Don Adams

Don Adams
as Maxwell Smart
Born	Donald James Yarmy April 13, 1923(1923-04-13) New York City, New York, United States
Died	September 25, 2005 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, United States
Spouse(s)	Adelaide Efantis (1949–1958) Dorothy Bracken (1960–1976) Judy Luciano (1977–1990)

Don Adams (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), born Donald James Yarmy, was an American actor, comedian, game show panelist and occasional director, who in his five decades of television was best known for his role as Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) in the TV situation comedy Get Smart (1965–1970, 1995), for which he also directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart (1967–1969). He also provided the voices for the animated series Tennessee Tuxedo (1963-1966) and Inspector Gadget (1983-1986) as their respective title characters.

Early life

Adams was born in New York City, a son of William Yarmy and his wife Consuelo (nee Deiter). His father was a Hungarian Jew and his mother a Roman Catholic of Dutch and Irish heritage.^[1] Adams was not raised in either religion, but eventually became Catholic.^{[citation needed]}

Dropping out of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School in his senior year in 1941, he worked as a theater usher. He later worked as a comic, and taking the stage name of Adams after marrying singer Adelaide (Dell) Efantis, who performed as Adelaide Adams. When they divorced, he kept the stage name, saying he did so because he was tired of being last in alphabetical auditions.

Adams served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II in the Solomon Islands campaign. In 1942 he was wounded during the Guadalcanal Campaign. He also contracted blackwater fever, a severe form of the malaria that is endemic in the Solomon Islands, nearly dying from it.^[2] After his recovery, he served in training commands as a drill instructor for the remainder of the war.^[3] In this capacity he was commended by his superiors for being able to exceed the performance of his recruits in every required physical task.^{[citations needed]}

Following his discharge, he held a series of different jobs. During a Canadian television interview, he said that he had faked college credentials and an engineering background to be hired as an engineer designing underground sewers. His lack of training was not discovered for six months.

The Bill Dana Show

Adams' work on television began in 1954, when he won on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" with a stand-up comedy act written by boyhood friend Bill Dana. In addition to appearing on numerous comedy, variety, and dramatic series, Adams had a role on the NBC sitcom The Bill Dana Show (1963–65), as a bumbling hotel detective named Byron Glick — a character nearly identical to that he would play as "Maxwell Smart" on Get Smart. (The hotel manager was played by Jonathan Harris who later did a guest role on Get Smart in 1970.)

Get Smart

Creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry wrote Get Smart as the comedic answer to the successful 1960s spy television dramas such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, I Spy and It Takes a Thief. They were asked to write a spoof that combined elements from two of the most popular film series at the time: the James Bond and Pink Panther (Inspector Clouseau) movies.

Get Smart had been written for Tom Poston, to be piloted on CBS. When CBS turned it down, the show was picked up by NBC, which cast Adams in the role because he was already under contract^{[citation needed]}. When Get Smart debuted in 1965, it was an immediate hit.

Adams gave the character a clipped, unique speaking style. Co-star Barbara Feldon, who played Smart's partner, Agent 99, said, "Part of the pop fervor for Agent 86, was because Don did such an extreme portrayal of the character that it made it easy to imitate." Adams created many popular catch-phrases (some of which were in his act prior to the show), including "Sorry about that, Chief", "Would you believe...?" and "Missed it by 'that much.'" These helped make the series a hit in over 100 countries.

In addition to acting, Adams also produced and directed several episodes of the show. Off the set, he occasionally feuded with Jay Sandrich, who served as writer.^{[citation needed]} He was nominated for Emmys 4 seasons in a row, between 1966 and 1969, for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series. He won the award 3 times.

The show moved to CBS for its final season, with ratings declining as spy series went out of fashion. Get Smart was canceled in 1970, after a total of 138 episodes.

Typecasting

Adams was happy about the show's cancellation, since he wanted to move on to other projects. His efforts after Get Smart were less successful, including the comedy series The Partners (1971–1972), a self-titled game show called Don Adams Screen Test (1975–1976) and three attempts to revive the Get Smart series in the 1980s. Even his movie, The Nude Bomb, was a box-office failure. Adams had been typecast as Maxwell Smart and unable to escape the image, though he did have success as the voice of Inspector Gadget.

