The libraries of Route 66

Route 66 abounds in physical labor and fisticuffs, but Tod (Martin Milner) and Buz (George Maharis) and, later, Linc (Glenn Corbett) still make time to use a local library. In “The Mud Nest” (November 10, 1961), Tod and Buz visit the Central Library of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library in search of information about Buz’s mother. This episode has an extraordinary cast: Ed Asner, Lon Chaney Jr., Betty Field, and three Maharis siblings. Chaney and Field never share a scene — a pity, given their work in Of Mice and Men (dir. Lewis Milestone, 1939). But if you watch the episode, you’ll understand why.


[That’s what they call “Doris Day parking.”]




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In “Who in His Right Mind Needs a Nice Girl” (February 7, 1964), Tod and Linc visit the City Island Library, Daytona Beach, Florida. Hiding out in a bookmobile: Joe (Lee Philips), a murderer on the run. Lois Smith plays Lucy Brown, a lonely librarian who falls under his spell. The present-day City Island Library postdates this episode.


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Elaine and I love Route 66.

Related reading
All Route 66 posts (Pinboard)
The Wheel of Information (a Pratt resource)