Edward Platt
Forever and fondly remembered as Don Adams' foil on the popular Mel Brooks/Buck Henry spy series Get Smart (1965), character actor Ed Platt (also billed as Edward C. Platt) had been around for two decades prior to copping that rare comedy role. Born in Staten Island, New York, on Valentine's Day, 1916, he inherited an appreciation of music on his mother's side. He spent a part of his childhood in Kentucky and in upstate New York where he attended Northwood, a private school in Lake Placid, and was a member of the ski jump team. He majored in romantic languages at Princeton University but left a year later to study at the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati after his thoughts turned to a possible operatic career. He later was accepted into Juilliard. Instead of opera, however, Ed first became a band vocalist with Paul Whiteman and Orchestra. He then sang bass as part of the Mozart Opera Company in New York. With the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company in 1942, he appeared in the operettas "The Mikado," "The Gondoliers" and "The Pirates of Penzance". WWII interrupted his early career. Ed served as a radio operator with the army and would find himself on radio again in the post-war years where his deep, resonant voice proved ideal. A number of musical comedy roles also came his way again. In 1947, he made it to Broadway with the musical "Allegro." Star José Ferrer took an interest in Ed while they both were appearing in "The Shrike" on Broadway in 1952. Around 1953, Edward moved to Texas to be near his brother and began anchoring the local news and kiddie birthday party show called "Uncle Eddie's Kiddie Party." Ferrer remembered Platt and invited him to Hollywood where Ferrer was starring in the film version of The Shrike (1955). Ed recreated his stage role. He also earned fine notices as James Dean's understanding juvenile officer in the classic film Rebel Without a Cause (1955). This led to a plethora of film and TV support offers where the balding actor made fine use of his dark, rich voice, stern intensity and pragmatic air, portraying a slew of professional and shady types in crime yarns, soap dramas and war pictures -- everything from principals and prosecutors to mobsters and murderers. After years of playing it serious, which included stints on the daytime drama General Hospital (1963), Ed finally was able to focus on comedy as "The Chief" to Don Adams klutzy secret agent on Get Smart (1965), a show that inevitably found a cult audience. Picking up a few occasional guest spots in its aftermath, he later tried producing. Twice married and the father of four, Platt died on March 19, 1974. Death was attributed to a massive heart attack at the time. Years later his son revealed that his father, suffering from acute depression and undergoing severe financial pressures, committed suicide at his Santa Monica, California apartment. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]
North by Northwest
(Victor Larrabee)
Rebel Without a Cause
(Ray Fremick)
Cape Fear
(Judge)
Pollyanna
(Ben Tarbell)
Black Zoo
(Chief Rivers)
Designing Woman
(Martin J. Daylor)
The Snoop Sisters
(Julius Nero)
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
(Azor the High Priest)
Cult of the Cobra
(Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited))
Gunman's Walk
(Purcell Avery)
Backlash
(Sheriff J.C. Marson)
Storm Center
(Rev. Wilson)
House of Numbers
(The Warden)
Illegal
(Ralph Ford)
Written on the Wind
(Dr. Paul Cochrane)
The Steel Jungle
(Judge Wahller)
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
(The Judge)
The Unguarded Moment
(Attorney Briggs (as Edward C. Platt))
The Tattered Dress
(Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt))
Inside the Mafia
(Dan Regent)
Damn Citizen
(Joseph Kosta (as Edward C. Platt))
The Rebel Set
(Mr. Tucker / Mr. T)
The Helen Morgan Story
(Johnny Haggerty)
Bullet for a Badman
(Tucker)
The Last of the Fast Guns
(Sam Grypton)
Reprisal!
(Neil Shipley)
The High Cost of Loving
(Eli Cave)
Rock, Pretty Baby
(Thomas Daley Sr.)
Summer Love
(Dr. Thomas Daley)
Omar Khayyam
(Jayhan)
The Great Man
(Dr. O'Conner (as Edward C. Platt))
The Shrike
(Harry Downs (as Edward C. Platt))
Who Killed Julie Greer?
(Joe Nolan)
A Ticklish Affair
(Captain Haven Hitchcock)
Destination Space
(Dr. Easton (as Edward C. Platt))
Cash McCall
(Harrison Glenn)
Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
(Chief)
I Was a Male War Bride
(Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited))
They Came to Cordura
(Col. DeRose)
Serenade
(Everett Carter)
Oregon Passage
(Roland Dane)
The Explosive Generation
(Mr. Morton)
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
(Major Dunning - Psychiatrist)
Johnny Shiloh
(Gen. Thomas)
The Gift of Love
(Dr. Jim Miller)
Sincerely Yours
(Dr. Eubank (uncredited))
The Fiercest Heart
(Madrigo)
The Proud Ones
(Dr. Barlow)
77 Sunset Strip
Burke's Law
(Capt. Frank Metcalfe)
Trackdown
The Odd Couple
(Bill Donnelly)
Mr. Lucky
Petticoat Junction
(General Patterson)
Surfside 6
Gunsmoke
(Mr. Burgess)
Arrest and Trial
Perry Mason
(Cmdr. Driscoll)
Hawaiian Eye
Saints and Sinners
(Dr. Gates)
Get Smart
(Thaddeus)
The Twilight Zone
(Doctor)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Mr. Henshaw)
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
The Lawless Years
Rawhide
Temperatures Rising
(Senator Bradley)
Have Gun, Will Travel
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
(Self)
The Virginian
(Stuart Brynmar)
Thriller
(James Weeks)
Peter Gunn
West Point
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(Sparks)
One Step Beyond
(Will Denning)
Bronco
The Rifleman
Bat Masterson
(Roy Evens)
Wire Service
(Palmer)
Cavalcade of America
(Dr. Banner)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
(Sheriff Galt)
Alcoa Theatre
(Lieutenant)
General Electric True
Dr. Kildare
(Dr. Tom Paulson)
State Trooper
The Outer Limits
(Dean Radcliffe)
Letter to Loretta
(Henry)
Arrest and Trial
(Judge Kenneth W. Browne)
Wagon Train
(Spinoza de Costa)
Arrest and Trial
(Judge Phillips)
The Wonderful World of Disney
(Judge (uncredited))
The Wonderful World of Disney
(Lease Harris)
Arrest and Trial
(Judge)
Letter to Loretta
(Sutter)
The Outer Limits
(Mr. Terrence)
The Outer Limits
(David Hunt (as Edward C. Platt))
Temple Houston
Cavalcade of America
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(Lou Gregory)
Arrest and Trial
(Superior Court Judge)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
(Marshall Mays)
Four Star Playhouse
(Freddie)
Four Star Playhouse
(Chief of Police)
Four Star Playhouse
(Dr. Fain)
Perry Mason
(Tom Stratton)
The Wonderful World of Disney
(General Thomas)
Bonanza
(Harvey Buford)
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
(Caldwell)
Bonanza
(Wade Colly)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
(Morgan)
77 Sunset Strip
(Mr. Jacobin)
The Deputy
(Noah Harper)
Rawhide
(Jason Clark)
The Snoop Sisters
(Julius Nero)
General Electric Theater