Talent Associates, Ltd. (also known as Talent Associates-Paramount, Ltd. and Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc. ), was a production company headed by David Susskind , later joined by Daniel Melnick , Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.
53-500: Maxwell Smart may refer to: Maxwell Smart , fictional character in the television series Get Smart . Maxwell Smart , a Holocaust survivor and subject of the 2023 film The Boy in the Woods . Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Maxwell Smart . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
106-501: A bowl of soup (cream of Technicolor ) that takes a picture (with a conspicuous flash) of the person eating the soup with each spoonful; a mini magnet on a belt, which turns out to be stronger than KAOS's maxi magnet; and a powerful miniature laser weapon in the button of a sports jacket (the "laser blazer"). Another of the show's recurring gags is the " Cone of Silence ". Smart would often insist on strictly following CONTROL's security protocols; when discussing highly confidential things in
159-430: A necktie, comb, watch, and a clock. A recurring gag is Max's shoe phone (an idea from Brooks). To use or answer it, he has to take off his shoe. Several variations on the shoe phone were used. In "I Shot 86 Today" (season four), his shoe phone is disguised as a golf shoe, complete with cleats, developed by the attractive armorer Dr. Simon. Smart's shoes sometimes contain other devices housed in the heels: an explosive pellet,
212-495: A reference to the slang term , meaning to forcibly eject someone, such as a patron from a bar or casino. In 1999, TV Guide ranked Maxwell Smart number 19 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list. The character appears in every episode (though only briefly in "Ice Station Siegfried", as Don Adams was performing in Las Vegas for two weeks to settle gambling debts). Agent 99 ( Barbara Feldon ) works alongside 86 and
265-419: A secret elevator: a soda machine which "disappears". (A cleaning lady sits down in the open space when all of a sudden the machine pops up and knocks the woman into the ceiling.) A late episode of the 1995 series shows that just as Siegfried is leaving a room, Maxwell Smart accidentally activates an atomic bomb just before the end of the show. (The teaser for the episode shows an atomic bomb going off.) This ending
318-413: A smoke bomb, compressed air capsules that propelled the wearer off the ground, and a suicide pill (which Max believes is for the enemy). Agent 99 had her concealed telephones, as well. She had one in her makeup compact, and also one in her fingernail. To use this last device, she would pretend to bite her nail nervously, while actually talking on her "nail phone". On February 17, 2002, the prop shoe phone
371-536: A tan interior and four seats (as required by the plot) in the episodes "A Tale of Two Tails" and "The Laser Blazer". In the short-lived 1995 TV series , Smart is trying to sell the Karmann Ghia through the classified ads. In Get Smart, Again! , Smart is seen driving a red 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce . The Sunbeam Tiger, the Karmann Ghia, and the Opel GT all make brief appearances in the 2008 film. The Sunbeam Tiger
424-628: A total of 138 episodes. The Museum of Broadcast Communications found the show notable for "broadening the parameters for the presentation of comedy on television". The series centers on bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart (Adams)- Agent 86, and his unnamed female partner, Agent 99 (Feldon). They work for CONTROL, a secret U.S. government counterintelligence agency based in Washington, DC , fighting against KAOS, "the international organization of evil". While Smart always succeeds in thwarting KAOS, his incompetent nature and insistence on doing things "by
477-731: Is Siegfried's equally ruthless but often inept chief henchman, prone to silly behaviors which annoy his boss as unbecoming of KAOS. Hymie the Robot ( Dick Gautier ) is a humanoid robot built by KAOS, but in his first mission, Smart manages to turn him to the side of CONTROL. Hymie had a tendency to take instructions too literally. Agent 13 ( David Ketchum ) is an agent who is usually stationed inside unlikely, sometimes impossibly small or unlucky places, such as cigarette machines , washing machines, lockers, trash cans, or fire hydrants. He tends to resent his assignments. Agent 44 ( Victor French ) Six episodes (1965–66). French's first role
530-437: Is a beautiful, sexy, and brilliant CONTROL scientist who develops formulas while undercover as a dancer and strip-tease artist. She remains oblivious to Smart's clearly discomfited attraction to her. The character appeared in three episodes in season 3, replaced the next season by Dr. Simon who has the same cover (played by different actresses in two episodes). In Get Smart , telephones are concealed in over 50 objects, including
583-462: Is another one of the top agents at CONTROL. Her actual name is never revealed. In the episode "A Man Called Smart Part 3" (S2 E30), Max calls her Ernestine and she says, "Too bad that's not my name." In another episode, "99 Loses CONTROL" (S3 E19), she uses the name Susan Hilton, but later in the same episode tells Max that it is not her real name. When 99 marries Max in Season 4, Admiral Hargrade snores when
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#1732856215235636-566: Is never actually named in most of them. The series was broadcast on NBC -TV from September 18, 1965, to September 13, 1969, after which it moved to the CBS network for its final season, running from September 26, 1969, to September 11, 1970, with 138 total episodes produced. During its five-season run, Get Smart broke the Nielsen Top 30 twice. It ranked at number 12 during its first season, and at number 22 during its second season, before falling out of
