During the 1960's spy craze, I was an impressionable teenager who dreamt of having cloak-and-dagger type adventures in the style of my hero, James Bond 007, the debonair secret agent with a license to kill as portrayed by Sean Connery. And so, I became exactly like James Bond! Well, would you believe, more like Maxwell Smart? That's right! In reality, I always wound up goofing up in the manner of another equally famous secret agent: Maxwell Smart, agent 86 of CONTROL.
While most actors work at trying to be as versatile as possible in order to tackle a wide variety of roles, others get stereotyped and become identified with a single character throughout their entire careers.
But far from such a condition being harmful, in some cases it becomes a blessing in more ways than one.
Case in point, actor Don Adams, who will forever be remembered as Maxwell Smart from the 1960s TV show GET SMART!
Adams became so identified with Agent 86 that he couldn't break the connection and was seriously hindered in his attempts to pursue other roles during his career. He ended playing basically the same character, under different names all throughout his on-screen life.
However, while most other actors from those bygone days have become nearly forgotten, Don Adams is still recognized even by today's younger generation as one of the greatest comedy characters of all time, along with such staples as Herman Munster, Samantha Stevens, Gilligan, Morticia Addams, Agent 99, Inspector Clouseau, Pee Wee Herman, Frank Drebin, Mr. Bean and a choice few others like them.
Thusly, even if Maxwell Smart was his only memorable role, Don Adams forever will remain as one of the most recognizable and beloved icons to come out of TV's golden era of comedy shows.Today we remember him on the date he left this mortal world and passed over to join CONTROL's branch in Heaven, always ready to fight the evil plottings of KAOS, that nefarious crime outfit of badness.You can be sure that, throughout the ages, we shall always hear Agent 86's immortal words:
"SORRY ABOUT THAT, CHIEF!"
