Edward Platt

Born: 1916-02-14

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]


See
Placeholder

as Victor Larrabee
Released: 1959-07-08

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

Movie page
See!

Rebel Without a Cause

as Ray Fremick
Released: 1955-10-27

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate,...

Movie page

Cape Fear

as Judge
Released: 1962-04-12

Sam Bowden witnesses a rape committed by Max Cady and testifies against him. When released after...

Movie page

Pollyanna

as Ben Tarbell
Released: 1960-05-19

A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to...

Movie page

Written on the Wind

as Dr. Paul Cochrane
Released: 1956-10-04

Mitch Wayne is a geologist working for the Hadleys, an oil-rich Texas family. While the...

Movie page

Atlantis: The Lost Continent

as Azor the High Priest
Released: 1961-05-03

A Greek Fisherman brings an Atlantean Princess back to her homeland which is the mythical city...

Movie page

I Was a Male War Bride

as Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)
Released: 1949-08-26

After marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a...

Movie page

Gunman's Walk

as Purcell Avery
Released: 1958-07-01

A powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing...

Movie page

Backlash

as Sheriff J.C. Marson
Released: 1956-03-14

Jim Slater's father (whom he never knew) died in the Apache ambush at Gila Valley, and Jim is...

Movie page

Designing Woman

as Martin J. Daylor
Released: 1957-05-16

A sportswriter who marries a fashion designer discovers that their mutual interests are few,...

Movie page

They Came to Cordura

as Col. DeRose
Released: 1959-06-01

An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommended soldiers for the...

Movie page

The Rebel Set

as Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
Released: 1959-06-28

Three beatniks are brought together to rob an armored car, only to face betrayal from amongst...

Movie page

Illegal

as Ralph Ford
Released: 1955-10-09

A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to...

Movie page

The Proud Ones

as Dr. Barlow
Released: 1956-05-15

Robert Ryan plays an aging sheriff responsible for law and order in a frontier cattle town....

Movie page

Cult of the Cobra

as Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
Released: 1955-03-30

While stationed in Asia, six American G.I.'s witness the secret ritual of Lamians (worshipers of...

Movie page

The Last of the Fast Guns

as Sam Grypton
Released: 1958-07-01

A rich, dying Easterner hires gunfighter Brad Ellison to find his brother and heir in Mexico. En...

Movie page

The Helen Morgan Story

as Johnny Haggerty
Released: 1957-10-02

Torch singer Helen Morgan rises from sordid beginnings to fame and fortune only to lose it all...

Movie page

Serenade

as Everett Carter
Released: 1956-03-23

A wealthy woman discovers a vineyard worker with a beautiful operatic singing voice. She helps...

Movie page

The Unguarded Moment

as Attorney Briggs (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1956-12-27

A high-school music teacher is the victim of a student who writes indecent notes and assaults women.

Movie page

The Explosive Generation

as Mr. Morton
Released: 1961-10-19

Peter Gifford is a likable, dedicated schoolteacher that teaches a senior life skills class....

Movie page

Cash McCall

as Harrison Glenn
Released: 1960-01-20

Wealthy hotshot Cash McCall makes his money by purchasing unsuccessful businesses, whipping them...

Movie page

Black Zoo

as Chief Rivers
Released: 1963-05-15

Michael Conrad, owner of a group of strange animals, trains his beasts to obey him, unleashing...

Movie page

Omar Khayyam

as Jayhan
Released: 1957-08-23

Omar Khayyam was one of the greatest Persian poets. He was also a brilliant mathematician....

Movie page

Bullet for a Badman

as Tucker
Released: 1964-09-01

Former Texas Rangers Sam Ward and Logan Keliher become enemies when Sam turns bank robber and...

Movie page

The Great Man

as Dr. O'Conner (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1956-12-01

Joe Harris, preparing a eulogy for popular radio commentator Herb Fuller, finds that nobody has...

Movie page

The Gift of Love

as Dr. Jim Miller
Released: 1958-02-11

Fearing she will die, a physicist's wife hopes her husband will be consoled by the orphan she...

Movie page

The High Cost of Loving

as Eli Cave
Released: 1958-05-16

Middle-aged middle-manager Jim Fry, with the same company for fifteen years, is in a comfortable...

Movie page

Get Smart: A Man Called Smart

as Chief
Released: 1967-04-08

KAOS steals a secret formula that turns water into vapor and threatens the USA to dry up its...

