Star Trek's DeForest Kelley Appeared In A Show That Was An Inspiration For Supernatural

DeForest Kelley, best known for his role as Dr. Bones McCoy in Star Trek, also appeared in the influential TV series Route 66. This show, inspired by the famous highway of the same name, premiered on CBS in 1960 and followed two aimless friends, Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock, as they drove across America in search of something elusive.

The series, which was shot on location throughout the U.S., featured various encounters with new people and taught them a thing or two along the way. Route 66 was often compared to Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, with Kerouac even attempting to sue the show's writer, Stirling Silliphant, for alleged plagiarism.

Among the many characters Kelley portrayed in Route 66 was that of a Californian contractor in the 15th episode of season one, "The Clover Throne." He was not the only Star Trek cast member to make an appearance in the show either; William Shatner played a role in the 1963 season four episode "Build Your Houses With Their Backs to the Sea." When George Maharis left the show in 1963 due to health issues, Buz was replaced by Glenn Corbett in the following year.

Route 66 continued until 1964, after four seasons. Its finale saw Tod finally settling down. Four decades later, Supernatural creator Eric Kripke cited Route 66 as a significant inspiration for his own dark fantasy series, which aired on The CW for 15 seasons. Kripke likened the show's premise to "The X-Files meets Route 66," describing it as two brothers cruising the dusty back roads in their trusty 1964 Mustang, battling supernatural forces along the way.

While the characters on Route 66 did not fight demons or ghosts, the similarities between Tod and Buz and the Winchester brothers in Supernatural are quite evident.