Listen to George Maharis sing "Route 66" on his birthday
As the fiery and wise Buz Murdoch on Route 66, George Maharis appropriately became a teen idol. The series appeared in 1960, and its handsome costar was as cool as the Corvette. A 1962 headline on the cover of Teen magazine proclaimed him "Rugged But Gentle." (Side note: The same cover dubbed Paul Petersen of The Donna Reed Show a "Swingin' Egg-Head.") That same year, Epic Records put Maharis in a recording studio to capitalize on his appeal with all generations.