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Author Topic: RIP Don Adams  (Read 505 times)

Offline rpm

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RIP Don Adams
« on: September 26, 2005, 09:55:49 PM »
Don Adams, who played Maxwell Smart in the 1960's sitcom "Get Smart," died on Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 82.

Mr. Adams broke his hip a year ago and had been in poor health.

He was born Donald James Yarmy in New York City on April 13, 1923, although some sources say 1926 or ’27. The actor’s father was a Hungarian Jew who ran a few small restaurants in the Bronx.

In 1941, he dropped out of school to join the Marines. In Guadalcanal he survived the deadly blackwater fever and was returned to the States to become a drill instructor, acquiring the clipped delivery that served him well as a comedian.

After the war he worked in New York as a commercial artist by day, doing standup comedy in clubs at night, taking the surname of his first wife, Adelaide Adams. His following grew, and soon he was appearing on the Ed Sullivan and late-night TV shows. Bill Dana, who had helped him develop comedy routines, cast him as his sidekick on Dana’s show. That led to the NBC contract and “Get Smart.”

Don Adams, who married and divorced three times and had seven children, served as the voice for the popular cartoon series, “Inspector Gadget” as well as the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo. In 1980, he appeared as Maxwell Smart in a feature film, “The Nude Bomb,” about a madman whose bomb destroyed people’s clothing.

Adams’ survivors include six of his children; a sister; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

« Last Edit: September 26, 2005, 09:58:11 PM by rpm »
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Offline Pooh21

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2005, 10:04:15 PM »
S!
:(
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Offline soda72

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2005, 10:05:36 PM »
:(
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Offline BTW

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2005, 10:05:46 PM »
What was his show where people acted in competition to win a role on a tv show? That seems like ages ago..
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Offline rpm

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2005, 10:25:46 PM »
"Don Adams' Screen Test" (1975)
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My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.
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Offline Shuckins

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2005, 11:02:51 PM »
"...AND LOVING IT!"

Rest in Peace.  Thanks for the fun you brought into my home when I was a kid.
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Offline Meatwad

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2005, 11:03:11 PM »
:( I used to watch Get Smart on the old Nick and Nite back when I was a kid. How I miss them days
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Offline Sixpence

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2005, 11:47:49 PM »
Missed it by....that much
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Offline TimRas

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Memorable quotes:
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2005, 12:38:08 AM »
KAOS Agent: Look, I'm a sportsman. I'll let you choose the way you want to die.
Maxwell Smart: All right, how about old age?

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Maxwell Smart: I may never get to play with the Philharmonic, but on the other hand, is Leonard Bernstein licensed to kill?

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Maxwell Smart: I'm getting complaints from the landlord about the gun battles in the hall, and the bombs in the lobby, and the knife fights in the elevator.
Chief: Well, when you rent an apartment to a secret agent, you've got to expect those things.
Maxwell Smart: But he doesn't know I'm a secret agent.
Chief: Well, how do you explain people attacking you and shooting at you?
Maxwell Smart: Well, I told him I work for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

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Maxwell Smart: I'm sorry I'm late, Chief, but I was stuck in the car for almost twenty minutes.
Chief: I know, 86. The traffic.
Maxwell Smart: No, the seat belt. I can never get that darn thing unbuckled.

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Chief: Max, I don't know what I'm going to do about you. You bungle assignment after assignment.
Maxwell Smart: I resent that, Chief.
Chief: Do you deny it?
Maxwell Smart: No, but I resent it.

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Chief: There's no telling where they'll be able to infiltrate next. May be even the Pentagon.
Maxwell Smart: You're right, Chief. But even if they do get a man into the Pentagon, that's not saying he'll be able to get out. I remember one of our own agents was lost in there for three days.
Chief: Three days? Max, no agent could be that confused.
Maxwell Smart: Well, let me see. I went in on a Friday...

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Senator: Mr. Smart, how many arrests did Control make last year?
Maxwell Smart: I don't know.
Senator: Who's the number one man in your organization?
Maxwell Smart: I don't know.
Senator: How many cases were assigned to Control last year?
Maxwell Smart: I don't know.
Senator: What would you do if you were fired, Mr. Smart?
Maxwell Smart: They can't fire me. I know too much.

