Don Adams
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| Don Adams | |||||||
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| Born | Donald James Yarmy April 13, 1923 New York City, New York, USA |
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| Died | September 25, 2005 (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, USA |
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| Spouse(s) | Adelaide Efantis (1949–1958) Dorothy Bracken (1960–1976) Judy Luciano (1977–1990) |
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Don Adams (born Donald James Yarmy, April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005) 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 Inspector Gadget and Tennessee Tuxedo as their respective title characters.
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[edit] Early life
Adams was born in New York City to William Yarmy, a Hungarian Jew, who worked as a soda clerk, and Consuelo Dieter, a Roman Catholic struggling housewife, who was of both Dutch and Irish heritage;[1] he was not raised in any religion but became a practicing Catholic.
After Don dropped out of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School at age 18 (his senior year) in 1941, one of his first jobs was a theatre usher, and 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.
Adams served with the United States Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theatre. He was wounded during the Battle of Guadalcanal, nearly dying. Also, he got blackwater fever.[2] Upon his recovery and return to the States, he served as a drill instructor.[3] As a Marine Corps drill instructor he was commended by his superiors for being able to exceed the performance of his recruits at every required physical task.
[edit] Character actor
Though Adams rarely had any character parts during his life, he made his television debut guest-starring on an episode of Startime. The one part led to other roles such as Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Danny Thomas Hour, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, several episodes of The Love Boat playing various characters, Fantasy Island, The Fall Guy, Back to the Beach, and the last guest-starring role he appeared was on Empty Nest. He also guest-voiced on an episode of Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher.
[edit] The Bill Dana Show
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 Byron 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.)
[edit] Get Smart
Creators Buck Henry and Mel Brooks wrote Get Smart as the comedic answer to all of 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.
NBC was interested in Adams, who was under contract with the network, though he was the second choice to play Maxwell Smart (Agent 86), after Tom Poston turned down the part. When it debuted in 1965, it was an immediate hit.
Adams endowed the character with his voice and clipped, unique speaking style. Co-star Barbara Feldon, who played the role of 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 with the character, including "Sorry 'bout that, chief", "And... loving it", "Would you believe?" and "Missed it by THAT much!" These helped make the series a cult hit in over 100 countries.
In addition to acting, Adams also produced and directed some episodes of the show. Off the set, he occasionally feuded with Jay Sandrich, who served as writer.[citation needed] For his portrayal of Agent 86, he was nominated for Emmys 4 seasons in a row, between 1966 and 1969, and won 3 Emmys, for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series.
For its final season, the show moved to CBS, though ratings began to decline as spy series and war movies went out of fashion. Get Smart was canceled in 1970, after 138 episodes.
Feldon said of her longtime friend Adams's tenure on Get Smart, "It was so easy, that was the strange thing. We didn't grope for that relationship. Don came in with Max intact. 99 just had to respond to that already salified Max."
[edit] Typecasting
Adams was very happy about the show's cancellation, as he wanted to move on to other projects, but his 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. Even his movie, The Nude Bomb, was a box-office failure. Adams was typecast as Maxwell Smart and unable to move beyond that image, though he did have success as the voice of Inspector Gadget.
He continued to make the majority of his income from his work on stage and in clubs. Because Adams had chosen co-ownership of the Get Smart property over an increased salary during the series' production period, he received regular income in later years.
[edit] The Don Adams Screen Test
The 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, such as the bat scene from 'The Lost Weekend' or the beach scene from 'From Here to Eternity', aided by Adams and other guest celebrities. Hokey effects, bad timing, forgotten lines, prop failures and the celebrity's 'ad libs' were maximized for comic effect. At the end of the program, 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.
[edit] Voice-over and later work
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 (1983–1985) 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 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 a 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 with 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 Brothers 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."
[edit] 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.
On September 25, 2005, he died in Los Angeles, California from a 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. He was survived by six of his seven children along with 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Don Adams Dies
- ^ www.spiritus-temporis.com/don-adams
- ^ U.S. Marine Don Adams. Truth or Fiction. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
[edit] External links
- Don Adams at the Voice Chasers Database
- 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
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adams, Don |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Yarmy, Donald James |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 13, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2005-9-25 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Los Angeles, California |