He earned most of his income from his work on stage and in nightclubs. As Adams had chosen co-ownership of Get Smart over a salary increased during the production period, he received a regular income for many years thanks to the enduring popularity and re-run of the show around the world.

Don Adams' Screen Test

Don Adams' Screen Test was a syndicated game show which lasted 26 episodes during the 1975–76 season. The show was done in two 15-minute segments, in each of which a randomly selected audience member would 'act' to re-create a scene from a Hollywood movie as accurately as possible. Such moments as the bat scene from The Lost Weekend, the duel scene from The Prisoner of Zenda or the beach scene from From Here to Eternity were used, with Adams directing and a celebrity guest playing the other lead in the scene. Hokey effects, bad timing, forgotten lines, prop failures and the celebrity's 'ad libs' were maximized for comic effect as the audience watched "bloopers" and "outtakes" as they happened. At the end of the program, the final, serious, fully edited version of the 'screen test' of each of the two contestants would be played, with audience reaction determining the winner, who would receive a trip to Hollywood and a real screen test for a motion picture.

Voice-over and later work

Don Adams in animated form in an episode of The New Scooby Doo Movies, "The Exterminator."

Adams worked as a voice actor in Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966), but he was more famous as the voice of Inspector Gadget in the initial run of that television series (1983–1986) and the Christmas special, as well as in later reprises; he even voiced himself in animated form for a guest shot in an episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Exterminator," which first aired on CBS October 13, 1973.

He attempted a situation-comedy comeback in Canada with Check it Out! in 1985; the show ran for three years in Canada, but it was not successful in the United States. The show also starred Gordon Clapp, an unknown star at the time, who developed a rapport with Adams. In an A&E Biography, Adams said that he made more money working on the series, better than on Get Smart. He reprised his Maxwell Smart role on Get Smart for Fox in 1995, which co-starred Barbara Feldon and rising star Andy Dick as Max's & 99's only son. Unlike the original version, this show did not appeal to younger viewers and it was canceled after only 6 episodes. He later went on to voice the character of Principal Hickley in the late-90s Disney cartoon, Pepper Ann.

In 2003, Adams joined a Get Smart tribute at the Museum of Television and Radio. Also appearing at the convention were surviving stars of Get Smart: Barbara Feldon, Bernie Kopell and Dick Gautier.

Adams stated in interviews that his famous "clippy" voice characterization was an exaggeration of the speaking style of actor William Powell. Occasionally, he also enjoyed doing a more explicit impersonation of Ronald Colman.

Adams was the voice of Brain the dog in the end credits for the film version of Inspector Gadget in 1999.

In the teaser trailer for The Venture Bros. third season, the sea captain character (who led a crew of fake ghost pirates ala Scooby Doo villains) proudly explains that his career lets you meet people "who used to be famous. Like Cher and the guy who did the voice for Inspector Gadget."

Personal life

Adams was married and divorced three times:

• Adelaide "Dell" Efantis, in 1949, divorced in 1958. They had four children: actress Cecily (born February 6, 1958 and died March 3, 2004), Carolyn, Christine and Cathy.
• Dorothy Bracken in 1960, divorced in 1973. They had two children, Stacey Noel (born on June 17, 1966) and Sean Adams (born on December 4, 1970 and died on June 28, 2006).
• Judy Luciano on June 10, 1977, divorced in 1990. They had a daughter, Beige Dawn Adams, born on June 6, 1979.

Don had two siblings, actor Dick Yarmy (1932–1992) and writer Gloria Yarmy Burton.

Adams was a lifelong friend of Don Rickles. He also was a close friend of Hugh Hefner, with whom he played cards every week. James Caan was a frequent golfing buddy.

Death

Don Adams died on September 25, 2005 in Los Angeles, California from a lung infection following a long battle with bone lymphoma. Among his eulogists was his decades-long friend, Barbara Feldon. Adams was interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. His funeral mass was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Adams was survived by six of his seven children, plus 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.^[4]

References

External links

United States Marine Corps portal

• Don Adams at the Internet Movie Database
• Don Adams at Allmovie
• Don Adams at TV.com
• Don Adams at Find a Grave Retrieved on 2008-04-01
• Don Adams, Television's Maxwell Smart, Dies at 82
• When Being Funny Means Having to Say You're Sorry About That, Chief
• Guardian obituary and obituary letter
• Obituary in the Los Angeles Daily News