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Agent 99: Sometime I wish you were just an ordinary businessman.
Maxwell Smart: Well, 99, we are what we are. I'm a secret agent, trained to be cold, vicious, and savage. Not enough to be a businessman.

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Agent 99: Oh, Max, how terrible.
Maxwell Smart: He desereved it, 99. He was a Kaos killer.
Agent 99: Sometimes I wonder if we're any better, Max.
Maxwell Smart: What are you talking about, 99? We have to shoot and kill and destroy. We represent everything that's wholesome and good in the world.

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Agent 99: Oh Max, you're so brave. You're going to get a medal for this.
Maxwell Smart: There's something more important than medals, 99.
Agent 99: What?
Maxwell Smart: It's after six. I get overtime.

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Maxwell Smart: Listen, 99, did you find out anything about that restaurant that sold me the poison coffee?
Agent 99: Yes, Max. It was a Kaos front. They stayed in business almost a year just to get the Professor. Then they packed up and disappeared. Terrible, isn't it?
Maxwell Smart: It certainly is. They had the best prune danish in town.

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Maxwell Smart: You can't do that, Chief. Hymie's my friend.
Chief: Your friend busted into my office, said he was going to kill me, smashed my desk to pieces, and almost strangled me with his bare hands.
Maxwell Smart: Well, I said he was my friend, not yours.

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Maxwell Smart: Sorry about that, Chief.



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Offline Edbert

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2005, 07:20:31 AM »
007 meets Inspector Cluseau...99 was hot though.

RIP Thanks
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Offline DREDIOCK

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2005, 07:39:32 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Meatwad
:( I used to watch Get Smart on the old Nick and Nite back when I was a kid. How I miss them days


heh I used to watch Get smart on a rabbit eared TV when it wa a weekly TV series LOL

"Sorry about that Cheif"
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Offline AWMac

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2005, 07:41:31 AM »
Wouldn't it be great to see some of the old Get Smart shows run again?

Good comedy. Sad loss. :(

Don Adams

R.I.P.

Mac
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Offline DREDIOCK

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2005, 07:42:02 AM »
Biography for
Don Adams (I)

Birth name
Donald James Yarmy
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Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)
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Mini biography
Of Irish-Hungarian heritage. Sister Gloria, brother Dick Yarmy. Served in U.S. Marines in World War II, contracted malaria during Guadalcanal campaign. Postwar career as standup comedian. Married singer Adelaide Adams and adopted her stage surname. Children: Carolyn, Christine, Catherine, Cecily Adams, Stacey Adams, Sean, Beige. TV career began with winning "Original Amateur Hour" (1948). Won fame and three Emmy Awards as bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart on "Get Smart" (1965). Dramatic actor on Broadway and in stock.


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IMDb mini-biography by
Anonymous
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Spouse
Judy Luciano (10 June 1977 - ?) (divorced) 1 daughter
Dorothy Bracken (1960 - 1976) (divorced) 2 children
Adelaide Efantis (? - ?) (divorced) 4 children

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Trivia
Cousin of Robert Karvelas

Beginning in 1999, Don Adams started to play Maxwell Smart once again, this time in a successful series of Canadian TV commercials for the "Buck-a-Call" long distance service.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 4-5. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Father of Cecily Adams.

Father-in-law of Jim Beaver.

Claims he changed his last name from Yarmy to Adams because he was tired of having to go last at auditions, which usually went in alphabetical order.

Served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, and took part in the landings and battle at Guadalcanal, where he contracted malaria.
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Offline Panzzer

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2005, 08:30:50 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by AWMac
Wouldn't it be great to see some of the old Get Smart shows run again?
Actually Get Smart! was on the Finnish tv2 during spring & summer this year, it stopped about 2 weeks ago (now they're showing Happy Days).

and RIP.
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Offline midnight Target

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RIP Don Adams
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2005, 10:23:49 AM »
Would you believe......?


I can think of at least 2 different cars he drove in the opening sequence.. anyone else?
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