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

Before he was known as the some what fumbling secret agent Don Adams made all the rounds on the talk/game show circuit as well as the sitcom universe. Among his accomplisments he appeared on "The Perry Como Show", "Tonight!", "The Rosemary Clooney Show", "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show", "The Steve Allen Show", "Toast of the Town", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Jack Paar Show", "The Match Game", "The Dean Martin Show", "The Andy Williams Show", "The Carol Burnett Show", "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", "The Flip Wilson Show", "Match Game 73", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "Empty Nest", "The Bill Dana Show", "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater", "The Danny Thomas Hour", "Fantasy Island", "The Love Boat", "Nick Freno Licensed Teacher" and "Pepper Ann." In the early 1960's he became well known as the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo. In 1965 he took the job that made him a part of pop culture. As Agent 86, Maxwell Smart of Control on the NBC sitcom "Get Smart" Adams made such catchphrases as "Missed it by that much" and "Would you believe...?" part of Americana. The shoe phone and the cone of silence are so imbedded in our imaginations they always make us smile when we think of them. Following "Get Smart" was the 1980 motion picture "The Nude Bomb" which was a complete flop. In 1989, Adams and his co-star Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) returned for the television movie "Get Smart, Again" which also met with a luke warm reception. In 1995 the duo returned again in the Fox sitcom "Get Smart" featuring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart who was now the chief of Control and Barbara Feldon as 99 who was now a congresswoman. Andy Dick played their son Zach. The show disappeared after eight episodes. In 1983, Adams began his second legendary run in television when he provided the voice of the title character in the cartoon "Inspector Gadget." As Inspector Gadget he entertained an entirely new generation of fans especially me. "Go Go Gadget Arms" and "Go Go Gadget Copper" are just a few of the wonderful lines uttered on this classic cartoon. In 1999, Matthew Broderick starred as Inspector Gadget in the motion picture of the same name. Don Adams was on hand of course to briefly provide the voice of Brain the dog. On March 12, 2003 Don Adams and Barbara Feldon appeared as presenters at the first annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV. Unfortunately the years that followed took this marvelous actor from us. It breaks my heart that he didn't live to see the big screen version of "Get Smart" but his spirit and his feeling are there through every second of the film. Don Adams will never be forgotten and he can never be duplicated.

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