Maxwell Smart 1923-2005

September 26, 2005 12:50 PM

Losing Gilligan and Maxwell Smart just a few weeks apart is sad. What great memories of a very funny show and a funny man.
posted by terrier319 (66 comments total)

Sorry about that, chief.

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posted by Vidiot at 12:53 PM on September 26, 2005

Go, Go, Gadget...

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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:55 PM on September 26, 2005

"Missed it by that much!"
posted by Witty at 12:55 PM on September 26, 2005

Would You Believe...!?
posted by soyjoy at 12:56 PM on September 26, 2005

And thus, the cone of silence descends...

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posted by DragonBoy at 12:57 PM on September 26, 2005

This is sad.

I also fondly remember Adams as the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo.
posted by marxchivist at 12:58 PM on September 26, 2005

That's the second largest zipper I've seen this week!
posted by FYKshun at 1:00 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by Rothko at 1:01 PM on September 26, 2005

Agent 99 gave me my first wood. Don Adams on the other hand, he just made me laugh. I loved that show as a kid.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:02 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by peacay at 1:03 PM on September 26, 2005

...and we are left to face the Kaos alone.

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posted by PlusDistance at 1:06 PM on September 26, 2005

KAOS Agent: Look, I'm a sportsman. I'll let you choose the way you want to die.

Maxwell Smart: All right, how about old age?

RIP Don.
posted by davelog at 1:08 PM on September 26, 2005

Who will save us from Siegfried now?

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posted by unreason at 1:08 PM on September 26, 2005

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Saturday mornings, in front of the tv...
posted by gaspode at 1:12 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by hypersloth at 1:21 PM on September 26, 2005

86 (sigh).
We need him now more than ever in the fight against terrorism.
posted by sixpack at 1:22 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by OmieWise at 1:23 PM on September 26, 2005

"...aaaand loving it."
posted by Robot Johnny at 1:24 PM on September 26, 2005

That's the second saddest news I ever heard.
posted by jonmc at 1:25 PM on September 26, 2005

Sad news indeed. Good references all around. RIP Mr. Adams.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 1:27 PM on September 26, 2005

86'ed.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:27 PM on September 26, 2005

Damn! Comedy takes a big hit this month.
posted by fenriq at 1:29 PM on September 26, 2005

Your shoe is ringing.
posted by bachelor#3 at 1:31 PM on September 26, 2005

Wowsers...
posted by LinusMines at 1:32 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by trip and a half at 1:33 PM on September 26, 2005

Goodbye Tennessee Tuxedo

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posted by Dreamghost at 1:35 PM on September 26, 2005

Off to see Mr. Whoopee.

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posted by hal9k at 1:43 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by LeeJay at 1:48 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by me3dia at 1:53 PM on September 26, 2005

I salute Mr. Adams with both my hands. . . and a foot!
posted by nicething at 1:56 PM on September 26, 2005

I can't heeeeear you.
I am in Denial. In my happy little world Don Adams, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Denver, Vincent Price, Mel Blanc, Ray Walston, Boris Karloff and all those other people that made my childhood worth living are alive and well. Damn you mortality! Damn you!

KAOS Agent 1:
At last. Now that Sssshmart is out ov the vay vee van can keeel unt Hello Dolly unchecked!

KAOS AGENT 2:
Vhaat? Hello Dolly?

KAOS AGENT 1:
(confused, hums Broadway tune to self)... Mame! Yes. Kill and Mame. I knew it vaz von ov doze.

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posted by tkchrist at 1:56 PM on September 26, 2005

Cone of Silence!!! I still use that phrase.
posted by johnj at 2:00 PM on September 26, 2005

PS. Was Barbara Feldon/99 like the hottest chick EVER! Look at old pictures of her. Damn. And that voice! I think I went into puberty like 3 years early because of her.

Plus Get Smart was a real inspiration. When I was a kid I figured if a doofy guy like Agent 86 could get a 99 then the sky was the limit for me.
posted by tkchrist at 2:00 PM on September 26, 2005

Phineas J. Whoopee, you're the greatest!



