Skip to main content

...And Loving It

My God we missed Don Adams' birthday! Were he alive, Adams would have been 83. Who's Don Adams? Why Adams was Agent 86, Maxwell Smart.
From the warped and whacky minds of Buck Henry and Mel Brooks, Get Smart cashed in on the "spy" craze of the mid-60s and spoofed such staples of the day as James, Bond and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It ran for 5 years - 4 on CBS and the 5th on NBC. I know one 13 year old in 1965 who sat glued to the TV when this came on because not only was the show so funny but it's co-star, Barbara Feldon, was very easy on the eyes.


And I recall it was all the rage to mimic Smart at school. The show was known for such catch-phrases as "Sorry about that Chief" when Max screwed up; "Would you believe..." because Max was prone to slight exageration: and, when told he'd be facing certain danger - which was often - Max would reply "And loving it!" Me and my buddies slayed each other with these comebacks. They were kind of like the precursor of "That's what she said..."

If you want to revisit the series, all 138 episodes are available in a 25 disc box set. I know; I've got it. I know; I need a life!

Here's the opening credits from the show...







And here's an overview of one of the long-running gags the show was known for - the Cone of Silence





Adams died in 2005, but if he had made it to April 13, 2009 he would be celebrating his 83rd birthday...and loving it!
Labels:

Comments

Mary@Holy Mackerel said…
I loved that show. Watched it every day at 5 p.m. It was so silly, but we laughed every time.
20 April 2009 at 08:55
Anonymous said…
As much as I love Steve Carell, he's got nothing on Mr. Adams. In fact, the movie sucked large balls.
20 April 2009 at 09:54
Donnie said…
I thought Barbara Feldon was hot as hell also. I too was 13. Just right I guess for some serious fantasizing. Oh yeah, the show! It was cool.
20 April 2009 at 13:50
nonamedufus said…
Mary: Would you believe we watched it 3x a week and laughed sometimes? How about 1x a week and we chuckled now and then?

FTU: I haven't seen the Carell version but it didn't get very good reviews. Hard to improve on the original.

Don: I loved all the spy gadgets that Smart always screwed up. Sorry about that Chief.
21 April 2009 at 10:38
Kosmos said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
29 May 2010 at 03:02
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...
1 comment
Read more

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born.  That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network.  And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard.  But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door.  And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran.  The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993.  I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share.  The formula was pretty simple.  A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains.  The show opened as follows... Imagination Day!  Oh boy! ...
41 comments
Read more

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.
53 comments
Read more