Edward Platt

Selamanya dan dikenang dengan penuh kasih sebagai film Don Adams dalam serial mata-mata Mel Brooks/Buck Henry yang populer, Get Smart (1965), aktor karakter Ed Platt (juga disebut sebagai Edward C. Platt) telah ada selama dua dekade sebelum mengambil alih peran komedi langka itu. Lahir di Staten Island, New York, pada Hari Valentine 1916, ia mewarisi apresiasi musik dari pihak ibunya. Dia menghabiskan sebagian masa kecilnya di Kentucky dan di bagian utara New York di mana dia bersekolah di Northwood, sebuah sekolah swasta di Lake Placid, dan menjadi anggota tim lompat ski. Dia mengambil jurusan bahasa romantis di Universitas Princeton tetapi keluar setahun kemudian untuk belajar di Conservatory of Music di Cincinnati setelah pikirannya beralih ke kemungkinan karir opera. Dia kemudian diterima di Juilliard. Alih-alih opera, Ed pertama kali menjadi vokalis band bersama Paul Whiteman dan Orchestra. Dia kemudian menyanyikan bass sebagai bagian dari Mozart Opera Company di New York. Dengan Perusahaan Opera Gilbert dan Sullivan pada tahun 1942, ia muncul dalam operet "The Mikado", "The Gondoliers" dan "The Pirates of Penzance". Perang Dunia II mengganggu karir awalnya. Ed bertugas sebagai operator radio di angkatan darat dan kembali muncul di radio pada tahun-tahun pascaperang ketika suaranya yang dalam dan bergema terbukti ideal. Sejumlah peran komedi musikal juga muncul kembali. Pada tahun 1947, dia berhasil mencapai Broadway dengan musikal "Allegro." Bintang José Ferrer menaruh minat pada Ed saat mereka berdua tampil di "The Shrike" di Broadway pada tahun 1952. Sekitar tahun 1953, Edward pindah ke Texas untuk dekat dengan saudaranya dan mulai menjadi pembawa acara berita lokal dan acara pesta ulang tahun anak-anak yang disebut "Pesta Kiddie Paman Eddie". Ferrer teringat Platt dan mengundangnya ke Hollywood di mana Ferrer membintangi versi film The Shrike (1955). Ed menciptakan kembali peran panggungnya. Dia juga mendapat perhatian bagus sebagai petugas remaja James Dean yang pengertian dalam film klasik Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Hal ini menghasilkan banyak tawaran dukungan film dan TV di mana aktor botak ini memanfaatkan suaranya yang gelap dan kaya, intensitas yang tegas, dan suasana pragmatis, menggambarkan banyak tipe profesional dan teduh dalam benang kriminal, drama sabun, dan gambar perang -- mulai dari kepala sekolah dan jaksa hingga mafia dan pembunuh. Setelah bertahun-tahun memainkannya dengan serius, termasuk menjalankan tugas di drama siang hari Rumah Sakit Umum (1963), Ed akhirnya bisa fokus pada komedi sebagai "The Chief" untuk agen rahasia Don Adams yang kikuk di Get Smart (1965), sebuah acara yang pasti menemukan penonton yang sesat. Sesekali mengambil beberapa tempat tamu setelahnya, dia kemudian mencoba memproduksi. Dua kali menikah dan ayah dari empat anak, Platt meninggal pada 19 Maret 1974. Kematian tersebut disebabkan oleh serangan jantung besar-besaran pada saat itu. Bertahun-tahun kemudian putranya mengungkapkan bahwa ayahnya, yang menderita depresi akut dan mengalami tekanan keuangan yang parah, melakukan bunuh diri di apartemennya di Santa Monica, California. - Biografi Mini IMDb Oleh: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]

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]