Edward Platt
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 14, 1916
- Died
- Mar 19, 1974 (aged 58)
- Place of birth
- Staten Island, New York, USA
- Credits
- 100
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
Filmography
The Female Instinct
1972Movie
Julius Nero
Temperatures Rising
1972TV
Senator Bradley
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1971TV
Caldwell
The Odd Couple
1970TV
Bill Donnelly
Love, American Style
1969TV
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968TV
Self (uncredited)
Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
1967Movie
Chief
CBS Playhouse
1966TV
Judge
Johnny Shiloh
1965Movie
Gen. Thomas
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
1965Movie
The Judge
Get Smart
1965TV
Thaddeus
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964TV
Morgan
Bullet for a Badman
1964Movie
Tucker
Petticoat Junction
1963TV
General Patterson
Burke's Law
1963TV
Capt. Frank Metcalfe
Temple Houston
1963TV
The Outer Limits
1963TV
Dean Radcliffe, Mr. Terrence, David Hunt
Arrest and Trial
1963TV
Judge Kenneth W. Browne, Judge Phillips, Judge, Superior Court Judge
A Ticklish Affair
1963Movie
Captain Haven Hitchcock
Black Zoo
1963Movie
Chief Rivers
General Electric True
1962TV
The Virginian
1962TV
Stuart Brynmar
Saints and Sinners
1962TV
Dr. Gates
Cape Fear
1962Movie
Judge
The Explosive Generation
1961Movie
Mr. Morton
The Dick Van Dyke Show
1961TV
Lou Gregory
Dr. Kildare
1961TV
Dr. Tom Paulson
Who Killed Julie Greer?
1961Movie
Joe Nolan
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
1961Movie
Azor the High Priest
The Fiercest Heart
1961Movie
Madrigo
Surfside 6
1960TV
Thriller
1960TV
James Weeks
Pollyanna
1960Movie
Ben Tarbell
Cash McCall
1960Movie
Harrison Glenn
Mr. Lucky
1959TV
Henry Praiswater
Hawaiian Eye
1959TV
Dr. Wallace Oliver
The Twilight Zone
1959TV
Doctor
Bonanza
1959TV
Harvey Buford, Wade Colly, Will Flanders
The Deputy
1959TV
Noah Harper
Inside the Mafia
1959Movie
Dan Regent
North by Northwest
1959Movie
Victor Larrabee
The Rebel Set
1959Movie
Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
They Came to Cordura
1959Movie
Col. DeRose
The Lawless Years
1959TV
One Step Beyond
1959TV
Will Denning
Rawhide
1959TV
Jason Clark
Destination Space
1959Movie
Dr. Easton
77 Sunset Strip
1958TV
Mr. Jacobin
Bat Masterson
1958TV
Roy Evens
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958TV
The Rifleman
1958TV
Bronco
1958TV
Ben Lockwood
Peter Gunn
1958TV
Gunman's Walk
1958Movie
Purcell Avery
The Last of the Fast Guns
1958Movie
Sam Grypton
The High Cost of Loving
1958Movie
Eli Cave
Summer Love
1958Movie
Dr. Thomas Daley
Damn Citizen
1958Movie
Joseph Kosta
The Gift of Love
1958Movie
Dr. Jim Miller
Oregon Passage
1957Movie
Roland Dane
Trackdown
1957TV
Adam Madson, George Mason
The Helen Morgan Story
1957Movie
Johnny Haggerty
Alcoa Theatre
1957TV
Lieutenant
Perry Mason
1957TV
Cmdr. Driscoll, Tom Stratton
Wagon Train
1957TV
Spinoza de Costa, Cyrus Bolton
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957TV
House of Numbers
1957Movie
The Warden
Omar Khayyam
1957Movie
Jayhan
Designing Woman
1957Movie
Martin J. Daylor
The Tattered Dress
1957Movie
Ralph Adams, Reporter
The Unguarded Moment
1956Movie
Attorney Briggs
Rock, Pretty Baby
1956Movie
Thomas Daley Sr.
The Great Man
1956Movie
Dr. O'Conner
Reprisal!
1956Movie
Neil Shipley
West Point
1956TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956TV
Sheriff Galt, Marshall Mays
Written on the Wind
1956Movie
Dr. Paul Cochrane
Wire Service
1956TV
Palmer
State Trooper
1956TV
Stanley Andrews, John Wilbur Mason
Storm Center
1956Movie
Rev. Wilson
The Proud Ones
1956Movie
Dr. Barlow
Serenade
1956Movie
Everett Carter
Backlash
1956Movie
Sheriff J.C. Marson
The Steel Jungle
1956Movie
Judge Wahller
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
1956Movie
Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
Sincerely Yours
1955Movie
Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
Rebel Without a Cause
1955Movie
Ray Fremick
Illegal
1955Movie
Ralph Ford
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955TV
Mr. Henshaw
Gunsmoke
1955TV
Mr. Burgess
The Shrike
1955Movie
Harry Downs
Cult of the Cobra
1955Movie
Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954TV
Judge (uncredited), Lease Harris, General Thomas, Ben Tarbell
Studio 57
1954TV
Letter to Loretta
1953TV
Henry, Sutter
General Electric Theater
1953TV
Cavalcade of America
1952TV
Dr. Banner
Four Star Playhouse
1952TV
Freddie, Chief of Police, Dr. Fain
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
Sparks
I Was a Male War Bride
1949Movie
Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)