Obituary: Don Adams

Don Adams, comedian. Died aged 82

Don Adams was the clipped-voice comedian who starred as the fumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1960s Get Smart television spoof of James Bond movies.

As Agent 86 of the super-secret federal agency CONTROL, he drew wide television audiences with a mixture of comic mishaps and catch phrases while combating the evil agents of CHAOS. A light relief in the days of the Cold War, the programme achieved almost cult status

But if the programme between 1965 and 1970 brought him fame and fortune, it came at a price. Maxwell Smart was such a distinctive character that Don Adams found himself hopelessly typecast and never really found another vehicle for his humour.

According to the Associated Press this week, Adams said in a 1995 interview: "I made a lot of money out of it ... but it also hindered me career-wise. The character was so strong, particularly because of that distinctive voice, that nobody could picture me in any other type of role."

It must have helped that during the show's run he reportedly took a smaller salary in return for a third-share of its earnings.

Reruns of the show have been shown for decades as new generations have become acquainted with the serious little spy and his tendency to drop or spill things on the desk or person of his spy boss The Chief (played by Edward Platt).

His "Sorry about that chief" entered the language, as did "Would you believe ... " the alternative explanations he offered when his boss or enemies failed to be convinced by his earlier assertions.

"Very interesting" was usually employed when his comprehension had failed him yet again.

And the spy gadgets, which aped those of the Bond movies, were a popular feature, especially the pre-cellphone telephone in a shoe. It tended to be rung by callers who had dialled a wrong number.

Smart's beautiful partner, Agent 99, played by Barbara Feldon, was as brainy as he was dense, producing his "Good Thinking 99" phrase.

Don Adams' real name was Donald James Yarmy. The son of a Hungarian Jew, he was born in New York in 1923.

The change to Adams, his first wife's surname, was explained as a way of avoiding being last in audition queues where actors were called up alphabetically.

Once an engineer, and after war service in the Pacific, he drifted into stand-up comedy in the 1950s.

Adams was at first lukewarm about doing a spy spoof until he learned that Mel Brooks and Buck Henry had written the pilot script.

Get Smart first ran in September 1965 and by its end in 1970 had twice won the Emmy for best comedy series. Adams won three Emmys for best comedy actor.

Adams, who married and divorced three times and had seven children, served as the voice for the popular cartoon series, Inspector Gadget.

In 1980, he appeared as Maxwell Smart in a feature movie, The Nude Bomb, about a madman whose bomb destroyed people's clothing.

A year ago, Adams broke his hip and had been in ill health ever since.

He died of a lung infection in a hospital in Los Angeles.