George Maharis

About George Maharis

Who is it?: Actor, Soundtrack
Birth Day: September 01, 1928
Birth Place:  Astoria, New York, United States
Occupation: Actor, singer, artist
Years active: 1953–1993

George Maharis

George Maharis was born on September 01, 1928 in  Astoria, New York, United States, is Actor, Soundtrack. Tall, dark and handsome, not to mention a charismatic rebel of 60s Hollywood, actor George Maharis (real Greek family name is Mahairas) was born in 1928 in Astoria, New York as one of seven children. His immigrant father was a restaurateur. George expressed an early interest in singing and initially pursued it as a career, but extensive overuse and improper vocal lessons stripped his chords and he subsequently veered towards an acting career.Trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner and the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg, the "Method" actor found roles on dramatic TV, including a few episodes of "The Naked City," and secured an early name for himself on the late 1950s's off-Broadway scene, especially with his performances in Jean Genet's "Deathwatch" and Edward Albee's "Zoo Story". Producer/director Otto Preminger "discovered" George for film, offering the actor a choice of five small roles for his upcoming film Exodus (1960). George chose the role of an underground freedom fighter.One of the episodes George did on the police drama "The Naked City" series ("Four Sweet Corners") wound up being a roundabout pilot for the buddy adventure series that would earn him household fame. With the arrival of the series Route 66 (1960), the actor earned intense TV stardom and a major cult following as a Brandoesque, streetwise drifter named Buzz Murdock. Partnered with the more fair-skinned, clean-scrubbed, college-educated Tod Stiles (Martin Milner, later star of Adam-12 (1968)), the duo traveled throughout the U.S. in a hotshot convertible Corvette and had a huge female audience getting their kicks off with "Route 66" and George. During its peak, the star parlayed his TV fame into a recording career with Epic Records, producing six albums in the process and peaking with the single "Teach Me Tonight".During the middle of the series' third season peak, Maharis abruptly left the series with a number of reasons cited. Often quoted is that the virile, seductive image of a fast rising star apparently got to George and he proved increasingly troublesome as he grew in stature. The tabloids reported that George purposely instigated ongoing clashes with both producers and co-star Milner in order to leave the series and seek film stardom while the irons were hot. Maharis denies this and insists that his working relationships on the set were solid and vastly overblown. He cited health reasons as the reason for his leaving, claiming that a long term bout (and relapse) of infectious hepatitis, caught during a 1962 shoot of the series, forced him to abandon the show under doctor's orders.For whatever reason, Maharis left. His replacement, ruggedly handsome Glenn Corbett, failed to click with audiences and the series was canceled after the next season. Back to pursuing films, the brash and confident actor, with his health scare over, aggressively stardom with a number of leads but the duds he found himself in -- Quick Before It Melts (1964), Sylvia (1965), A Covenant with Death (1967), The Happening (1967), and The Desperados (1969) prime among his list of disasters -- hampered his chances. The best of the lot was the suspense drama, The Satan Bug (1965), but it lacked box-office appeal and disappeared quickly. Moreover, a 1967 sex scandal (and subsequent one in 1974) could not have helped.Returning to TV in the 70s, George returned to series TV with the short-lived The Most Deadly Game (1970) co-starring fellow criminologists Ralph Bellamy and Yvette Mimieux (who replaced the late Inger Stevens who committed suicide shortly before shooting was about to start). The decade also included a spat of TV-movies including the more notable The Monk (1969) and Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). In between he appeared in Las Vegas nightclubs and summer stock, and was one of the first celebrities to pose for a nude centerfold in Playgirl (July 1973).His last years brought about the occasional film, most notably as the resurrected warlock in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) and an appearance in the horror thriller Doppelganger (1993). With his "bad boy" glory days behind him, Maharis' TV career ended rather routinely with guest parts on such popular but unchallenging shows such as "Fantasy Island" and "Murder, She Wrote".Maharis' later years were spent focusing on impressionistic painting. He has been fully retired since the early 1990s.
George Maharis is a member of Actor

Does George Maharis Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, George Maharis is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020).

🎂 George Maharis - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday

Currently, George Maharis is 96 years, 3 months and 21 days old. George Maharis will celebrate 97rd birthday on a Monday 1st of September 2025. Below we countdown to George Maharis upcoming birthday.

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
Popular As George Maharis
Occupation Actor
Age 94 years old
Zodiac Sign Libra
Born September 01, 1928 ( Astoria, New York, United States)
Birthday September 01
Town/City  Astoria, New York, United States
Nationality United States

🌙 Zodiac

George Maharis’s zodiac sign is Libra. According to astrologers, People born under the sign of Libra are peaceful, fair, and they hate being alone. Partnership is very important for them, as their mirror and someone giving them the ability to be the mirror themselves. These individuals are fascinated by balance and symmetry, they are in a constant chase for justice and equality, realizing through life that the only thing that should be truly important to themselves in their own inner core of personality. This is someone ready to do nearly anything to avoid conflict, keeping the peace whenever possible

🌙 Chinese Zodiac Signs

George Maharis was born in the Year of the Dragon. A powerful sign, those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Dragon are energetic and warm-hearted, charismatic, lucky at love and egotistic. They’re natural born leaders, good at giving orders and doing what’s necessary to remain on top. Compatible with Monkey and Rat.

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Biography/Timeline

1960

In 1960, Maharis appeared as Buz Murdock in the popular TV series Route 66, which co-starred Martin Milner. Maharis was 32 at the time the series started, although the character he was playing was only 23. He received an Emmy nomination in 1962 for his continuing performance as Buz.

1962

Maharis released LPs and singles through Epic Records earlier in his career. His only top-40 pop hit was his version of the standard "Teach Me Tonight", which hit number 25 in June 1962, although several other singles charted below the top 40. Later, he performed in nightclubs, and pursued a secondary career as an impressionist Painter. As of 2008, Maharis was still painting, while splitting his time between New York and Beverly Hills.

1963

Maharis departed without completing his third season on the series, which saw him with health problems, including hepatitis. Maharis said he left Route 66 for health reasons, due to the long hours and grueling conditions he frequently experienced while shooting episodes on location. "I have to protect my Future," Maharis said in a 1963 interview. "If I keep going at the present pace, I'm a fool. Even if you have $4,000,000 in the bank, you can't buy another liver." Series producers Stirling Silliphant and Herbert B. Leonard said that Maharis desired to break his contract and make movies. After Maharis' departure, the show's appeal declined. Glenn Corbett stepped in as Milner's new sidekick on the road, Linc Case, but a year later, Route 66 was canceled.

1964

For Maharis, a string of films followed, including Quick, Before It Melts (1964), The Satan Bug and Sylvia (both 1965), A Covenant With Death and The Happening (both 1967), and The Desperados (1969).

1970

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Maharis guest-starred in many television series, including Mission: Impossible, Fantasy Island, Kojak, McMillan & Wife, Barnaby Jones, Police Story, Switch, Cannon, Night Gallery, and The Bionic Woman, as well as Murder, She Wrote in 1990.

1973

He modeled fully nude for the July 1973 issue of Playgirl magazine as one of the first celebrities to do so.

1982

He appeared as Count Machelli, King Cromwell's War Chancellor in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982). He also starred with the Kenley Players in productions of Barefoot in the Park (1967) and How the Other Half Lives (1973) and in national touring company productions of Company and I Ought to Be in Pictures. In the 1980s, he performed in Las Vegas. In 1993, he performed in Doppelganger.

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