With his flat, clipped style and deadpan delivery, Don Adams made his mark in TV history as the air-brain spy Maxwell Smart in "Get Smart" (NBC, 1965-69; CBS 1969-70). In this James Bond spoof created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, he played Smart, Agent 86 of C.O.N.T.R.O.L., fighting the nefarious forces of K.A.O.S. and always exasperating his lady love, Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Each week's opening sequence featured the spy walking down a corridor full of unexpected surprises, usually ending with his nose caught in one of the traps. Adams, who earned two Best Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Awards for the role, became so identified with the character and his catchphrases ("Would you believe . . . ?" and "Sorry about that, Chief!") that finding subsequent work proved difficult. He often fell back on reprises of Smart, as in the 1980 feature "The Nude Bomb", the TV-movie "Get Smart, Again!" (ABC, 1989) and the short-lived Fox update "Get Smart" (1994). The latter saw him promoted to C.O.N.T.R.O.L. chief, Agent 99 serving in Congress and their son Zachary (Andy Dick) assuming the reins as spy.
A native New Yorker, Adams served in the US Marines during WWII and decided to pursue a showbiz career after the war. He began making appearances as a standup comic, performing a routine loaded with comic impressions. In 1954, he was a winner on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" (CBS) which in turn led to appearances on variety series, like "Saturday Spectacular" (NBC, 1956) and "The Steve Allen Show" (NBC), before he landed a regular berth on "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall" (NBC, 1961-63). He subsequently joined former writing partner Bill Dana as a clueless house detective at a hotel on "The Bill Dana Show" (NBC, 1963-65). Adams later joined Rupert Crosse in "The Partners" (NBC, 1971-72), as a pair of detectives always getting into crazy situations. He tried his hand hosting the syndicated "Don Adams Talent Search", which offered neophytes the opportunity for a Hollywood contract by recreating classic movie scenes. Between 1985 and 1989, Adams filmed 66 episodes of the low-budget sitcom "Check It Out!", in which he played the manager of a supermarket. The shows were taped in Toronto and played on Canadian TV and in the States in syndication on the USA Network.
In between on-camera assignment has provided character voices for animated series. His "Inspector Gadget" (syndicated, 1983-84) was clearly akin to Maxwell Smart and he played a younger version of the Inspector in "Gadget Boy & Heather" (syndicated, 1995), as well as providing the voice of the Brain in the live-action 1999 version starring Matthew Broderick. Adams had made a handful of sporadic film appearances, including "Jimmy the Kid" (1982) and a cameo in "Back to the Beach" (1987). In 1993, he made his screenwriting and directing debut with the direct-to-video release "Shreck", a thriller about teenagers who resurrect a serial killer. However, audiences could never forget Adams' hilariously clipped, deadpan delivery as Maxwell Smart, and the actor spent much of the latter days of his career fondly recalling the character when being honored at salutes to classic TV by NBC, TV Land, A&E and their brethren before his death in 2005.