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