I hope that I can remember all the events that took place during those three or four weeks one summer when the cast and crew from Route 66, a popular television show of the early 60s came to Boston to film several episodes. As a short background let me say that I was a fanatic about Route 66 and especially George Maharis who played Buzz. But that wasn't going to get me on the set. The most important factor was that my father owned a Chevrolet dealership. And as fans of the show know, Todd and Buzz zigzagged across America in a Corvette.
I don't recall how we found out that Route 66 would be filming in Boston and of course we immediately started harassing my father about using his position as a Chevrolet dealer to get us up close and personal with the cast and crew. Whatever we did worked and so began our adventures.
I might not have these events in order but I'll try my best. One of the first filming locations was at the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. I don't know who my father talked to but we were allowed on the set and warned to behave ourselves. We must have been very good girls because we were asked to be in a scene they were shooting. They would film us as visitors walking up the stairs to the monument. We must have been very nervous, as it took several takes before we got it right. In retrospect I think they were just trying to keep us out of trouble. We never appeared in the episode. Another venue was the Boston Police Department headquarters. With my father leading us we walked through a crowd that had gathered in front of the building trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. We walked with our heads down because we didn't want to see the dirty looks aimed in our direction. How come they can go in? Who are they? Actually we were nobodies who happened to have a Chevrolet dealer for a dad. We also took a trip down to the USS Constitution one early morning. At this point I think the cast and crew were starting to get annoyed by our presence at every location and there were no more visits to the set.
Next Up: Is Gloucester on Route 66?
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Sazball thanks a lot, I can't wait for part two.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story and I'm looking forward to Part 2 as well. I remember the Boston episodes and will still look for some young visitors walking up the stairs to the landmark. By the way, one of my favorite parts of Route 66 is the location filming, which gives the show an authentic feel (almost as if you're traveling the country with Buz and Tod). Some of the DVDs include the Chevrolet commercials. Did you ever see the Corvette? If yes, what color is it? I've seen pictures showing it as blue or red, but think in one episode that Tod refers to it as gray (which it is...in black & white).
ReplyDeleteI thought it was red, at least the promo pictures had it as red and white.
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