Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: 7 Real People Rick Dalton & Cliff Booth Were Based On

A TV actor who attempted a transition to movies, Maharis was an inspiration for Dalton. During an interview for the Margaret Cho Podcast, Tarantino mentioned the Route 66 star in an answer to a question about how he thinks Dalton's career goes after the movie ends. It painted a less-than-optimistic picture for Dalton's future.

“There are a few different ways his career could have gone depending on who you hitch your horse to of who he is representing. The George Maharis way is this way, the Ty Hardin way is that way. It’s a combination of a few of them,” said Tarantino.

“What could have easily have happened, even if he had a little bit more success in the 1970s than maybe I give him credit for, what I could really see happening because it happened to a lot of these guys, is that by the late 1970s, early 1980s, a lot of these macho ’50s and ’60s television leading men they showed up on TV shows again but as the older cop who’s the boss of the younger cop that sends them out on the missions.”

Maharis worked consistently for the rest of his career so it wouldn't be a terrible fate.