Whatever Happened to Martin Milner, Star of ‘Adam-12’?

Dave Sundstrom September 23, 5:13 pm

ADAM 12 (aka ADAM-12), Martin Milner, 1968-1975 — Everett Collection

Growing up, there was one face that just inspired trust: It belonged to veteran police officer Pete Malloy, who, along with his partner Jim Reed, did their very best to keep the streets of Los Angeles safe on the TV show Adam-12. Debuting in 1968, Adam-12 was a police drama that followed officers Malloy (Martin Milner) and Reed (Kent McCord), as they kept a watchful eye on the streets of LA in their patrol unit, One Adam-12. The series, co-created by Jack Webb, attempted to realistically capture a typical day in the life of police officers.

But long before he became a household name, Martin Milner lived a complex and fascinating life.

ROUTE 66, Martin Milner, George Maharis, 1960-1964

Everett Collection

Born in 1931, Martin was stricken with polio in 1946, after making his first movie, Life with Father. This was almost ten years before Dr. Jonas Salk would develop an effective vaccine against the deadly disease, and Martin would spend almost a year recovering.

LIFE WITH FATHER, William Powell, su rrounded by Jimmy Lydon, Martin Milner, Derek Scott, Johnny Calkins, 1947

Everett Collection

Martin’s first appearance on television was in a 1950 episode of The Lone Ranger titled “Pay Dirt.” Things don’t go all that well for Martin’s character, as he is shot in the back and left for dead. But you never know what masked man might stumble upon the scene of the crime and bring those no-good rascals to justice. Oh wait, you probably do. Yep, it was the Lone Ranger.

In that same year, Martin met Webb on the set of the motion picture The Halls of Montezuma, and Webb was been extremely impressed with the young man’s work ethic. Because of that, he offered Martin a chance to work on the radio version of Dragnet, where he played Officer Bill Lockwood, who was briefly a partner of Sergeant Friday, as well as other characters on the show.

In 1952, Martin joined the Army, where he was assigned to special services and assisted with the direction of training films while stationed at Fort Ord on California’s Monterey Bay Peninsula. He was there at the same time as another great actor, Clint Eastwood! While still in the Army, Martin was able to do a little bit of radio work on the side during the weekends.

But years before became Officer Malloy, he nabbed his first starring role in 1960, on the TV show Route 66. He played a character named Todd Styles who encounters all sorts of adventures while traveling up and down US Route 66.

THE NASHVILLE BEAT, from left: Kent McCord, Martin Milner, 1989.

TNN/Courtesy Everett Collection

You might not have known about Martin Milner is that he was extremely close to his Adam-12 co-star, Kent McCord. Not only did the two actors continue to find ways to work together after Adam-12 ended, but they remained good friends throughout their entire lives. They worked together again in the 1989 movie Nashville Beat, where Martin and Kent again played crime-stopping partners, as well as Martin’s final on-screen role in the season five premiere of Diagnosis: Murder.

On September 6, 2015, Martin died of heart failure at his home in Carlsbad, California, at the age of 83. A memorial service was held by law enforcement and community members six days later. Additionally, to further honor Martin, the Los Angeles Police Reserve Foundation posted a badge online bearing a black band and the number of Officer Pete Malloy.

Los Angeles Chief of Police Charlie Beck said this on Twitter about Martin at the time of his passing, “Adam-12 and Martin Milner embody the spirit of the LAPD to millions of viewers. His depiction of a professional and tough yet compassionate cop led to thousands of men and women applying to become LAPD officers…including me.”