Edward Platt
Known for: Acting
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
Filmography
Series
Perry Mason
Cmdr. Driscoll
1957
Series
Perry Mason
Tom Stratton
1957
Series
The Rifleman
1958
Series
Bonanza
Harvey Buford
1959
Series
Bonanza
Wade Colly
1959
Series
Bonanza
Will Flanders
1959
Series
Wagon Train
Spinoza de Costa
1957
Series
Wagon Train
Cyrus Bolton
1957
Series
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Lou Gregory
1961
Series
The Twilight Zone
Doctor
1959
Series
The Virginian
Stuart Brynmar
1962
Series
Get Smart
Thaddeus
1965
Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Series
Love, American Style
1969
Series
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Tom Paulson
1961
Series
Rawhide
1959
Series
Rawhide
Jason Clark
1959
Series
Petticoat Junction
General Patterson
1963
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Sheriff Galt
1956
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Marshall Mays
1956
Series
Peter Gunn
1958
Series
Gunsmoke
Mr. Burgess
1955
Series
Four Star Playhouse
Freddie
1952
Series
Four Star Playhouse
Chief of Police
1952
Series
Four Star Playhouse
Dr. Fain
1952
Series
Thriller
James Weeks
1960
Series
Burke's Law
Capt. Frank Metcalfe
1963
Series
The Outer Limits
Dean Radcliffe
1963
Series
The Outer Limits
Mr. Terrence
1963
Series
The Outer Limits
David Hunt
1963
Series
Bat Masterson
Roy Evens
1958
Series
The Odd Couple
Bill Donnelly
1970
Series
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Morgan
1964
Series
One Step Beyond
Will Denning
1959
Series
Hawaiian Eye
Dr. Wallace Oliver
1959
Series
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Mr. Henshaw
1955
Series
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Series
77 Sunset Strip
Mr. Jacobin
1958
Series
Surfside 6
1960
Series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
1968
Series
The Deputy
Noah Harper
1959
Series
Bronco
Ben Lockwood
1958
Series
Trackdown
1957
Series
Trackdown
Adam Madson
1957
Series
Trackdown
George Mason
1957
Series
Studio 57
1954
State Trooper
Stanley Andrews
1956
State Trooper
John Wilbur Mason
1956
Series
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958
Series
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Caldwell
1971
Series
Arrest and Trial
Judge Kenneth W. Browne
1963
Series
Arrest and Trial
Judge Phillips
1963
Series
Arrest and Trial
Judge
1963
Series
Arrest and Trial
Superior Court Judge
1963
Series
Alcoa Theatre
Lieutenant
1957
Film
North by Northwest
Victor Larrabee
1959
Series
Temperatures Rising
Senator Bradley
1972
Series
Cavalcade of America
Dr. Banner
1952
Series
Cavalcade of America
1952
CBS Playhouse
Judge
1966
Series
Mr. Lucky
Henry Praiswater
1959
Film
Cape Fear
Judge
1962
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
Judge (uncredited)
1954
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
Lease Harris
1954
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
General Thomas
1954
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
Ben Tarbell
1954
Film
Rebel Without a Cause
Ray Fremick
1955
Series
West Point
1956
Series
Wire Service
Palmer
1956
Series
The Lawless Years
1959
Series
Saints and Sinners
Dr. Gates
1962
Series
General Electric True
1962
Series
Temple Houston
1963
Film
Reprisal!
Neil Shipley
1956
Series
Letter to Loretta
Henry
1953
Series
Letter to Loretta
Sutter
1953
Film
Pollyanna
Ben Tarbell
1960
Film
Written on the Wind
Dr. Paul Cochrane
1956
Series
General Electric Theater
1953
Film
Cult of the Cobra
Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
1955
Film
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
Azor the High Priest
1961
Film
Gunman's Walk
Purcell Avery
1958
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Sparks
1951
Film
I Was a Male War Bride
Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)
1949
Film
The Helen Morgan Story
Johnny Haggerty
1957
Film
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
1956
Film
Backlash
Sheriff J.C. Marson
1956
Film
House of Numbers
The Warden
1957
Film
The Last of the Fast Guns
Sam Grypton
1958
Film
Bullet for a Badman
Tucker
1964
Film
The Tattered Dress
Ralph Adams, Reporter
1957
Film
A Ticklish Affair
Captain Haven Hitchcock
1963
Film
The Proud Ones
Dr. Barlow
1956
Film
They Came to Cordura
Col. DeRose
1959
Film
Illegal
Ralph Ford
1955
Film
The Female Instinct
Julius Nero
1972
Film
Summer Love
Dr. Thomas Daley
1958
Film
Cash McCall
Harrison Glenn
1960
Film
Designing Woman
Martin J. Daylor
1957
Film
Black Zoo
Chief Rivers
1963
Film
The Unguarded Moment
Attorney Briggs
1956
Film
Serenade
Everett Carter
1956
Film
The Explosive Generation
Mr. Morton
1961
Film
Storm Center
Rev. Wilson
1956
Film
Sincerely Yours
Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
1955
Film
The Rebel Set
Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
1959
Film
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
The Judge
1965
Film
Inside the Mafia
Dan Regent
1959
The Fiercest Heart
Madrigo
1961
Film
The Great Man
Dr. O'Conner
1956
Film
Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
Chief
1967
Film
The Shrike
Harry Downs
1955
Film
The Gift of Love
Dr. Jim Miller
1958
Film
Omar Khayyam
Jayhan
1957
Film
Johnny Shiloh
Gen. Thomas
1965
Film
The High Cost of Loving
Eli Cave
1958
Film
Rock, Pretty Baby
Thomas Daley Sr.
1956
Film
The Steel Jungle
Judge Wahller
1956
Film
Destination Space
Dr. Easton
1959
Film
Damn Citizen
Joseph Kosta
1958
Film
Who Killed Julie Greer?
Joe Nolan
1961
Film
Oregon Passage
Roland Dane
1957