Barbara Feldon was born March 12, 1933 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania and as we wish her a happy birthday, we also remember her memorable appearance as Agent 99 in the TV series GET SMART!
GET SMART! was a television series which ran on NBC from 1965 to 1969 and on ABC from 1969 to 1970. The series was intended as a parody on the very popular James Bond films of the sixties. It starred comedian Don Adams as bungling agent 86 Maxwell Smart, Barbara Feldon as beautiful and sexy agent 99 and Edward Platt as Thaddeus, the Chief of CONTROL, a fictional U.S. secret counterintelligence organization based in Washington D.C.
The series was created and written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.
More details on the series can be found here:
DON ADAMS
Edward Platt as the CHIEF of Control.
"Missed it by that much!"
Ron Moody and Bernie Kopell as Siegfried and Shtarker, Maxwell Smart's eternal nemesis.
Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot agent.
Robert Karvelas, (Don Adams' cousin in real life) played Larrabee, another bumbling CONTROL agent .
Robert Karvelas, David Ketchum (Agent 13), Don Adams and Dick Gautier during the reunion TV movie GET SMART AGAIN! (1989)
Don Adams & Barbara Feldon with agent K-13, Fang the dog.
One of several TV GUIDE covers featuring the series.
Barbara Feldon
Agent 99
Smart and Siegfried
One of my favorite photos of Agent 99 and Max.
Barbara Feldon as Mandy Stevenson and Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo in "The Never-Never Affair" episode of THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. which aired on March 22, 1965.
Lovely Agent 99, whose real name was never revealed.
GET SMART was one of my favorite comedy shows back in the 60s and I revisit the series often thanks to the Time/Life HBO DVD boxed set from 2006. I never get tired of the gags and the recurring catchphrases, most of which became part of popular lexicon. And on this day of feminism and the #MeToo movement, it is surprising the respectful and self reliant way Barbara Feldon's character is handled in the series. She's actually the smartest character in the show and her agent 99 became a role model for many female members of the audience who, to this day, worship and admire her resourcefulness and ingenuity. Needless to say, I've always had a crush on Barbara.
And GET SMART! will always remain one of my all-time favorite comedy series, the likes of which have never been replicated since.
