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Sept. 26, 2005 Actor-comedian Don Adams, best known for his distinctive voice and his role as the bumbling superspy Maxwell Smart, died today of a lung infection. Adams was 82. Adams starred in the 60’s spy spoof, "Get Amart", written and produced by legendary comedy writers Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. The show was centered around smart, an American agent who worked for an intelligence agency called CONTROL. Adams wisecracking Agent Smart spawned several popular phrases, including: "Sorry about that, chief"—Smart’s usual response after angering his boss, played by the late Edward Pratt; "Missed it by THAT much"—uttered after he would make an estimate or form a conclusion that was way off base; and "Would you believe…" a phrase he used when he was in trouble and wanted to convince his captor that he had backup on the way—and he usually didn’t. The three-time Emmy-winning Adams co-starred with Barbara Feldon, who as agent 99 lent the show a touch of sexiness. The duo battled agents from an opposing spy agency known as CHAOS and its host of zany, equally inept villains which included "The Craw", the obscure "Grubnik the Spoiler" and Bernie Koppel’s "Ziegfried", whom was a forerunner to Mike Myers’ Goldmember character from the "Austin Powers" movie of the same name. In later episodes, she and Max wed and 99 gave birth to twins. By this time the show was in it’s decline and was eventually cancelled after just four seasons, though it is popular in reruns. Though the show won two Emmy’s for Best Comedy, the show rarely finished in the top ten of the Nielsen ratings. The show was the basis for the 1982 TV-movie, "The Nude Bomb" which ironically bombed, and 1989’s "Get Smart Again" which brought similar results. Because of the popularity of Adams’ character and the unique sound of his voice (which he said was an exaggeration of actor William Powell), Adams said he was typecast. He was the voice of two popular cartoon characters, "Tennessee Tuxedo", a penguin with a penchant for finding trouble and in later years, as "Inspector Gadget", a popular cartoon series that later spawned a movie starring Matthew Broderick. He was born Donald James Yarmy in New York City on April 13, between 1923 and 1926. (His imdb and Wikipedia biographies lists the former date). He broke into show business as a comic, then adapted his first wife’s last name of Adams because he was tired of being last during alphabetical auditions. He got his break when he appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1954. This led to numerous appearances on the Perry Como show and later to his stint at NBC. After "Get Smart" Adams starred in two failed series—the short-lived, "The Partners" where he played a cop and one on the Canadian Broadcasting Company called, "Check It Out", where he played a harried supermarket manager. Adams did however, find success as a director of TV commercials and in 1971 won a Clio Award for outstanding commercial direction. Adams once said of his "Get Smart" success, "Sometimes I wonder how I got into comedy at all. I did movie star impressions as a kid in high school. Somehow they just got out of hand." Don, we will miss you…by THAT much. ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 46-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the soon to be released, "The Malice of Cain". His third novel, "Darker Than Blue" is under consideration for publication. Mr. Stelly currently resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. Excerpts from The first two books and the first two chapters of his anthology, "Frankenigga--And Other Urban Tales" can be viewed at: stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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