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 / gr-home@pacbell.ne
Acted in
The Snoop Sisters
1973
as Julius Nero
The Snoop Sisters
1972
as Julius Nero
Temperatures Rising
1972
as Senator Bradley
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971
as Caldwell
The Odd Couple
1970
as Bill Donnelly
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1967
as Self
Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
1967
as Chief
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
1965
as The Judge
Get Smart
1965
as Thaddeus
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964
as Morgan
Bullet for a Badman
1964
as Tucker
Petticoat Junction
1963
as General Patterson
Burke's Law
1963
as Capt. Frank Metcalfe
Temple Houston
1963
The Outer Limits
1963
as Dean Radcliffe
The Outer Limits
1963
as Mr. Terrence
The Outer Limits
1963
as David Hunt (as Edward C. Platt)
Arrest and Trial
1963
Arrest and Trial
1963
as Judge Kenneth W. Browne
Arrest and Trial
1963
as Judge Phillips
Arrest and Trial
1963
as Judge
Arrest and Trial
1963
as Superior Court Judge
A Ticklish Affair
1963
as Captain Haven Hitchcock
Black Zoo
1963
as Chief Rivers
Johnny Shiloh
1963
as Gen. Thomas
General Electric True
1962
The Virginian
1962
as Stuart Brynmar
Saints and Sinners
1962
as Dr. Gates
Cape Fear
1962
as Judge
The Explosive Generation
1961
as Mr. Morton
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961
as Lou Gregory
Dr. Kildare
1961
as Dr. Tom Paulson
Who Killed Julie Greer?
1961
as Joe Nolan
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
1961
as Azor the High Priest
The Fiercest Heart
1961
as Madrigo
Surfside 6
1960
Thriller
1960
as James Weeks
Pollyanna
1960
as Ben Tarbell
Cash McCall
1960
as Harrison Glenn
Mr. Lucky
1959
Hawaiian Eye
1959
The Twilight Zone
1959
as Doctor
Bonanza
1959
as Harvey Buford
Bonanza
1959
as Wade Colly
The Deputy
1959
as Noah Harper
Inside the Mafia
1959
as Dan Regent
North by Northwest
1959
as Victor Larrabee
The Rebel Set
1959
as Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
They Came to Cordura
1959
as Col. DeRose
The Lawless Years
1959
One Step Beyond
1959
as Will Denning
Rawhide
1959
Rawhide
1959
as Jason Clark
Destination Space
1959
as Dr. Easton (as Edward C. Platt)
77 Sunset Strip
1958
77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Mr. Jacobin
Bat Masterson
1958
as Roy Evens
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
The Rifleman
1958
Bronco
1958
Peter Gunn
1958
Gunman's Walk
1958
as Purcell Avery
The Last of the Fast Guns
1958
as Sam Grypton
The High Cost of Loving
1958
as Eli Cave
Summer Love
1958
as Dr. Thomas Daley
Damn Citizen
1958
as Joseph Kosta (as Edward C. Platt)
The Gift of Love
1958
as Dr. Jim Miller
Oregon Passage
1957
as Roland Dane
Trackdown
1957
The Helen Morgan Story
1957
as Johnny Haggerty
Alcoa Theatre
1957
as Lieutenant
Perry Mason
1957
as Cmdr. Driscoll
Perry Mason
1957
as Tom Stratton
Wagon Train
1957
as Spinoza de Costa
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
House of Numbers
1957
as The Warden
Omar Khayyam
1957
as Jayhan
Designing Woman
1957
as Martin J. Daylor
The Tattered Dress
1957
as Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt)
The Unguarded Moment
1956
as Attorney Briggs (as Edward C. Platt)
Rock, Pretty Baby
1956
as Thomas Daley Sr.
The Great Man
1956
as Dr. O'Conner (as Edward C. Platt)
Reprisal!
1956
as Neil Shipley
West Point
1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Sheriff Galt
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Marshall Mays
Written on the Wind
1956
as Dr. Paul Cochrane
Wire Service
1956
as Palmer
State Trooper
1956
Storm Center
1956
as Rev. Wilson
The Proud Ones
1956
as Dr. Barlow
Serenade
1956
as Everett Carter
Backlash
1956
as Sheriff J.C. Marson
The Steel Jungle
1956
as Judge Wahller
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
1956
as Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
Sincerely Yours
1955
as Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
Rebel Without a Cause
1955
as Ray Fremick
Illegal
1955
as Ralph Ford
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Mr. Henshaw
Gunsmoke
1955
as Mr. Burgess
The Shrike
1955
as Harry Downs (as Edward C. Platt)
Cult of the Cobra
1955
as Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Judge (uncredited)
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Lease Harris
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as General Thomas
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Henry
Letter to Loretta
1953
as Sutter
General Electric Theater
1953
Cavalcade of America
1952
as Dr. Banner
Cavalcade of America
1952
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Freddie
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Chief of Police
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dr. Fain
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Sparks
I Was a Male War Bride
1949
as Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)