Don Adams

Donald James Yarmy (April 13, 1923 – September 25, 2005), known professionally as Don Adams, was an American actor. In his five decades on television, he was best known as bumbling Maxwell Smart (Secret Agent 86) in the television situation comedy Get Smart (1965–1970, 1995), which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his performance in the series (1967–1969). Adams also provided the voices for the animated series Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963–1966) and Inspector Gadget (1983–1986) as well as several revivals and spinoffs of the latter in the 1990s. Early life Adams was born Donald James Yarmy in Manhattan, New York, a son of William Yarmy and his wife, Consuelo ( Deiter) Yarmy. His father was of Hungarian Jewish descent and his mother was Irish-American. Donald and his brother Dick Yarmy were each raised in the religion of one parent: Don in the Catholic faith of their mother, and Dick in the Jewish faith of their father. The brothers had an elder sister, Gloria Ella Yarmy (later Gloria Burton), a writer who wrote an episode of Get Smart. Dropping out of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School, he worked as a theater usher. He later remarked that he had "little use for school." World War II service Late in 1941, he joined the United States Marine Corps. Yarmy reported to the First Training Battalion in New River, North Carolina, and then was assigned to I Company of the Third Battalion, Eighth Marines in San Diego. In May 1942, Yarmy's unit was transported to Samoa for further training, and then participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal in August 1942 in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Contrary to urban legend, he was not wounded in combat, but did contract blackwater fever, a serious complication of malaria, known for a 90% rate of fatality. Yarmy was evacuated and then hospitalized for more than a year at a Navy hospital in Wellington, New Zealand. After his recovery, Yarmy served as a Marine Drill Instructor in the United States, holding the rank of corporal. He was an expert marksman and was noted for his competence.