Don Adams
Birth name	Donald James Yarmy
Born	April 13 1923(1923--) New York, New York
Died	September 25 2005 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, California 34°′″N 118°′00″W / 34.089825, -118.316681
Spouse(s)	Judy Luciano (1977-06-10–1990) (divorced) 1 child Dorothy Bracken (1960–1976) (divorced) 2 children Adelaide Efantis Adams (1945–1960) (divorced) 4 children
Parents	William Yarmy, Consuelo Morgan
Awards Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy Series 1967, 1968, 1969 – Get Smart

Don Adams (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), born Donald James Yarmy, was an American actor 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). Additional fame came when he provided the voice for Inspector Gadget as the title character.

Biography

Early life

Adams was born in New York City to William Yarmy, a Hungarian Jew, and Consuelo Morgan, a Roman Catholic of Dutch and Irish heritage;[1] he was not raised in any religion but became a practicing Catholic later on in his life.

Adams served with the United States Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theater. He was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal and he contracted malaria, nearly dying of blackwater fever. Upon his recovery and return to the States, he served as a drill instructor. ^[1] Rumors that he was the only member of his platoon to survive at Guadalcanal are unsubstantiated.^[1]

Adams later worked as a comic and mimic, taking the stage name of Adams after marrying singer Adelaide (Dell) Efantis, who performed under the name Adelaide Adams. After their divorce, he still went by the stage name "Adams," explaining (perhaps comically) that he kept it because he got tired of being last during alphabetical auditions.

Career

His work on television began in 1954, when he won "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 Mr Glick—a character nearly identical to what was soon to become "Maxwell Smart" on Get Smart. The hotel manager was played by Jonathan Harris who later did a guest role on Get Smart in 1970.

Adams's projects 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. He continued to make the majority of his income from his work on stage and in clubs. However, he astutely chose the option of co-ownership of the Get Smart property over an increased salary during the series' production period, thus guaranteeing a regular income stream.

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

Adams also 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 (1983–1985) 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 also 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.

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.

When the film version of Inspector Gadget starring Matthew Broderick went into theaters in 1999, Adams was the voice of Brain the dog in the end credits.

Personal life

Adams was married (and divorced) three times and was survived by five of his seven children: son Sean (who died in 2006) and daughters Carolyn, Catherine, Christine, Stacey, and Beige. His daughter Cecily Adams died before him. On September 25, 2005, he died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 82 from a sudden lung infection following a long battle with bone lymphoma. He is interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. His funeral mass was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills.

References

External links

• Don Adams, Vocalist and Voice-Over Artist Age 37, Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Don Adams at the Voice Chasers Database
• Don Adams at the Internet Movie Database
• 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
• Find A Grave link
• Don Adams at TV.com

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