'Route 66' actor Martin Milner dies at 83

CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Actor Martin Milner, who portrayed a travel-lusting bachelor in Route 66 and later led the Swiss Family Robinson, has died. He was 83 years old.

According to the New York Times, Milner died of heart failure in his California home Sunday evening.

The Hollywood actor stemmed from a family of entertainers -- his father was a film distributor, his mother a Paramount dancer -- and made his film debut in 1947 as a child in Life With Father.

Since, the red-haired actor landed roles in Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Too Much Too Soon (1958), Compulsion (1959) and Marjorie Morningstar (1958) before entering his well-known CBS series Route 66 in 1960.

Later, Milner reemerged as an older LAPD officer in Adam-12, a series following two patrol cops and the incidents they dealt with in the city.

Current LAPD chief Charlie Beck shared his sadness over the news, writing on Twitter how Milner "embodied the spirit of the #LAPD to millions of viewers" in the series.

"His depiction of a professional & tough yet compassionate cop led 2 thousands of men & women applying 2 become #LAPD officers, including me," he wrote in another tweet.

Adam-12 ran from 1968 to 1975. In 1990, Milner returned to the show for a brief comeback between 1990 and 1991.

Milner also appeared in The Swiss Family Robinson, Murder, She Wrote, and RoboCop.