Of Irish-Hungarian heritage, Don Adams had a sister Gloria, brother Dick Yarmy. He served in U.S. Marines in World War II and contracted malaria during the fighting on Guadalcanal island. After the war, he began a career as a stand-up comic. He married singer Adelaide Adams and adopted her stage surname. They had seven children: Carolyn, Christine, Catherine, Cecily Adams, Stacey Adams, Sean, Beige. His television career began when he won the Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour talent contest. His most famous role, of course, is as bumbling, incompetent, clueless yet endearing secret agent Maxwell Smart in the classic sitcom/spy spoof Get Smart, although he also had a career as a television director and a Broadway and theatrical dramatic actor.
Get Smart (1965): $4,000/week + %

Cousin of Robert Karvelas Beginning in 1999, Don Adams started to play Maxwell Smart once again, this time in a successful series of Canadian TV commercials for the "Buck-a-Call" long distance service. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith; pg. 4-5. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Father of Cecily Adams and Stacey Adams. Father-in-law of Jim Beaver. Claims he changed his last name from Yarmy to Adams because he was tired of having to go last at auditions, which usually went in alphabetical order. Served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, and took part in the landings and battle at Guadalcanal, where he contracted malaria. Was a close friend of "Playboy" publisher Hugh M. Hefner, and spent one night each week with Hefner (and other friends) playing cards. Born to a Hungarian father and Irish mother. Served in the US Marine Corps during World War II, and fought in the battle of Guadalcanal Island. Not only was he shot in action, but he also contracted blackwater fever. He was extremely lucky to survive, as that particular disease has a 90% fatality rate. His TV writing partner in 1954 was comedian Bill Dana. Dana used Adams on his own TV show, The Bill Dana Show from 1963 to 1965, by incorporating one of Adams' stand-up characters, inept house detective Byron Glick. Had stopped performing in the postwar years and became a commercial artist because he had trouble finding stand-up work. In 1954, on a fluke, he auditioned and became a winner on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. This led to TV appearances with Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan, among others, and stardom. Instead of taking a large paycheck per episode ($12,500 per week) of Get Smart, Adams decided to take a smaller salary and 33% share. It paid off in spades--the show has been running in syndication for decades. His clipped Maxwell Smart voice came from a much exaggerated takeoff on William Powell's "The Thin Man." He used to get laughs using the exact same voice years earlier on the stand-up circuit in different character set pieces - a baseball umpire, a football coach, a defense attorney. As the inept Agent 86 on Get Smart Adams used to have a script assistant read his part to him once or twice just before a scene, instead of learning his lines. Uninterested in doing the James Bond spoof Get Smart series at first, he got on board after learning that Mel Brooks and Buck Henry were involved with the pilot script. Tom Poston was the first name being considered for the role, but Adams was under contract to CBS at the time and snagged the part. Won three Emmys for the bumbling secret agent role and the show itself won two awards for "Best Comedy," but was severely typecast after this and never did find another proper showcase to display his comic range. One of the first (if not the first) stand up comedian to have his own sitcom. Did not like the (badly timed) laugh track in Get Smart. Buried at the beautifully restored Hollywood Forever Cemetery located at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, California, USA. Plot 8, Northeast pond. Shares birthday with Ron Perlman. In 1984, played as himself in Miller Lite Beer commercials, poking fun at his Maxwell Smart fame. Don Adams' Agent 86 sound bite, "Would you believe...?", became the slogan for White Castle Hamburgers chain commercials in 1992; in which he also acted in.