689-812: Is seen in the CONTROL Museum, along with the original shoe phone, which Smart also briefly uses. The Opel GT is driven by Bernie Kopell and is rear-ended by a truck. Smart steals the Karmann Ghia to continue his escape. Get Smart used several familiar character actors and celebrities, and some future stars, in guest roles , including: Both Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris , with whom Adams appeared on The Bill Dana Show , also appeared, as did Adams' father, William Yarmy, brother, Dick Yarmy, and daughter, Caroline Adams. The series featured several cameo appearances by famous actors and comedians, sometimes uncredited and often comedian friends of Adams. Johnny Carson appeared, credited as "special guest conductor", in "Aboard
742-524: Is similar to a device used by the Get Smart -inspired series Sledge Hammer! at the end of its first season. Hopes for the series were not high, as Andy Dick had already moved on to NewsRadio , which premiered weeks later in 1995. With the revival series on Fox, Get Smart became the first television franchise to air new episodes (or made-for-TV films) on each of the aforementioned current four major American television networks, although several TV shows in
795-408: Is the head of CONTROL. His first name is revealed to be Thaddeus but his surname is never revealed. On some occasions he uses the "code name" "Harold Clark" for outsiders, but this is understood among CONTROL agents not to be his real name. He is supportive of Agents 86 and 99 and considers them to be his two closest friends, but he is often frustrated with Smart. When he was a field agent, his code name
848-488: The secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the James Bond films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry , and had its television premiere on NBC on September 18, 1965. It starred Don Adams (who was also a director on the series) as agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86), Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, and Edward Platt as The Chief. Henry said that they created
901-535: The 1940s and 1950s aired on NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont . The different versions of Get Smart did not all feature the original lead cast. Get Smart was parodied on a sketch in the Mexican comedy show De Nuez en Cuando called "Super Agente 3.1486" , making fun of the Spanish title of the series ( Super Agente 86 ) and the way the series is dubbed. Talent Associates In the years after World War II, Susskind
954-437: The 1960s and 1970s. A few key projects to note: In 1958, Susskind became the host of Open End , one of the first major TV talk shows . The title refers to the irregular run time - guests would talk until they had nothing left to say. Open End ended in 1966, but was replaced by the fixed length The David Susskind Show . By 1963, Susskind had a reputation as a maverick, one of the last producers willing to stand up to
1007-483: The 1974 film, and McMillan & Wife , the 1971-1977 TV series. The company also ventured into game shows, packaging the original version of Supermarket Sweep , and its successor The Honeymoon Race ; as well as The Generation Gap ; and an unsold pilot, King of the Hill . Talent Associates also had a short-lived record division, known as TA Records, which released a total of only 4 LP titles. The label's product
1060-508: The Chief of Control as their bumbling son, Zach ( Andy Dick ), becomes Control's star agent (Zach's twin sister is never seen nor mentioned – though the new leader of KAOS, a hidden female figure, would have been revealed as the other twin if the show had continued). And 99 is now a congresswoman. The beginning teaser shows Maxwell Smart and Zach driving to Control headquarters in a car wash separately; Smart, Zach and their secretary cram themselves into
1113-531: The Orient Express". Carson returned for an uncredited cameo as a royal footman in the third-season episode "The King Lives?" Other performers to make cameo appearances included Steve Allen , Milton Berle , Ernest Borgnine , Wally Cox , Robert Culp (as a waiter in an episode sending up Culp's I Spy ), Phyllis Diller , Buddy Hackett , Bob Hope , and Martin Landau . Actress Rose Michtom (the real-life aunt of
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#17328562152351166-593: The Tiger was based, was used by customizer Gene Winfield because the Alpine's four-cylinder engine afforded more room under the hood than the V8 in the Tiger. AMT , Winfield's employer, made a model kit of the Tiger, complete with hidden weapons. It is the only kit of the Tiger, and has been reissued multiple times as a stock Tiger. Adams received the Sunbeam and drove it for 10 years after
1219-455: The book" invariably cause complications. The enemies, world-takeover plots, and gadgets seen in Get Smart were a parody of the James Bond film franchise. "Do what they did except just stretch it half an inch", Mel Brooks said of the methods of this TV series. Talent Associates commissioned Mel Brooks and Buck Henry to write a script about a bungling James Bond-like hero. Brooks described
1272-483: The chief's office, he would insist on speaking under the Cone of Silence—two transparent plastic hemispheres which are electrically lowered on top of Max and Chief and are supposed to prevent their conversation from being heard outside. It invariably malfunctions in various ways, making it difficult for the two to communicate. People outside the cone could often hear them better than they could hear themselves. The Cone of Silence