Movie page

Storm Center

as Rev. Wilson
Released: 1956-07-31

Politicians go after a small-town librarian when she refuses to ban a book. She's quickly...

Movie page

The Further Adventures of Gallegher

as The Judge
Released: 1965-10-03

The young copyboy helps the town’s first female newspaper reporter, who is writing a series on...

Movie page

House of Numbers

as The Warden
Released: 1957-09-12

Story of twin brothers - one trying to help another escape from prison.

Movie page

Johnny Shiloh

as Gen. Thomas
Released: 1963-01-20

Johnny Shiloh is a 1963 made for TV film that originally aired in two parts on the Wonderful...

Movie page

The Snoop Sisters

as Julius Nero
Released: 1972-12-18

A spinster and her widowed sister, both authors of murder mystery novels, try to track down the...

Movie page

Sincerely Yours

as Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
Released: 1955-11-05

He dazzled America for decades with his musical artistry. Now fans as well as those curious...

Movie page

Damn Citizen

as Joseph Kosta (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1958-03-01

Louisiana's governor asks war hero Francis C. Grevemberg (Keith Andes) to lead the state police...

Movie page

A Ticklish Affair

as Captain Haven Hitchcock
Released: 1963-08-18

A young widow Amy Martin with three young boys is investigated by the Navy after one of her...

Movie page

The Tattered Dress

as Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1957-03-14

After a wild night, wealthy Michael Reston's adulterous wife Charleen comes home with her ripe...

Movie page

The Shrike

as Harry Downs (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1955-06-16

Film version of Joseph Kramm's Pulitzer Prize play, about a Broadway playwright driven to a...

Movie page

Summer Love

as Dr. Thomas Daley
Released: 1958-03-10

A neighborhood rock band gets a job playing at a summer camp.

Movie page

The Steel Jungle

as Judge Wahller
Released: 1956-03-10

The tale of a young bookie, married to a beautiful woman who goes to jail, and becomes involved...

Movie page

Reprisal!

as Neil Shipley
Released: 1956-11-02

New ranch owner Frank Madden, half Indian but posing as white, arrives just as an all white jury...

Movie page

Destination Space

as Dr. Easton (as Edward C. Platt)
Released: 1959-01-01

1959 television science fiction

Movie page

Rock, Pretty Baby

as Thomas Daley Sr.
Released: 1956-12-01

A high school rock group enters a band contest.

Movie page

The Lieutenant Wore Skirts

as Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
Released: 1956-01-11

TV writer Greg Whitcomb did his military service heroically but now has settled into everyday...

Movie page

Who Killed Julie Greer?

as Joe Nolan
Released: 1961-09-26

Amos Burke is an L.A. cop who's inherited millions and usually arrives at crime scenes in a...

Movie page

Oregon Passage

as Roland Dane
Released: 1957-12-29

A cavalry lieutenant becomes a hated enemy of a Shoshone chief, Black Eagle, when he rescues an...

Movie page

Inside the Mafia

as Dan Regent
Released: 1959-09-01

A mob assassin holds innocent hostages at an airport in upstate New York.

Movie page

Perry Mason

as Cmdr. Driscoll
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

TV Show page

Perry Mason

as Tom Stratton
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

TV Show page

Bonanza

as Harvey Buford
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

TV Show page

Bonanza

as Wade Colly
First aired: 1959-09-12

The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch...

TV Show page

The Rifleman

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-30

The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas...

TV Show page

The Virginian

as Stuart Brynmar
First aired: 1962-09-19

The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth,...

TV Show page

The Twilight Zone

as Doctor
First aired: 1959-10-02

A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science...

TV Show page

Get Smart

as Thaddeus
First aired: 1965-09-18

Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created...

TV Show page

Have Gun, Will Travel

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-09-14

Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957...

TV Show page

Burke's Law

as Capt. Frank Metcalfe
First aired: 1963-09-20

Burke's Law is an American detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on...

TV Show page

Bat Masterson

as Roy Evens
First aired: 1958-10-08

Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of...

TV Show page

The Outer Limits

as Dean Radcliffe
First aired: 1963-09-16

The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes...

TV Show page

The Outer Limits

as Mr. Terrence
First aired: 1963-09-16

The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes...

TV Show page

The Outer Limits

as David Hunt (as Edward C. Platt)
First aired: 1963-09-16

The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes...

