Don Adams of 'Get Smart' Dies at 82
LOS ANGELES - Don Adams, the wry-voiced comedian who starred as the fumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1960s TV spoof of James Bond movies, "Get Smart," has died. He was 82.
Adams died of a lung infection late Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, his friend and former agent Bruce Tufeld said Monday, adding that the actor broke his hip a year ago and had been in ill health since.
As the inept Agent 86 of the super-secret federal agency CONTROL, Adams captured TV viewers with his antics in combatting the evil agents of KAOS. When his explanations failed to convince the villains or his boss, he tried another tack:
"Would you believe ... ?"
It became a national catchphrase.
Smart was also prone to spilling things on the desk or person of his boss the Chief (actor Edward Platt). Smart's apologetic "Sorry about that, chief" also entered the American lexicon.
The spy gadgets, which aped those of the Bond movies, were a popular feature, especially the pre-cellphone telephone in a shoe.
Smart's beautiful partner, Agent 99, played by Barbara Feldon, was as brainy as he was dense, and a plot romance led to marriage and the birth of twins later in the series.
"He had this prodigious energy, so as an actor working with him it was like being plugged into an electric current," Feldon said from New York. "He would start and a scene would just take off and you were there for the ride. It was great fun acting with him."
Adams was very intelligent, she said, a quality that suited the satiric show that had comedy geniuses Mel Brooks and Buck Henry behind it.
"He wrote poetry, he had an interest in history ... He had that other side to him that does not come through Maxwell Smart," she said. "Don in person was anything but bumbling."
Adams had an "amazing memory" that allowed him to take an unusual approach to filming, Feldon said.
Instead of learning his lines ahead of time he would have a script assistant read his part to him just once or twice. He invariably got it right but that didn't stop people from placing bets on it, she recounted.
Adams, who had been under contract to NBC, was lukewarm about doing a spy spoof. When he learned that Brooks and Henry had written the pilot script, he accepted immediately. "Get Smart" debuted on NBC in September 1965 and scored No. 12 among the season's most-watched series and No. 22 in its second season.
"Get Smart" twice won the Emmy for best comedy series with three Emmys for Adams as comedy actor.
CBS picked up the show but the ratings fell off as the jokes seemed repetitive, and it was canceled after four seasons. The show lived on in syndication and a cartoon series. In 1995 the Fox network revived the series with Smart as chief and 99 as a congresswoman. It lasted seven episodes.
Adams never had another showcase to display his comic talent.
"It was a special show that became a cult classic of sorts, and I made a lot of money for it," he remarked of "Get Smart" in a 1995 interview. "But it also hindered me career-wise because I was typed. The character was so strong, particularly because of that distinctive voice, that nobody could picture me in any other type of role."
In case anyone was wondering, he was also the voice of Inspector Gadget.
He will be missed. 🙁
No more...Inspector Gadget...*sniff* He will be sorely missed.
~Neo
Had a feeling. That's just awful. Inspector Gadget is a great cartoon!
So it would seem that Dr Claw wins then.
Didn't they just come out with a new Inspector Gadget movie? Like a cartoon? Coulda sworn they did. Oh well. That's a real shame. He will be missed.
They came out with a movie. It wasn't a cartoon.
Actually Harley, so far they've made 2 live action movies (in the first Don Adams voiced Brain right at the end), plus several feature length cartoons (such as Inspector Gadget's Last Case, Inspector Gadget's Field Trips, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas [half hour special actually]). Not all of the cartoons featured Don Adams though - I'm pretty sure that "Last Case" had Maurice LaMarche (aka The Brain).
This happens just when a DVD release looks like making Get Smart popular again He'll be missed.
DW
OK - this just sucks.
Don Adams was a MASTERFUL actor with one of the single most distinctive voices in the business. You instantly knew him from any other actor in whatever field he was in. I had NO IDEA he was so old, but I guess that makes sense. Not to mention he's one of the few actors whose career spanned TWO generations - our parents grew up watching Get Smart, we grew up watching Inspector Gadget.
I've been wanting to get the Get Smart boxset to be honest. This pretty much cinches that at some point I definately will. As the predecessor and impotus for Inspector Gadget, its written MARVELOUSLY (You cant go wrong with anything that has Mel Brooks' name attached to it).
Sad to see such a wonderful talent go.
The nasally tone is unforgettable. I can't say I ever saw Inspector Gadget...still.
I read about this yesterday.
It's always a shame to hear about a talented actor leaving this world, and it's even worse when the actor was a brilliant one. I was fortunate enough to catch Get Smart when it reaired on TV Land. I remember watching it before leaving for school every morning. I knew that he sounded familiar, but it was a while before I realized that Maxwell Smart and Inspector Gadget were one and the same.
He will be terribly missed, and if I get a chance, I'll look into getting the DVD set.
RIP, Don Adams, you'll never be forgotten.
That's so sad, he was a terrific actor. Did you guys know he was in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (voicing Comet, the coach of the Reindeer Games)? I watch that every year even though I don't celebrate the holiday, because the characters are so gosh-darned cute.
I'll miss you Don. 🙁
Quote:
Did you guys know he was in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (voicing Comet, the coach of the Reindeer Games)?
I knew I had heard the voice before, but I didn't know that Don voiced Comet.
Don Adams? What the? *sighs*
~Rico
Get Smart & Inspector Gadget > all.
I grew up on IG and reruns of Get Smart... man... ;_; May Mr. Adams rest in peace...
My heart has sadened. That was one of my most favorite shows when I was a kid. They even dedicated a dorm theme to IG at my school. He will be missed! ;___;
*Salute to Don Adams, and all the great work he accomplished in his life here on Earth.*
One of my favorite actors, he will be missed.
May he rest in peace and never a Get Smart remake plauge him.