1325-630: The classic series of the Golden Age of Television , such as the Wally Cox comedy Mister Peepers , the anthology teleplay series The Goodyear Television Playhouse / The Philco Television Playhouse and Armstrong Circle Theatre . In 1953-54, Talent Associates produced Jamie starring a young Brandon deWilde , fresh off his success in George Stevens ' Shane (1953), for ABC . De Wilde together with veteran character actor Ernest Truex , told
1378-404: The end of the show. It was wrecked and repaired several times, and its current whereabouts are unknown. In the black-and-white pilot episode only, Smart drives a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT PF Spider Cabriolet. In the opening credits, the Tiger was used for seasons one and two. In seasons three and four, Smart drives a light blue Volkswagen Karmann Ghia , because Volkswagen had become a sponsor of
1431-503: The episode "Too Many Chiefs" (season one), Max tells Tanya, the KAOS informer whom he is protecting, that if anyone breaks in, to pick up the house phone, dial 1-1-7, and press the trigger on the handset, which converts it to a gun. The phone-gun is only used that once, but Max once carried a gun-phone, a revolver with a rotary dial built into the cylinder. In the episode "Satan Place", Max simultaneously holds conversations on seven different phones:
1484-460: The ever more powerful TV networks; his East Side/West Side , a hard-hitting dramatic series starring George C. Scott , began on CBS in 1963 and won fairly high critical praise. In an era when race relations was a volatile subject in the United States, East Side/West Side featured Cicely Tyson in one of the first major regular roles for an African-American actress in a primetime drama, and
1537-527: The first. Brooks and Henry proposed the show to ABC, where network executives called it "un-American" and demanded a "lovable dog to give the show more heart", as well as scenes showing Maxwell Smart's mother. Brooks strongly objected to the second suggestion: They wanted to put a print housecoat on the show. Max was to come home to his mother and explain everything. I hate mothers on shows. Max has no mother. He never had one. The cast and crew contributed joke and gadget ideas, especially Don Adams, but dialogue
1590-439: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maxwell_Smart&oldid=1226387598 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Get Smart#Characters Get Smart is an American comedy television series parodying
1643-491: The minister says her name, making it inaudible. Several instances refer to her high level of professionalism; in one episode the Chief says an assignment requires extreme bravery and competence but since 99 isn't available, Max could do it. According to Feldon, 99 is deeply in love with Max and either overlooks or understands his quirks, while he is clueless about her affection yet often demonstrates his care through his concern for her well being. The Chief ( Edward Platt )
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1696-596: The original recording of " One Tin Soldier " in 1970. Another TA Records R&B group Five Flights Up , had a Billboard Top 40 single with "Do What You Wanna Do" which peaked at #36 in the fall of 1970. From 1961 to 1965, Paramount Pictures owned a 50% stake in Talent Associates. In August 1968, the company was acquired by industrialist Norton Simon , becoming known as Talent Associates-Norton Simon, Inc. until 1974, when Susskind and Gilbert bought it back. In 1977,
1749-433: The premise for the show that they created in an October 1965 Time magazine article: I was sick of looking at all those nice, sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life. If a maid ever took over my house like Hazel , I'd set her hair on fire. I wanted to do a crazy, unreal, comic-strip kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be
1802-477: The series after the first season, but Henry served as story editor through 1967. The crew of the show included: Maxwell "Max" Smart , Agent 86 , ( Don Adams ) is the central character of the series. Despite being a top-secret government agent, he is absurdly clumsy. Yet Smart is also resourceful, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, a proficient marksman, and incredibly lucky; all of this makes him one of CONTROL's top agents. Brooks decided on Smart's code number, 86, as
1855-459: The series dealt a few times with issues facing African-Americans, as well as other urban issues such as drug addiction and abortion , leading to some affiliates in Southern states not clearing the program. East Side/West Side also had trouble attracting advertisers. The drama was canceled by CBS after only one season, due also in large part with CBS programming head James Aubrey 's discomfort with
1908-401: The shoe, his tie, his belt, his wallet, a garter, a handkerchief, and a pair of eyeglasses. Other unusual locations include a garden hose, a car cigarette lighter (with the lighter being hidden in the car phone), a bottle of perfume (Max complains of smelling like a woman), the steering wheel of his car, a painting of Agent 99, the headboard of his bed, a cheese sandwich, lab test tubes (Max grabs
1961-441: The show at the request of Daniel Melnick to capitalize on James Bond and Inspector Clouseau , "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today". Brooks described it as "an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy". The show generated a number of popular catchphrases during its run, including "sorry about that, Chief", "...and loving it", "missed it by that much ", and "would you believe...". The show