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posted by Smedleyman at 2:03 PM on September 26, 2005

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(and since things like this happen in 3s, who's next?)
posted by amberglow at 2:21 PM on September 26, 2005

I think it's a "rolling three."
posted by sonofsamiam at 2:23 PM on September 26, 2005

Suggested alternative FPP:

Actor Don Adams, best known as Agent 86 in the Mel Brooks created television spy spoof series Get Smart, died yesterday at age 82. A new (Brooks/Henry authored) Get Smart movie starring Steve Carrell (40 Year-Old Virgin) is apparently in the works.
Obligatory wikipedia page link.
posted by spock at 2:26 PM on September 26, 2005

Wasn't he also Inspector Gadget? I mean, before Matthew Broderick? And French Stuart?
posted by maxsparber at 2:32 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by Sticherbeast at 2:34 PM on September 26, 2005

Yeah Barbara Feldon was cute, but that chick on The Big Valley was the one from that era that I would sneak out of my bunk bed to peek at over my parent's shoulders. Her name was Linda Evans and she's aged pretty nicely, too!
posted by spock at 2:35 PM on September 26, 2005

I remember a TV show called Don Adams' Screen Test. Am I just imagining that?

It should be noted that both Adams and Denver were in Back to the Beach, a very minor gem of a picture.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:38 PM on September 26, 2005

A new (Brooks/Henry authored) Get Smart movie starring Steve Carrell (40 Year-Old Virgin) is apparently in the works.

Lovely. That and the upcoming remake of "The Pink Panther" exist as perfect proof that there aren't any gems Hollywood isn't willing to dig up, rape and piss on for the sake of a buck.

Bitter, table for one? Yes, that's me, thanks.
posted by phearlez at 2:44 PM on September 26, 2005

a true comedy maestro

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posted by matteo at 2:47 PM on September 26, 2005

and yes, what phearlez said. shame shame shame
posted by matteo at 2:48 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by freshwater_pr0n at 2:51 PM on September 26, 2005

I asked you not to tell me that!
posted by ?! at 2:51 PM on September 26, 2005

Losing Gilligan and Maxwell Smart just a few weeks apart is

"Missed it by that much!"
posted by thomcatspike at 3:53 PM on September 26, 2005

"Not craw...CRAW!"
posted by QuietDesperation at 4:02 PM on September 26, 2005

In all seriousness, I hope that, when I die, people spend a lot of time talking about all the things I said or did that made them laugh. What better thing could a comedian hope for upon his passing than to have dozens of folks thinking of him fondly and laughing? Reports suggest that he couldn't get much work after Get Smart ended because Maxwell Smart had become so ubiquitous, but seeing how many people remember his characters and the funny things he said and did sort of validates his entire career. We should all be so fortunate!
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:07 PM on September 26, 2005

Well said, Joey.

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posted by yhbc at 4:09 PM on September 26, 2005

Loved, Loved, LOVED the show as a kid. And for some reason I keep thinking of this clip I saw on some channel a while ago of Don attending Hugh Hefner's weekly poker "friends only" game at the mansion. You could spent to twilight of your life worse.
posted by Cyrano at 4:23 PM on September 26, 2005

Best thing about Get Smart.

Worst thing about Get Smart. I often wonder what percentage of the potential market doesn't watch sitcoms because of these. Paid audiences are not much better. I find both tedious and I'm not alone.
posted by DirtyCreature at 4:25 PM on September 26, 2005

I can live with laugh tracks, actually. But I'm quite forgiving. I mean, I can also overlook that one little misstep in Mr. Adams' career. (Sorry, that's a Geocities link. Here's a video.)

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posted by evilcolonel at 5:41 PM on September 26, 2005

I remember a TV show called Don Adams' Screen Test. Am I just imagining that?

I watched this regularly. Some of the people plucked from the audience to do the scenes were actually pretty good. I always remember the dracula one because I was home alone and it scared the crap out of me.

I hear the laugh track from Get Smart in my dreams sometimes. Maybe it was pretty commonly used, but I remember in the middle of the laughter, what sounded like a man's voice saying "dumb" or something similar.

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posted by whatnot at 5:51 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by unsweet at 5:56 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by Snyder at 6:33 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by ktoad at 6:34 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by seawallrunner at 7:01 PM on September 26, 2005

99: "You're worth two 43s 86."
posted by SPrintF at 7:21 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by May Kasahara at 7:33 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by zardoz at 7:54 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by sarahmelah at 8:35 PM on September 26, 2005

My favorite show as a kid. Loved the comedy, and could even tell which season I was watching from the kind of car Smart was driving at the beginning.

Rest in peace, Don.
posted by Poagao at 9:39 PM on September 26, 2005

'That's the second biggest fly I've ever seen' -The Nude Bomb
posted by Balisong at 9:44 PM on September 26, 2005

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posted by Pliskie at 3:14 AM on September 27, 2005

the kind of car Smart was driving at the beginning
SunBeam Tiger, Ford V8 engine.
posted by thomcatspike at 1:11 PM on September 27, 2005