Forever and fondly remembered as Don Adams foil on the popular Mel BrooksBuck 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 Valentines Day 1916 he inherited an appreciation of music on his mothers 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 postwar 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 Eddies 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 Deans 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 grhomepacbellne
HydraHD
