"Actors really should be tramps. They shouldn't get possessions. Look at me. I have a home in the San Fernando Valley, a wife, two daughters, a new baby son. And how often do I get home? About every three weeks!"
Martin Milner, who�s been on the road the last two years as star of CBS� Route 66, was talking. It wasn�t a lament, for he admitted he expected to be busy when he signed for the series.
�But�, he confessed, �I didn�t think we�d travel quite as much as we have. I thought we�d shoot more in Southern California. It�s interesting, though, that the audience reaction is better when we shoot on the road. It seems the farther away we are from Hollywood, the better the ratings.�
How long does he expect to keep traveling Route 66? �I�m fully prepared to go the length of my contract�five years,� Milner answered. Can an actor stay with a series too long? �Six or seven years is too long,� he said. �I think three years is ideal. It�s a difficult decision to make, however, because if a show runs six or seven years, you could be rich at the end of that time.
�My main worry is that after a certain point you become so identified with a character and a series that you might not be able to get work when your show goes off the air. I�m not living in a dream world. I�m preparing myself in case that happens to me.