TV Show page

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Sheriff Galt
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

TV Show page

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Marshall Mays
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

TV Show page

Wagon Train

as Spinoza de Costa
First aired: 1957-09-18

The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later...

TV Show page

Dr. Kildare

as Dr. Tom Paulson
First aired: 1961-09-27

The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession,...

TV Show page

Petticoat Junction

as General Patterson
First aired: 1963-09-24

The Bradley family are proud owners of the Shady Rest Hotel. Kate and her three young daughters...

TV Show page

Love, American Style

as uncredited
First aired: 1969-09-29

An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in...

TV Show page

The Dick Van Dyke Show

as Lou Gregory
First aired: 1961-10-03

The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob...

TV Show page

Hawaiian Eye

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-10-07

Private Eyes Tom Lopaka and Tracy Steele are based out of Hawaiian Village Resort where they...

TV Show page

Rawhide

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

TV Show page

Rawhide

as Jason Clark
First aired: 1959-01-09

The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across...

TV Show page

The Odd Couple

as Bill Donnelly
First aired: 1970-09-24

Felix and Oscar are two divorced men. Felix is neat and tidy while Oscar is sloppy and casual....

TV Show page

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

as Morgan
First aired: 1964-09-14

Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too...

TV Show page

Thriller

as James Weeks
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

TV Show page

One Step Beyond

as Will Denning
First aired: 1959-01-20

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The...

TV Show page

Peter Gunn

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-22

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and...

TV Show page

Surfside 6

as uncredited
First aired: 1960-10-06

Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a...

TV Show page

77 Sunset Strip

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-10

Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this...

TV Show page

77 Sunset Strip

as Mr. Jacobin
First aired: 1958-10-10

Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this...

TV Show page

Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

as Caldwell
First aired: 1971-09-16

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and...

TV Show page

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-10-06

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu...

TV Show page

Gunsmoke

as Mr. Burgess
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

TV Show page

Bronco

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-23

Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United...

TV Show page

Arrest and Trial

as Judge Kenneth W. Browne
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

TV Show page

Arrest and Trial

as Judge Phillips
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

TV Show page

Arrest and Trial

as Judge
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

TV Show page

Arrest and Trial

as Superior Court Judge
First aired: 1963-09-15

Arrest and Trial is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964...

TV Show page

The Lawless Years

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-04-16

The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16 1959, to...

TV Show page

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Mr. Henshaw
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

TV Show page

Cavalcade of America

as Dr. Banner
First aired: 1952-10-01

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company,...

TV Show page

Cavalcade of America

as uncredited
First aired: 1952-10-01

Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company,...

TV Show page

Trackdown

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-10-04

Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS...

TV Show page

Mr. Lucky

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-10-24

Mr. Lucky is a CBS adventure/drama television series that aired from October 24, 1959, to June...

TV Show page

State Trooper

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-09-25

State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as...

TV Show page

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

as Self
First aired: 1967-09-09

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

TV Show page

The Deputy

as Noah Harper
First aired: 1959-09-12

The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961....

TV Show page

Alcoa Theatre

as Lieutenant
First aired: 1957-09-30

Alcoa Theatre is a half-hour American anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate...

TV Show page

Saints and Sinners

as Dr. Gates
First aired: 1962-09-17

Saints and Sinners is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1962-63 television...

TV Show page

Temple Houston

as uncredited
First aired: 1963-09-19

Temple Houston is a 1963–64 NBC television series which has been called "the first attempt . . ....

TV Show page

West Point

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-10-05

The West Point Story is a dramatic anthology television series shown in the United States by...

TV Show page

Wire Service

as Palmer
First aired: 1956-10-04

Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.

TV Show page

The Snoop Sisters

as Julius Nero
First aired: 1973-12-19

Two elderly mystery novelists solve real crimes.

TV Show page

The Wonderful World of Disney

as Judge (uncredited)
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

TV Show page

The Wonderful World of Disney

as Lease Harris
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

TV Show page

The Wonderful World of Disney

as General Thomas
First aired: 1954-10-27

Walt Disney Productions has produced an anthology television series under several different...

TV Show page

Letter to Loretta

as Henry
First aired: 1953-09-20

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...

TV Show page

Letter to Loretta

as Sutter
First aired: 1953-09-20

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...

TV Show page

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars

as Sparks
First aired: 1951-10-05

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS....

TV Show page

General Electric Theater

as uncredited
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

TV Show page