The production crew and acting cast of the ABC-TV [sic] hour adventure series, "Route 66," moved into the city yesterday for an extended stay - between two and three weeks - during which it is planned to manufacture several programs featuring a Cleveland backdrop...

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Two stunt men battle briskly on a gravel conveyor in the Flats yesterday as "Route 66," CBS-TV network program, tried valiantly to produce a chapter using local scenery. I say tried valiantly because there were a number of hitches. One was that the production crew had received only 25 pages of a 62- page script from the New York branch. Busy messengers were supposed to be hustling between there and here fetching the rest of the story...

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As with most things, there is much more to the production of TV shows than meets the eye...

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When Mr. and Mrs. James Rand III come home today they will find their 17-room home in Bratenahl taken over by CBS-TV's Route 66 stars and production crew. Mr. Rand, president of the Rand Development Corp., just returned from a business trip to Israel, while Mrs. Rand is coming back from the Rand summer home in Cape Cod.

The first of four Route 66 shows to be filmed in Cleveland takes place at the Rand home, 12725 Lake Shore Blvd. The entry hall, living room, dining room (which has been turned into a game room) and Mrs. Rand's bedroom are being used for the show.

Series stars Marty Milner and George Maharis are joined by the guest stars Jack Krushchen and Madelyn Rhue in "Every Father's Daughter Must Weave Her Own," which will be seen on CBS-TV some Friday in November (8:30, Ch. 8). Cleveland Play House actor William Paterson also has a part in the show.

The story concerns the daughter (Miss Rhue) of a wealthy Polish immigrant who doesn't know she has a brain tumor. Her father, portrayed by Krushchen, is afraid to tell her. Paterson is seen as the family doctor. The happy wanderers - Maharis and Milner - get a job working for Krushchen, who is the owner of a highway construction company.

"The Rand home was picked as the site of this particular episode because it fitted the mood of the story," said John Benson, location manager.

Former Clevelander Sam Manners is the executive in charge of production.

Last year Route 66 drove off the highway and filmed three episodes in Cleveland - one of them was filmed a few doors away from the Rands, at the John Dempsey home, 12821 Lake Shore Blvd.

Other Cleveland locations being used this year are the freeway construction area on Mayfield Rd., Mayfield Heights, Edgewater Park, Vixseboxse Art Galleries and the Sahara Motor Hotel.

The crew will be working in Cleveland a month. The first Cleveland show was originally scheduled to be filmed in Chicago - the group's last stop. The show's next stop is St. Louis.

Nostalgia has brought Sam B. Manners, executive in charge of producing "Route 66" and "Naked City," back to his native Cleveland for the second year in succession...

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An original 8x10 photo from the archives at the Cleveland Public Library. This photo was used in an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer edition of November 4, 1962. The caption reads:

GEORGE MAHARIS (left), "Route 66" star, sulks near famed temporary barn in Warrensville Heights, Standins wait in rear to resume faked fight if Maharis OKs it.

According to the article, Maharis was sulking because he objected to the fight not being realistic enough - "It's not honest! Won't do it! OK, just this once! No more cheap scenes for me!"

The barn was erected on a then-rural area outside of Cleveland at a cost of $2000 with the sole purpose of being burned down for this scene. According to the Plain Dealer reporter - who showed up on the set at 11 PM - filming lasted all night with the barn finally being destroyed just before dawn.

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This scene is from "Only by Cunning Glimpses" from season three.

On a personal note, this site is located about a mile from where I am employed (rd).

Any farmer will blow his top if he catches someone smoking in his barn. They are generally highly flammable and will burn to the ground at the drop of a butt.

Not so, however, when you want to burn one down on purpose, as was the case here recently when the technicians of the "Route 66" television show built a barn especially for burning.

The $2000 structure was erected on vacant land off South Miles Road in Warrensville Heights. It was involved in several scenes in a show titled "Only by Cunning Glimpses."

Since the scenes had to include interiors of the blazing building, it had to be set on fire and put out several times. The Warrensville Heights Fire Department was on hand to quench the flames each time.

The TV technicians used rope wicks soaked in gasoline to make the interior fire scenes more spectacular. Shots of propane gas helped, too. The barn was painted with a thin paint mostly turpentine to help the fire. After all the interior scenes were filmed, the barn proper was touched off and burned brightly just pre-dawn.

"First barn burning we've had around here in years," said Fire Chief Elmer Taylor.