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 aired on NBC from 1968 to 1975.

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Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Martin Milner
Milner in 1960
Born	Martin Sam Milner (1931-12-28)December 28, 1931 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	September 6, 2015(2015-09-06) (aged 83) Carlsbad, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1947–1998
Spouse	Judith Bess "Judy" Jones ​ ​ (m. 1957)​
Children	4

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Milner was born on December 28, 1931,^[1] 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.^[2] Sam was a Polish-Jewish immigrant.^[3] The family left Detroit when Milner 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.^[4]

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.^[5] Milner had his first screen test and began his film career with his debut in the Warner Bros. film Life with Father (1947). Less than two weeks after that film was completed in August 1946, Milner contracted polio.^[6] He recovered within a year and had bit parts in two more films, then was graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1949. He immediately landed a minor role in the film Sands of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne.^[5]

Milner attended the University of Southern California where he studied theater.^[7] He dropped out after a year in the fall of 1950 to concentrate on acting.^[8] He made his first television appearance in 1950 as a guest star in episode 28, "Pay Dirt", of The Lone Ranger. The same year, he began a recurring role as Drexel Potter on the sitcom The Stu Erwin Show.

He had several more roles, both minor and major, in war films in the 1950s, including another John Wayne picture titled Operation Pacific (1951) and Mister Roberts (1955), with William Powell and Henry Fonda, James Cagney and Jack Lemmon. On the set of Halls of Montezuma (1950), he met and befriended actor Jack Webb, and he began intermittent work on Webb's radio series Dragnet.^[9]

In 1952, Milner began a two-year stint in the United States Army. Assigned to Special Services at Fort Ord on California's Monterey Bay Peninsula, he directed training films^[5][6][10] and was both an emcee and performer in skits for a touring unit created to entertain soldiers.^[8] Milner was encouraged by fellow soldier and future actor David Janssen to pursue an acting career when his time in the Army ended. Janssen and Milner served at Fort Ord with fellow future actors Clint Eastwood and Richard Long.^[11] While in the Army, Milner continued working for Jack Webb, playing Officer Bill Lockwood (briefly the partner of Sgt. Friday) and other characters on the Dragnet radio series on weekends. He also appeared on six episodes of Webb's Dragnet television series between 1952 and 1955.^[6]

After his military service ended, Milner had a recurring role on The Life of Riley from 1953 to 1958. He also made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including episodes of The Bigelow Theatre, The Great Gildersleeve, TV Reader's Digest, Science Fiction Theatre, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, NBC Matinee Theater, The West Point Story, 12 O'Clock High (Season 3, Episode 13, "Six Feet Under"), The Twilight Zone (episode: "Mirror Image"), Wagon Train and Rawhide.

Milner was under contract at Hecht-Lancaster, Burt Lancaster's production company.^[5] He also acted in films, including The Long Gray Line (1955), Mister Roberts (1955), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), where he was able to draw on his Jewish roots playing the role of Wally Wronkin, Compulsion (1959), and 13 Ghosts (1960). He later costarred in Valley of the Dolls (1967), based on the best-selling novel by Jacqueline Susann.^[6][9]

In May 1956, Milner met singer and actress Judith Bess Jones^[9] at a Hollywood dinner party. They were married on February 23, 1957, in Waukegan, Illinois;^[14] together they had four children.^[15]

In February 2003, Milner's eldest daughter Amy, who appeared in an episode of Adam 12, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.^[9][16] She died in December 2004.^[17]

On September 6, 2015, Milner died of heart failure at his home in Carlsbad, California, at age 83.^[18] Milner's remains were cremated.^[19]