Fred Lynch retired in 2018 after capturing images for the Southeast Missourian since 1975, in that time moving from black-and-white to color, from film to digital and to video. The blog title is a nod to an earlier era of news photography and the 4x5 Speed Graphic: It's more important to be there for the shot than to worry about technical details.

'Route 66' TV star gets his kicks in Cape

Posted Monday, September 20, 2010, at 7:30 AM

Frony had a brush with fame in 1962 after learning that some of the "Route 66" television show crew were in Cape Girardeau for lunch.

Nov. 14, 1962 Southeast Missourian

Route 66 Star Pauses Here

Martin Milner, star of the television series "Route 66," stopped in Cape Girardeau briefly Tuesday to eat lunch at the Colonial Restaurant. He and eight members of his traveling party were all driving sleek sports cars similar to the one Mr. Milner was sitting on and drove off moments after the picture was taken. The other star of the series, George Maharis, who plays "Buz," also stopped here later in the day with the majority of crew members and actors traveling by bus. The adventure series will film a program soon at Memphis after shooting at St. Louis.

Editor's Note:

It looks like the car is a 1963 Chevy Corvette Stingray. "Route 66" was sponsored by Chevrolet and featured new Corvettes each year. In the show, Martin Milner played Yale graduate Tod Stiles. After his wealthy father dies, Stiles ends up with one possession, a powder blue Chevrolet Corvette. He meets up with Buz Murdoch and the two hit the road in search of adventure. The show's sponsor provided a new car for Tod and Buz to drive each year without explanation of how they got it.

Here is a previous blog about the Colonial Tavern, later known as the Colonial Restaurant.

Comments

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I was almost three months old when this picture was taken and have never seen an episode of this show. Surprised it has never been on reruns.

I did enjoy Milner on Adam-12, still watch reruns on RetroTV.

The Art Deco motels along Route 66 were wonderful. Not many of them left, but they were cool...

-- Posted by bobby62914 on Mon, Sep 20, 2010, at 9:35 AM
where was the colonial restaurant at???? And what is threr today???

-- Posted by johnboy25 on Mon, Sep 20, 2010, at 10:23 AM

Response by Fred Lynch:
The building was razed in 1988 by County Bancorporation Inc., for the four-story Cape County Bank, which was later purchased by Union Planters Bank. It is now Regions Bank, 407 N. Kingshighway.
Our phone number was one digit off from Colonial's. When I was about 10 I started taking 'reservations' when people called the wrong number. I hope I didn't help put them out of business.

-- Posted by Professor_Bubba on Mon, Sep 20, 2010, at 12:44 PM
Fred,

Frony had to go all the way out to the Colonial to shoot Milner. I was lucky enough to be in the office the day that Rory Calhoun stopped by the newsroom.

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/rory-calhoun-visits-missourian/

Here are some other shots of a sports car's encounter with the Colonial restaurant didn't come out so well.

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/broadway/colonial-restaurant-crash/

-- Posted by ksteinhoff on Mon, Sep 20, 2010, at 9:24 PM
I remember when Steve Crowe, Central High School Class of 65, got one of the first Corvette's any of us had ever seen.

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/students/cars-we-have-known-and-loved/

-- Posted by ksteinhoff on Mon, Sep 20, 2010, at 9:33 PM
Netflix has Route 66. You can see it on Netfix.

-- Posted by -o0(GoldTrader)0o- on Mon, Nov 8, 2010, at 8:10 PM

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