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Platt, best known to most everyone as ''The Chief'' of CONTROL on the popular Mel Brooks & Buck Henry 1960's TV spy spoof comedy classic GET SMART, was born on St.Valentine's Day in 1916. He committed suicide on March 19th, 1974. He was only 58.
The balding, prematurely gray Platt was known mostly for dramatic roles before attaining pop culture status as the exasperated foil of Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 (Don Adams).
Platt played many an attorney, physician, military brass, jurist and sheriff in films for such acclaimed directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Douglas Sirk, Nicholas Ray, John Sturges, Michael Curtiz, Vincent Minnelli and more.
In Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST he played Cary Grant's lawyer, Victor Larabee (name sound familiar? Robert Karvelas played a character named Larrabee on GET SMART with Platt), Harrison Glenn, James Garner's mouthpiece in CASH McCALL, Ray Fremick, the juvenile officer trying to help James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, Harry Downs, brother of theater director Jose Ferrer in THE SHRIKE,
Roughing up Dean in REBEL
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With Jessie Royce Landis, Stanley Adams and Edward Binns in
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
With Joyce Taylor in
ATLANTIS, THE LOST CONTINENT
CULT OF THE COBRA
With Saxon and Fay Wray in
ROCK, PRETTY BABY
With Dorothy Malone and Rock Hudson in
WRITTEN ON THE WIND
He shined in such laughers as DESIGNING WOMAN, THE LIEUTENANT WORE SKIRTS, A TICKLISH AFFAIR and I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE, not to mention a great guest spot on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW episode A Nice, Friendly Game Of Cards.
With Lauren Bacall in
DESIGNING WOMAN
In 1965 Platt began playing his most notable role, ''The Chief'' (first name Thaddeus), the smart, sensible head of CONTROL, who became annoyed, grumpy, & sarcastic when having to deal with Agent 86 and his constant ineptness.
Don Addams and Platt played off of each other so well, do in part to their superb comic timing and great acting chops, with help from brilliant writing by Leonard Stern, Buck Henry, Mel Brooks and more
86 has caused The Chief to flip out!
The popular sitcom ran for 5 seasons on NBC, winning 2 Emmy's for Outstanding Comedy Series and cracking the Top 25 in the Nielsen Ratings twice.
With the unbeatable combination of funny & sexy, Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) was also a key reason GET SMART worked so well
Typecast after GET SMART ended, Platt was regulated to guest spots on sitcoms, as no one would cast him in a dramatic film, probably fearing Platt might draw unintentional laughs because of his GET SMART baggage.
Ahead of his time, in 1973 Platt co-produced the first independent film in color done entirely on videotape, the Glenn Ford oater SANTEE. The production was shot with TV cameras and the images were transferred to film for release in theaters. It was not a commercial success.
His other film and TV credits include:
a recurring role on THE GOVERNOR AND J.J. with Dan Dailey,
BEWITCHED, ILLEGAL, OMAR KHAYYAM, THE LAST OF THE FAST GUNS, POLLYANNA, BLACK ZOO, the voice of The Man in the Black Cape in THE MAN FROM BUTTON WILLOW, GUNSMOKE, FOUR STAR PLAYHOUSE, BIG TOWN, THE STEEL JUNGLE, SERENADE, THE UNGUARDED MOMENT, REPRISAL!, WHIRLYBIRDS, THE TATTERED DRESS, STATE TROOPER, THE HELEN MORGAN STORY, OREGON PASSAGE, DAMN CITIZEN, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, HAVE GUN--WILL TRAVEL, THE RIFLEMAN, TRACKDOWN, THE LORETTA YOUNG SHOW, THE DEPUTY, PERRY MASON, 77 SUNSET STRIP, GUNMAN'S WALK, THE HIGH COST OF LOVING, INSIDE THE MAFIA, MR. LUCKY, THE OUTER LIMITS, THE FIERCEST HEART, THRILLER, BONANZA, WAGON TRAIN, GENERAL HOSPITAL, JOHNNY SHILOH, TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER, SHOCK TREATMENT, BULLET FOR A BADMAN, RIPCORD, TEMPLE HOUSTON, several judges on ARREST AND TRIAL, THE VIRGINIAN, PETTICOAT JUNCTION, THE ODD COUPLE, THE SNOOP SISTERS, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE and many more.
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THE RIFLEMAN
Getting roughed up by Keith Andes in DAMN CITIZEN
Platt was also active on the Broadway stage in such plays and musicals
as OH, CAPTAIN!, TWENTIETH CENTURY, THE SHRIKE, ALLEGRO, THE SILVER WHISTLE and more.
Eileen Rodgers (filling in for Abbe Lane) and Platt recording
the original Broadway cast album of OH, CAPTAIN!
Did you know...?
The C. in the middle of Platt's name is actually for Cuthbert.
Platt served as a radio operator with the U.S. Army during WWII.
He attended Princeton for one year and studied at the Julliard School of Music.
He hosted a Texas TV show called UNCLE EDDIE'S KIDDIE PARTY.
When he first died it was reported that the apparent cause was a heart attack, however one of his sons later confirmed that Platt took his own life due to untreated depression and financial troubles.
Platt at work:
The GET SMART Collection:
''Too Many Chiefs''
''Double Agent''
''How To Succeed In The Spy Business Without Really Trying''
''Snoopy Smart Vs. The Red Baron''
HViDCgUu2kw''Moonlighting Becomes You''
The GET SMART Cone of Silence Collection
''Isn't this Top Security?''
The Chief loathed the C of S!
The very first appearance of the C of S in the first episode of GS
The portable C of S
Funny outtakes from GET SMART
Platt does drama:
Scene from REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
Platt gives Bob Stack some bad news at 6 mins. and 45 seconds into this clip of WRITTEN ON THE WIND
DAMN CITIZEN trailer
THE REBEL SET trailer
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode Museum Piece
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