Don Adams, RIP (April 13, 1923 - September 25, 2005)

James C. Taylor · 16 Aug 2004

Would you believe he's just very, very sleepy?

Rest in peace.

Linda · 13 Jan 1966

Quote:

Actor Don Adams, TV's Maxwell Smart, Dead at 82

Actor Don Adams, best known for portraying the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the hit TV show 'Get Smart,' has died at the age of 82.

According to his agent, Adams died late Sunday night of a lung infection at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His former agent and long-time friend, Bruce Tufeld, said that Adams had broken his hip a year ago and has been in poor health since that time.

'Get Smart' ran in the mid-60s and was a spoof of the popular James Bond films. Adams played Agent 86 who always seemed to find a way to save the world from the evil forces of Kaos along with his fellow Control agents, 99 (played by Barbara Feldon') and the Chief (played by the late Edward Platt).

Lines from the show became national catchphrases like 'Sorry about that, Chief' and 'Would you believe...'

Adams was initially reluctant to star in a spoof of spy movies but consented when he found out the show would be co-created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. The show debuted on September 22, 1965. Twice, the show won the Emmy for best comedy while Adams won three Emmys for best actor in a comedy for playing Maxwell Smart.

After the series was canceled, Adams used his distinct voice in many cartoons including the original 'Inspector Gadget.'

Funeral arrangements were still pending.

http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Sep/EE ... d32cc.html

Andrew Farago · 03 Mar 2005

A moment of silence:

Gohnny · 01 Sep 2004

That's sad! I loved Get Smart!

Mike Nebeker · **Joined:** 11 Aug 2004 **Posts:** 2551

I loved Get Smart, too. Wish it was syndicated around here again, there are generations of kids who never will understand a Shoe-phone joke or the Cone of Silence.

Rest Easy, Mr. Adams

Gohnny · 01 Sep 2004

At least it's coming to DVD...

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15861

Edward J. Cunningham · 24 Sep 2005

James C. Taylor wrote:

Would you believe he's just very, very sleepy?

Rest in peace.

I can't think of a better epitaph.

Eddie Cunningham

Fraxon! · 20 Jul 1976

Edward J. Cunningham wrote:

James C. Taylor wrote:

Would you believe he's just very, very sleepy?

Rest in peace.

I can't think of a better epitaph.

Eddie Cunningham

I missed saying it by THAT MUCH.....

Darth Brooks · 28 Aug 2004

The cone of silence has gone quiet.

Ian Sokoliwski · 09 Sep 2004

Funny how nobody remembers his series 'Check It Out'.

(and rightfully so...)

'Get Smart' was such a staple of entertainment in my house when I was a kid, much more than 'Gilligan's Island' or 'The Beverly Hillbillies'. Of course, it did have a robot from time to time

So long, Agent 86.

Linda · 13 Jan 1966

Ian Sokoliwski wrote:

Funny how nobody remembers his series 'Check It Out'.

Oh, I do. They ran it here on the USA Network during the '80s. With the punk cashier, right? And that weird hoser guy named Luke Viker. I remember near the end of the series Don's character started to get Maxwell Smart-isms creeping into his dialogue, like "Would you believe ...". Maybe not a truly classic sitcom, but not a bad series by any means. And of course Don Adams was always great no matter what show he was in.

Ian Sokoliwski · 09 Sep 2004

Wow - I had no idea anybody outside of Canada had even heard of the show!

Linda · 13 Jan 1966

http://caronia.tvheaven.com/don_adams/checkitout.html

Ian Sokoliwski · 09 Sep 2004

What!! I never read the closing credits before, obviously. I had no idea it was based on a Brit-com!

Mike Nebeker · **Joined:** 11 Aug 2004 **Posts:** 2551

Here is the Obit in the NY Times. Lots of info I'd not known before.

The New York Times
September 27, 2005
Don Adams, Television's Maxwell Smart, Dies at 82
By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Don Adams, who played Maxwell Smart in the 1960's sitcom "Get Smart," combining clipped, decisive diction with appalling, hilarious ineptitude, died on Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 82.

The cause was a lung infection, his friend and former agent Bruce Tufeld said, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Tufeld said that Mr. Adams broke his hip a year ago and had been in poor health.

Maxwell Smart - in a way, his name was the show's biggest joke - was a bumbling secret agent for Control, the good guys, who weekly foiled the plans of the evil cabal Kaos for world domination.

Inevitably, Smart's ham-handed detective style landed him in hot water. Luckily, his faithful and beautiful sidekick, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon), was as bright as he was dense, and could bail him out. (Smart was Agent 86: bartender's code for cutting off service to a drunk.)

"Get Smart" twice won the Emmy for best comedy series, and Mr. Adams won three Emmys for best actor.

"Get Smart" ran on NBC from 1965 to 1969 and on CBS from 1969 to 1970. Years later, producers tried to recapture the show's initial spark in the 1980 film "The Nude Bomb," the 1989 television movie "Get Smart, Again!" and a revival on Fox that lasted seven episodes in 1995. Mr. Adams appeared in all the incarnations.

The original show spoofed the James Bond movies in an innocent, if sophomoric way, and one of its most winning characteristics was the seriousness with which Maxwell Smart again and again did and said things that were really stupid. Several of his lines became popular catchphrases, particularly with young people:

"Would you believe?" (Used when someone did not believe one of Smart's prevarications and he was about to suggest another.)

"Let me handle it, 99." (And then he would, and botch it.)

"Sorry about that, Chief" (When he reported to his boss, played by Edward Platt, after the inevitable failure.)

But Smart's charm lay in his utter humanness, the opposite of Bond's preposterous competence. In an interview with The Saturday Evening Post in 1966, Mr. Adams analyzed Smart: "He's not superhuman. But he believes in what he does and he wants to do his best."

