Tod Stiles is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

portrayed by actor

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: ''Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and ''Adam-12'', which ai ...

on the 1960s

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prime-time dramatic

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

''. Tod was one of three main regular characters on the program, and the only one to appear in all 116 episodes of the show's four seasons.

Character history

Tod was born March 12, 1936, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at 4:30 AM, and raised in Rye (although he gives his birthplace as

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

on at least one occasion; his driver's license states that his hometown is Rye, New York), the son of Lee and Martha Stiles. His father was the owner of a shipping company in

. In 1960, shortly after Tod's graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, the elder Stiles suffered a series of business misfortunes that left him bankrupt. He then died of a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

, leaving Tod an inheritance consisting of little more than a brand new convertible

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

. With his future now in his own hands, Tod and his best friend

Buz Murdock Buz Murdock was a fictional character portrayed by actor George Maharis on the 1960s American prime-time dramatic television series '' Route 66''. Buz was one of three main regular characters on the program, and his tenure lasted for two and a half ...

(

George Maharis George Maharis (born September 1, 1928) is an American actor who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66''. Maharis also recorded numerous pop music albums at the height of his fame, and later starred in t ...

), an ex-gang member whom Tod's father had taken under his wing, decided to hit the road in the new car, traveling across America to seek their fortune in a variety of different jobs. After more than two years of adventuring on the road, Buz became seriously ill and was unable to travel with Tod any longer. Tod traveled by himself for a while, and then while working in Houston he encountered ex-Army Ranger and P.O.W.

Lincoln Case Lincoln Case was a fictional character portrayed by actor Glenn Corbett on the 1960s American prime-time drama '' Route 66''. Linc was one of three main regular characters on the program. His tenure began midway through the show's third season, whe ...

(

Glenn Corbett Glenn Corbett (born Glenn Edwin Rothenburg; August 17, 1933 – January 16, 1993)"CORBETT Obituary — Corbett, 59, starred in 'Route 66,' Wayne films." ''San Antonio Express-News'' January 18, 1993. Web. May 29, 2012. Document #0F22314D ...

), who had just returned from a stint in Vietnam. Although circumstances of their first meeting initially drew Tod and Linc into conflict (including a fistfight), the two soon became fast friends and Linc became his new traveling partner. After a year or so more of hopping around the country with Linc, Tod met Margo Tiffin (played by

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

), whose father Alexander had previously known Tod, in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

(where the episode was filmed). Mr. Tiffin had been so enamored of Tod that he left a stipulation in his will that required his daughter to marry him. Despite the forced circumstances of the relationship, Tod and Margo did indeed end up actually falling in love with each other and were married. After having to spend some time fending off the efforts of unscrupulous family members to claim Margo's father's fortune, Tod and his new bride determined to settle down, ending both Tod's nomadic lifestyle and the series. This occurred during the two-part series finale of ''Route 66'', both episodes of which aired in March 1964.

Personality Traits

The boyish-faced Tod usually presents a glib, affable, extroverted front which lightly masks a deeply thoughtful, introspective nature. At heart, he is a serious and analytical personality type with a strong moral code of ethics. Although primarily a pacifist, when the occasion calls for it he demonstrates himself just as able in fisticuffs as his more streetwise companion Buz. Throughout the series Tod shows an interest in racing sports of all kinds, and in one episode even modifies the Corvette to become a race car. He is also a licensed pilot. Due to his privileged upbringing, he is generally more comfortable in dealing with wealthy or aristocratic "society" types than Buz. Though Tod is seldom overtly snobbish, Tod and Buz will occasionally clash if and when Tod unthinkingly flaunts his education and/or society charm. Tod's eventual marriage to Margo Tiffin, while it seems the result of a hurried and circumstantially forced romance, is actually very much in keeping with the tendency Tod displayed over the course of the series to fall quick and hard for whichever young female happened to be handy. In fact, on at least two previous occasions during the course of his adventures, Tod very nearly married women whom he had only briefly known.

References

External links

*
Route 66 (1960) episode list on epguides.com

Route 66 (1993) episode list on epguides.com

Martin Milner IMDB page

- fan site, with text of numerous articles about the series * {{cite web , title=Biography of Martin Milner , url=http://MartinMilner.hollywood.com , work=Martin Milner Fansite @Hollywood.com , accessdate=2009-03-08 Site contains an extensive biography of Martin Milner with numerous references. Stiles, Tod