Forever remembered as Don Adams' "Chief" foil on the popular Mel Brooks/Buck Henry spy series Get Smart, character actor Ed Platt (also billed as Edward C. Platt) had been around for decades prior to copping that rare comedy role. Born in Staten Island, New York, he inherited an appreciation for music on his mother's side. He majored in romantic languages at Princeton University but eventually switched to music at Juilliard after deciding on a career in opera. Instead, however, he became a band vocalist with Paul Whiteman and Orchestra, then performed in a few stage musicals including "The Mikado" and "The Pirates of Penzance" before WWII interrupted things. He served as a radio operator with the army, his deep, resonant voice quite suitable to the medium. he would find himself on radio again in post war years. A number of musical comedy roles also came his way. In 1947, he made it to Broadway in the musical "Allegro." Star José Ferrer took an interest in him while they were appearing in "The Shrike" on Broadway in 1952 and took him to Hollywood to reprise his role in the 1955 film version (The Shrike). This led to a plethora of film and TV offers where his rich voice, balding maturity, stern intensity and pragmatic air served him well over the years, playing a slew of professional or shady types in crime dramas and war pictures. In the late 1960s he focused on his secret agent role on the "Get Smart" series, finding occasional guest spots in its aftermath. Married twice and the father of four, Platt died suddenly of a heart attack in 1974.


Had one daughter by his first wife; two sons and a daughter by second wife Suzanne. Platt's death is somewhat of a mystery. For years it was reported he died from a heart attack at age 58. More recently it has been alleged (the information found on-line) that his son Jeff spoke out and stated in an interview that his father died as the result of suicide in 1974 after two previous attempts while suffering from an undiagnosed and untreated depression that was further sparked by financial troubles.