His best was rarely good enough. Smart called into work with a dial phone on the sole of his shoe, and often got a wrong number. He wore jet shoes that shot him up, often into the roof. He was so security-minded that he would often swallow secret messages before reading them.

Donald James Yarmy was born on April 13, 1923, in Manhattan. He said changed his last name to that of his first wife, Adelaide Adams, because acting auditions were often done in alphabetical order.

His father ran a few small restaurants in the Bronx. Mr. Adams grew up hating school and playing hooky at the movies. During World War II, he joined the Marines at 16 by lying about his age. On Guadalcanal, he was shot and contracted blackwater fever, fatal 90 percent of the time.

After the war, he drifted into stand-up comedy, always refraining from dirty jokes, presaging the almost ludicrous uprightness of Maxwell Smart. He cut back on nightclub work to support his family with jobs as a restaurant cashier and as a commercial artist.

His first real success as a comic came when he won an Arthur Godfrey "Talent Scouts" competition in 1954, which led to television variety show appearances on "The Steve Allen Show" and elsewhere.

Mr. Adams created the comedy character Byron Glick, an incompetent house detective, who was a precursor to Max. Mr. Adams tried comedy writing, producing material for Garry Moore and Mr. Allen. When Mr. Adams's friend Bill Dana got a comedy series, he hired Mr. Adams to regularly play Byron Glick.

"Get Smart" was originally the brainchild of the producers Dan Melnick and David Susskind, and was then refined by the writers Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. ABC passed on the show, but NBC loved it. The writers first thought of Tom Poston for the Smart role, but Mr. Adams was under contract to NBC.

The program was immediately a success with viewers, though Jack Gould, reviewing the new show in The New York Times, fretted that Mr. Adams was trying too hard to be funny. Mr. Gould, however, heartily approved of Ms. Feldon, fondly recalling her appearances in Revlon's "Tiger Girl" commercials.

In an interview on NBC's "Today Show" in 2002, Ms. Feldon gave Mr. Adams credit for much of the show's success. "When you got in a scene with Don, it was like stepping onto a surfboard, and you just flew over those waves," she said. "And it was exhilarating."

Mr. Adams took a much smaller salary when offered a chance for a 33 percent piece of the show. "Get Smart" has been popular in reruns for decades, making for steady annuities.

After "Get Smart," Mr. Adams did a short-lived comedy series called "The Partners." After that, he pursued many things, including a very successful voice-over career, speaking for the cartoon character Inspector Gadget. (He was also the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo in the early 1960's.) He directed and appeared in commercials, and made many guest appearances on shows like "The Love Boat."

Mr. Adams was married and divorced three times and had seven children. His daughter Cecily Adams, an actress and casting director, died in 2004. His brother, Dick Yarmy, an actor, died in 1992.

Writers have noted disarming similarity between Mr. Adams and Max, his most famous character. The Saturday Evening Post told a story of Mr. Adams looking for money in his pocket to tip a young man who had parked his car. He had no change, no bill he thought was small enough and could find nothing when he rummaged in his glove compartment.

"And so motorists began sounding their horns, the kid shifted from foot to foot and an audience gathered," the magazine wrote. "It was pure Don Adams. And pure Maxwell Smart."

* Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Yvonne · 30 Jan 2005

Linda wrote:

Ian Sokoliwski wrote:

Funny how nobody remembers his series 'Check It Out'.

Oh, I do. They ran it here on the USA Network during the '80s. With the punk cashier, right? And that weird hoser guy named Luke Viker. I remember near the end of the series Don's character started to get Maxwell Smart-isms creeping into his dialogue, like "Would you believe ...". Maybe not a truly classic sitcom, but not a bad series by any means. And of course Don Adams was always great no matter what show he was in.

I remember "Check It Out" also. I enjoyed watching it. I also remember "Don Adams' Screen Test" too.

I was sad to hear about his passing. It was only awhile back when his daughter passed away from cancer.

I grew up watching "Get Smart" during the 1970s. Enjoyed it all the time.

RIP Don Adams, you missed aging to 86 by that much.

Houston Mitchell · 30 Aug 2004

Get Smart is one of my favorite shows of all-time.

On a side note, my first job at the LA Times was as a desk assistant in sports. Basically, I answered the phones. At that time, we were running a horse racing feature where a celebrity would bet against our horse racing expert, Bob Mieszerski, during the Hollywood Park meet. Don Adams was the celebrity for about six months.
I'll never forget the first time I answered the phone and heard "Maxwell Smart" on the other end. He would always be very polite and say "Hi, this is Don Adams, may I speak with Garr." (Garr is Garr Kluender, who edited that "Betting with Bob" feature).
After about 3 weeks of taking his call, I finally decided I would say how much I appreciated his work through the years. He couldn't have been more pleasant, and we spoke for about 15 minutes. We talked mostly about "Tennessee Tuxedo," and how much I loved watching that cartoon with my dad.
Lo and behold, a couple of weeks later, totally unsolicited, I received some "Tennessee Tuxedo" memorabilia in the mail from Mr. Adams, including an autographed poster and dolls of Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumley. I was very touched by the fact he would be so nice to, basically, "the guy who answers the phones."

Houston

Linda · 13 Jan 1966

Beachy · 18 Sep 2005

Missed 87 by just that much.

Uncle Twitchy · **Joined:** 28 Nov 2006 **Posts:** 30520 **LIF:** 2

Ssssuck.

Uncle Twitchy · **Joined:** 28 Nov 2006 **Posts:** 30520 **LIF:** 2

(I realize it's been four years, but it's still sad.)

Don Adams, RIP (April 13, 1923 - September 25, 2005)

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