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person_profile-Edward Platt

Edward Platt Died at age: 58

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Edward Platt

Date of Birth:

Feb 14, 1916

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Mar 19, 1974

Biography of

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 / [email protected]

Photos of

Edward Platt

Photos ( 1 Photos

Filmography of

Edward Platt

Found 47 Movies in total

The Snoop Sisters

Julius Nero ( Actor )

... 1972

... 1967

... 1965

Bullet for a Badman

Tucker ( Actor )

... 1964

A Ticklish Affair

Captain Haven Hitchcock ( Actor )

... 1963

Black Zoo

Chief Rivers ( Actor )

... 1963

Johnny Shiloh

General Thomas ( Actor )

... 1963

Cape Fear

Judge ( Actor )

... 1962

The Explosive Generation

Mr. Morton ( Actor )

... 1961

Who Killed Julie Greer?

Joe Nolan ( Actor )

... 1961

Atlantis: The Lost Continent

Azor the High Priest ( Actor )

... 1961

Pollyanna

Ben Tarbell ( Actor )

... 1960

Cash McCall

Harrison Glenn ( Actor )

... 1960

Inside the Mafia

Dan Regent ( Actor )

... 1959

North by Northwest

Victor Larrabee ( Actor )

... 1959

The Rebel Set

Mr. Tucker / Mr. T ( Actor )

... 1959

They Came to Cordura

Col. DeRose ( Actor )

... 1959

Destination Space

Dr. Easton (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1959

Gunman's Walk

Purcell Avery ( Actor )

... 1958

The Last of the Fast Guns

Sam Grypton ( Actor )

... 1958

The High Cost of Loving

Eli Cave ( Actor )

... 1958

Summer Love

Dr. Thomas Daley ( Actor )

... 1958

Damn Citizen

Joseph Kosta (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1958

The Gift of Love

Dr. Jim Miller ( Actor )

... 1958

Oregon Passage

Roland Dane ( Actor )

... 1957

The Helen Morgan Story

Johnny Haggerty ( Actor )

... 1957

House of Numbers

The Warden ( Actor )

... 1957

Omar Khayyam

Jayhan ( Actor )

... 1957

Designing Woman

Martin J. Daylor ( Actor )

... 1957

The Tattered Dress

Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1957

The Unguarded Moment

Attorney Briggs (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1956

The Great Man

Dr. O'Conner (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1956

Rock, Pretty Baby

Thomas Daley Sr. ( Actor )

... 1956

Reprisal!

Neil Shipley ( Actor )

... 1956

Written on the Wind

Dr. Paul Cochrane ( Actor )

... 1956

Storm Center

Rev. Wilson ( Actor )

... 1956

The Proud Ones

Dr. Barlow ( Actor )

... 1956

Serenade

Everett Carter ( Actor )

... 1956

Backlash

Sheriff J.C. Marson ( Actor )

... 1956

The Steel Jungle

Judge Wahller ( Actor )

... 1956

The Lieutenant Wore Skirts

Major Dunning - Psychiatrist ( Actor )

... 1956

Sincerely Yours

Dr. Eubank (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

Rebel Without a Cause

Ray Fremick ( Actor )

... 1955

Illegal

Ralph Ford ( Actor )

... 1955

The Shrike

Harry Downs (as Edward C. Platt) ( Actor )

... 1955

Cult of the Cobra

Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1955

I Was a Male War Bride

Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1949