sixties, worked in early television. In addition to Route 66, his TV resume included Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables and The Fugitive.
He appeared in three episodes of Route 66. The one I’m spotlighting is called “The Newborn.”
“The Newborn”
Tod and Buz work as farmhands on a New Mexico ranch. Ivy, the boss, awaits the birth of his grandchild from an Indian woman. His son raped her, and though he paid for his crime in death, Ivy still wants to raise the child his way. Kawna, the woman, is a converted Catholic and feels disgraced over her situation. When she hides in Tod and Buz’s car, they take responsibility for her situation after they leave the ranch. Ivy, however, is determined to find Kawna and her baby.
Duvall plays a henchman of Ivy’s. He gets into a couple of fights with Buz, a short one and a longer one later on, after the baby is born and Duvall hunts for them.
There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about his role or his performance. He’s a bad guy (though not the bad guy), acts like one, and gets what he deserves before the story ends.
The episode is quite moving, touching on issues of faith and family. Director Arthur Hiller would go on to make the movies Love Story, with Ryan O’Neal, and The Out-of-Towners, with Jack Lemmon. Albert Dekker (as Ivy) had a long career in the movies, known for The Killers, Gentleman’s Agreement and East of Eden, among many others. Arlene Martel (as Kawna, billed as Arline Sax), may best be remembered as Spock’s fiancée in the Star Trek episode “Amok Time.” She made lots more TV.
Duvall would appear in Mockingbird a year later. He’d alternate between TV and the movies, such as Coppola’s The Rain People in 1969.
When it came time to cast for the first Godfather movie, Coppola knew he wanted Duvall as Hagen, consigliere to the Corleone crime family.
The rest was history.
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More posts in The Robert Duvall Tribute Blogathon can be found at Taking Up Room, from June 5-7.
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