home
biography
day-by-day chronology
credits
more stuff
links
discussion board
contact us
|
home |
|
David Janssen had a dependable companion and a discrete keeper of secrets on the set with him the last 14 years of his life. It had a Ford engine.
On THE FUGITIVE, several days of each filmed episode were done on location and its hard-working star had been for several seasons without a comfortable place to go between shots. At the Goldwyn studios he had a permanent dressing room in the Writers' Building. But off the studio lot, he'd been using a very small room in what is called a 'honeywagon'--a mobile unit not know for its spaciousness. Quinn Martin and his producer team decided to remedy this to keep their star happy and thus protect their show.
In October 1965 Janssen was more than half way through season three when he arrived at a sugar factory in the Los Angeles suburb of Tustin to shoot part of the "Not With A Whimper" episode. The 30-foot motor home was presented to him with a surprise accessory inside. The producers had arranged for Suzanne Pleshette (photo) to be waiting inside the trailer --- in a bow. She'd recently completed a Fugitive episode and was romantically linked to Janssen.
It was manufactured by the Streamline Trailer Company, a company which is now defunct, but was at the time a small manufacturer based in El Monte, California. The company was purchased by the Newell Coach company in 1967. These motor homes were in production from about 1964 to 1967. Some models had a caboose-like rear deck; Janssen's did not. A total of only about 80 were manufactured.
Janssen's 1965 Travel Home established itself as a members-only social hub of the FUGITIVE set. David was known to invite people in and entertain. It's rumored the shower was taken out to make room for a bar.
Janssen's Fugitive Teamster/driver Bud White (photo) was first to care for the motorhome and acted as bouncer/bartender/mechanic. When the series wrapped up the bus stayed in Janssen's possession and White stayed with the actor for many years. A falling out occured before the start of the HARRY O series and a new driver, Elliot Shapiro, took his place in 1974 (photo), Elliot was Janssen's contractual driver for the remainder of his career, locking it up at the Agoura, California FATHER DAMIEN filming location before driving Janssen home to Malibu in a production car after work on February 12,1980. Janssen would never set foot in the vehicle again. He died that evening.
Where is the Silver Bullet today?
In May 1980, the estate of David Janssen sold the bus for $2500 to Alan C. "Pete" Wilson, an old Fort Ord Army buddy and long time friend of Janssen who was in the horse trade. He soon sold it to someone at the Del Mar racetrack who used it for storage there. Driver Shapiro and actor Martin Milner, also at Fort Ord when Janssen and Wilson were there, ferried the bus to the new owner.
Later it passed through several hands. A man from Ohio bought it, came to California to get it, drove it 100 miles, then died suddenly. His sister and her husband (Claire and Jerry Harvey) from El Cajon, CA acquired it and kept it a few months. Claire sold it to her niece and niece's husband (James Johnson). They kept it for over a year, replaced the original fronts seats, used it on trips. James sold it to a Santee, CA man named Steve Spivey.
The last certain trace of "The Silver Bullet" was this Spivey's recollection that he'd placed a newspaper ad and sold it in a cash deal to a retired Marine who was taking it to Fallbrook, CA. This was in the early 90's. This is where the trail gets cold. Is it rusting away somewhere or has it been sold for scrap?
Several leads have proven disappointing.
Over 10 years ago, the California DMV linked the bus' license plate (RHS 838) to a Peter A. Kelly with an address in National City, CA. The address belonged to the Pepper Oil Company, but no one there had heard of Kelly or remembered the bus! We're not sure if Pete Kelly is the ex-marine's name or just a dead end in this story.
A Northern California dog breeder who owns one spotted another unit parked in a storage yard when driving on interstate 210 near the I-5 interchange in Los Angeles. It was speculated for a time that this must have been Janssen's.
Currently, Janssen's old license plate no longer is valid and the Department is much tighter about releasing any information to the public.
The late jockey Willie Shoemaker evidently had the same style bus. So did the actress Anne Baxter who too used it for location shooting. Hers has been located. Tom Patterson, a Houston-based enthusiast for the company has started a Streamline registry for the known surviving motor homes. Janssen's is not on the list. Anne Baxter's belongs to an ex-football player in the California desert and has been lovingly restored. It would be nice to think that Janssen's has been or could be as well.
The bus has an Airstream-like aluminum shell, with a gold banding on the front and sides. What may still exist on Janssen's model are the customized intitials "DMJ" (for David Meyer Janssen) added on the front under the divided front windshield , and its "The Silver Bullet" nickname under the front passenger window.
The current owner is probably unaware or the vehicle's celebrity-linked past and the show business secrets locked inside.
The vehicle's VIN is not know but the original Ford engine number was 3474-R1OKC.
As the vehicle was last know to be in the Fallbrook, CA area, this website prevailed upon a staff writer for a local paper, the North County Times, to write an article about the search for the bus. That article was published in December of 2005, but no clues surfaced. Perhaps someone doing a Google search for 'Streamline' will find this page and have some information. If you know the whereabouts of the Silver Bullet or any Streamline Travel Homes, please e-mail us using the link below.
(movie: the silver bullet on the road)
