The “Route 66” crew was all smiles this morning.

The sky was clear; the sun was shining – perfect weather for filming outdoor scenes.

Martin Milner, one of the stars of the television series shown here weekly over KZTV, appeared in a jovial mood as the crew shot scenes for the episode at Corn Products Refining Co.  on Upriver Road.

Milner, along with the others, has little time for relaxing on the set, however.  The production schedule is tight – filming of the first episode is due to be completed Saturday – and the crew makes the most of its time.

SCENES ARE rehearsed until director David Lowell Rich believes they are ready.  Then the cameras roll.

Milner studies his lines when he has a few free moments.

“I don’t know how much time I spend on it,” he remarked.  “Whatever I can while we are shooting and probably 10 hours off the set.”

“Off the set” is at night in preparation for the next day’s shooting.

After long experience, learning lines becomes fairly easy he said.

MILNER HAS been acting in movies and TV for 17 of his 31 years.  He practically grew up in show business.  His father, the late Sam Milner, was a film distributor, and his mother is the former Jerry Martin, once a dancer and assistant with the Paramount Theater circuit.

Young Milner started acting in children’s plays in grade school.  Later the Milners settled in Hollywood and he got into movies.  His first important role was as John Day, the second eldest son in “Life With Father.”

He acted in 17 features before induction into the Army in 1952.

AFTERWARD HE went into television and has appeared in more than 150 TV shows.

About 80 of those have been the “Route 66” series, now in its third year.

In it he plays Tod Stiles, one of two young men traveling around the country, working at odd jobs and theoretically looking for “roots.”

All the films are shot on location and, therefore, require continuous travel on the road.

“IT’S A tough grind,” he agreed, but he likes the work and the series.  Although the series runs about 36 weeks a year, the company spends the entire year producing it.  Milner managed to get in a couple of weeks’ vacation during the past year.

Happily, he said, he is able to take his wife and three young children with him on location about eight months out of the year.

They came to Corpus Christi with him. They have and apartment at the Shoreline Terrace Motor Hotel where Mrs. Milner can cook. The rest of the crew is staying at the Viking Motor Hotel.