Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 â€" September 6, 2015) was an
American film, stage, radio, and television actor. Milner is best
known for his performances on two television series: Route 66, which
aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and Adam-12, which aired on NBC from
1968 to 1975.Milner was born on December 28, 1931 in Detroit,
Michigan, the son of Mildred (née Martin), a Paramount Theater
circuit dancer, and Sam Gordon Milner, who worked as a construction
hand and later a film distributor. His father was a Polish Jewish
immigrant. The family left Detroit when he was a young child, moved
frequently, and settled in Seattle, Washington by the time he was
nine. There he became involved in acting, first in school, and then in
a children's theater group at the Cornish Playhouse.When Milner was a
teenager, he moved with his family to Los Angeles where his parents
hired an acting coach and later an agent for him. Milner had his first
screen test and began his film career with his debut in the Warner
Bros. film Life with Father (1947) in the role of John Day, the second
oldest son of Clarence Day, played by William Powell, and Vinnie Day,
portrayed by Irene Dunne. Less than two weeks after that film was
completed in August 1946, Milner contracted poliomyelitis. He
recovered within a year and had bit parts in two more films, then
graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1949. He immediately
landed a minor role in the film Sands of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne.
American film, stage, radio, and television actor. Milner is best
known for his performances on two television series: Route 66, which
aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and Adam-12, which aired on NBC from
1968 to 1975.Milner was born on December 28, 1931 in Detroit,
Michigan, the son of Mildred (née Martin), a Paramount Theater
circuit dancer, and Sam Gordon Milner, who worked as a construction
hand and later a film distributor. His father was a Polish Jewish
immigrant. The family left Detroit when he was a young child, moved
frequently, and settled in Seattle, Washington by the time he was
nine. There he became involved in acting, first in school, and then in
a children's theater group at the Cornish Playhouse.When Milner was a
teenager, he moved with his family to Los Angeles where his parents
hired an acting coach and later an agent for him. Milner had his first
screen test and began his film career with his debut in the Warner
Bros. film Life with Father (1947) in the role of John Day, the second
oldest son of Clarence Day, played by William Powell, and Vinnie Day,
portrayed by Irene Dunne. Less than two weeks after that film was
completed in August 1946, Milner contracted poliomyelitis. He
recovered within a year and had bit parts in two more films, then
graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1949. He immediately
landed a minor role in the film Sands of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne.
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