George Maharis, 'Route 66' Star, Dies at 94

George Maharis, the handsome star of "Route 66" who left the series at the peak of its popularity, died Wednesday, May 24, at 94.

His friend and caretaker Marc Bahan confirmed the actor's death on Facebook Saturday.

"George is well known for his stardom [on 'Route 66'], stage productions, singing, artist, and above all a great guy would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you’ll be terribly missed," he wrote.

Maharis was born September 1, 1928, to Greek immigrant parents in NYC. After a stint in the Marines, he studied at the Actors Studio in the late '40s, working off-Broadway.

His TV debut came in 1953 and his film debut was 1958's "The Mugger."

Though he had a number of early-TV credits — juicily playing Marlon Brando on a 1955 episode of Brando's friend Wally Cox's "Mister Peepers" — it was "Route 66" that made him a household name in 1960.

Maharis was Emmy-nominated in 1962 for his charismatic performance as Buz Murdock and cut a hit record (1962's "Teach Me Tonight"), but by 1963, citing exhaustion and a hepatitis diagnosis, had left the series, which never regained its initial spark.

It was rumored he desired to focus on films — which he denied. He did appear in a succession of features: "Quick, Before It Melts" (1964), "Sylvia" (1965), "The Satan Bug" (1965), "A Covenant with Death" (1967), and "The Happening" (1967).

For the July 1973 issue of then-new women's mag Playgirl, Maharis posed nude, showing off quite a bit more than the celebrities who had preceded him.

Gr8erDays.com reports he told Esquire.com decades later of the experience, "Nobody told me it was a nude centerfold! Nobody mentioned it. We were doing the shooting and [the photographer kept saying] to me, 'Well, you can’t show that.' I said, 'For Christ’s sake, man, if it’s gonna be a nude centerfold, that’s what I was born with.'”

Among his many other TV appearances were the 13-episode series "The Most Deadly Game" (1970-1971), the miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976), and the TV movie "Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby" (1976).

His final film was the 1993 Drew Barrymore thriller "Doppelganger."

There is no information on survivors.