Edward Platt
Acting
Born: February 14, 1916 · Staten Island, New York, USA
Died: March 19, 1974 (aged 58)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
North by Northwest
1959
Rebel Without a Cause
1955
The Twilight Zone
1959
Cape Fear
1962
Bonanza
1959
Get Smart
1965
Written on the Wind
1956
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
Pollyanna
1960
The Outer Limits
1963
I Was a Male War Bride
1949
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1964
Photos (1)
Movies (47)
North by Northwest
Victor Larrabee
Rebel Without a Cause
Ray Fremick
Cape Fear
Judge
Reprisal!
Neil Shipley
Pollyanna
Ben Tarbell
Written on the Wind
Dr. Paul Cochrane
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
Azor the High Priest
Gunman's Walk
Purcell Avery
The Helen Morgan Story
Johnny Haggerty
Designing Woman
Martin J. Daylor
Bullet for a Badman
Tucker
The Proud Ones
Dr. Barlow
I Was a Male War Bride
Lieutenant in Gates' Office (uncredited)
Cult of the Cobra
Lamian Threatening Death (uncredited)
Backlash
Sheriff J.C. Marson
Storm Center
Rev. Wilson
The Last of the Fast Guns
Sam Grypton
A Ticklish Affair
Captain Haven Hitchcock
House of Numbers
The Warden
Illegal
Ralph Ford
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
Major Dunning - Psychiatrist
The Unguarded Moment
Attorney Briggs
The Shrike
Harry Downs
They Came to Cordura
Col. DeRose
Serenade
Everett Carter
The Tattered Dress
Ralph Adams, Reporter
The Explosive Generation
Mr. Morton
The Gift of Love
Dr. Jim Miller
Johnny Shiloh
Gen. Thomas
The Rebel Set
Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
Cash McCall
Harrison Glenn
Sincerely Yours
Dr. Eubank (uncredited)
Omar Khayyam
Jayhan
Who Killed Julie Greer?
Joe Nolan
Damn Citizen
Joseph Kosta
Black Zoo
Chief Rivers
Inside the Mafia
Dan Regent
The High Cost of Loving
Eli Cave
The Female Instinct
Julius Nero
Oregon Passage
Roland Dane
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
The Judge
Summer Love
Dr. Thomas Daley
The Great Man
Dr. O'Conner
Get Smart: A Man Called Smart
Chief
The Steel Jungle
Judge Wahller
Rock, Pretty Baby
Thomas Daley Sr.
Destination Space
Dr. Easton
TV Shows (70)
Perry Mason
Cmdr. Driscoll · 1 eps
Perry Mason
Tom Stratton · 1 eps
Bonanza
Harvey Buford · 1 eps
Bonanza
Wade Colly · 1 eps
Bonanza
Will Flanders · 1 eps
The Rifleman
1 eps
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Lou Gregory · 1 eps
Wagon Train
Spinoza de Costa · 1 eps
Wagon Train
Cyrus Bolton · 1 eps
Peter Gunn
1 eps
The Virginian
Stuart Brynmar · 1 eps
The Twilight Zone
Doctor · 1 eps
Have Gun, Will Travel
1 eps
Love, American Style
1 eps
Get Smart
Thaddeus · 138 eps
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Tom Paulson · 1 eps
Rawhide
1959
Rawhide
Jason Clark · 1 eps
Four Star Playhouse
Freddie · 1 eps
Four Star Playhouse
Chief of Police · 1 eps
Four Star Playhouse
Dr. Fain · 1 eps
Petticoat Junction
General Patterson · 1 eps
Thriller
James Weeks · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
Dean Radcliffe · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
Mr. Terrence · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
David Hunt · 1 eps
Gunsmoke
Mr. Burgess · 1 eps
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Morgan · 1 eps
Burke's Law
Capt. Frank Metcalfe · 1 eps
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Mr. Henshaw · 1 eps
One Step Beyond
Will Denning · 1 eps
Surfside 6
1 eps
Bat Masterson
Roy Evens · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Sheriff Galt · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Marshall Mays · 1 eps
Hawaiian Eye
Dr. Wallace Oliver · 1 eps
The Odd Couple
Bill Donnelly · 1 eps
77 Sunset Strip
1 eps
77 Sunset Strip
Mr. Jacobin · 1 eps
The Deputy
Noah Harper · 1 eps
Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
Caldwell · 1 eps
Studio 57
2 eps
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1 eps
Bronco
Ben Lockwood · 1 eps
Trackdown
1 eps
Trackdown
Adam Madson · 1 eps
Trackdown
George Mason · 1 eps
Cavalcade of America
Dr. Banner · 1 eps
Cavalcade of America
1 eps
West Point
1 eps
Arrest and Trial
Judge Kenneth W. Browne · 1 eps
Arrest and Trial
Judge Phillips · 1 eps
Arrest and Trial
Judge · 3 eps
Arrest and Trial
Superior Court Judge · 1 eps
Alcoa Theatre
Lieutenant · 1 eps
Mr. Lucky
Henry Praiswater · 1 eps
The Lawless Years
1 eps
Temperatures Rising
Senator Bradley · 1 eps
The Wonderful World of Disney
Judge (uncredited) · 1 eps
The Wonderful World of Disney
Lease Harris · 1 eps
The Wonderful World of Disney
General Thomas · 2 eps
The Wonderful World of Disney
Ben Tarbell · 3 eps
Wire Service
Palmer · 1 eps
Temple Houston
1 eps
Saints and Sinners
Dr. Gates · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
1 eps
General Electric True
1 eps
Letter to Loretta
Henry · 2 eps
Letter to Loretta
Sutter · 1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Sparks · 1 eps