2014-454: The show's executive producer Leonard Stern) appeared in at least 44 episodes—usually as a background extra with no speaking role. In the season-one episode "Too Many Chiefs", when she is shown in a photograph, Max refers to her as "my Aunt Rose", but the Chief corrects Max by saying that she is actually KAOS agent Alexi Sebastian disguised as Max's Aunt Rose. Fans refer to her as "Aunt Rose" in all of her dozens of appearances, though her character
2067-402: The show. The Volkswagen was never used in the body of the show. In season five (1969–1970), Buick became a show sponsor, so the Tiger was replaced with a gold 1969 Opel GT , which also appears in the body of the show. In season four (1968–1969), Adams uses a yellow Citroën 2CV in the wedding episode "With Love and Twitches", and a blue 1968 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible with
2120-513: The socially conscious subject matter, as well as Aubrey's conflicts with Scott and Susskind over the direction of the series. David Susskind appears as himself in one episode, hosting a television discussion. While East Side/West Side was in production, two young writers, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry , were working at Talent Associates in New York City on the script for a new pilot , which became an enduring legacy of Talent Associates. This
2173-502: The story of aging Grandpa McHummer striking a bond with young Jamie, his recently orphaned grandson. Talent Associates was structured like a small, family-run firm; Susskind deliberately chose young and inexperienced associates, many of them women, who would learn on the job. Susskind began to branch out, putting together Broadway shows ("Mr. Lincoln") and feature films ( A Raisin in the Sun ). Talent Associates won more than 20 Emmy awards in
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2226-521: The top 30 for its last three seasons. The series won seven Emmy Awards , and it was nominated for another 14 Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards . In 1995, the series was briefly resurrected starring Adams and Feldon with Andy Dick as Max's and 99's son Zack Smart and Elaine Hendrix as 66. Four feature-length films have been produced following the end of the NBC/CBS run of the TV series: In October 2008, it
2279-457: The wrong one and splashes himself), a Bunsen burner (Max puts out the flame anytime he pronounces a "p"), a plant in a planter beside the real working phone (operated by the dial of the working phone), and inside another full-sized working phone. Other gadgets include a bullet-proof invisible wall in Max's apartment that lowers from the ceiling, into which Max and others often walk; a camera hidden in
2332-459: Was "Q." Agent Larabee ( Robert Karvelas , Don Adams' cousin) is the Chief's assistant, even more slow-witted and incompetent than Max. Ludwig Von Siegfried ( Bernie Kopell ) is a recurring villain, and the vice president in charge of public relations and terror at KAOS, though his title does vary. Despite his gruff and proper demeanor, he is as incompetent as Max. Starker (Often pronounced by Siegfried as Shtarker ) ( King Moody )
2385-453: Was a talent agent for Century Artists , ultimately ending up in the powerhouse Music Corporation of America 's fairly newly minted television program department, managing Dinah Shore , Jerry Lewis , and others. He then went to New York and formed Talent Associates, representing creators of material rather than performers. Susskind converted Talent Associates into a packaging company for new programs in 1952. Talent Associates produced some of
2438-461: Was distributed through Bell Records . The soft rock duo Seals and Crofts were signed to the label in 1969. After releasing two albums which received little attention the group moved to Warner Bros. Records in 1971 where they recorded a string of hit records during the 1970s. A Canadian folk group called The Original Caste reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on TA Records with
2491-497: Was followed by the films The Nude Bomb (a 1980 theatrical film made without the involvement of Brooks and Henry) and Get Smart, Again! (a 1989 made-for-TV sequel to the series), as well as a 1995 revival series and a 2008 film remake . In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart ' s opening title sequence at number two on its list of TV's top 10 credits sequences as selected by readers. The show switched networks in 1969 to CBS . It ended its five-season run on May 15, 1970, with
2544-632: Was included in a display titled "Spies: Secrets from the CIA, KGB, and Hollywood", a collection of real and fictional spy gear that exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California . Flinders University in South Australia has researched medical applications for shoe phone technology after being inspired by the show. Gag phones also appear in other guises. In
2597-414: Was rarely ad-libbed. An exception is the third-season episode "The Little Black Book". Don Rickles encouraged Adams to misbehave, and he ad-libbed. The result was so successful that the single episode was turned into two parts. The first four seasons on NBC were filmed at Sunset Bronson Studios , while the final season, shown on CBS, was filmed at CBS Studio Center . Brooks had little involvement with
2650-477: Was reported that Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Mosaic Media Group were producing a sequel . Carell and Hathaway were set to return, but the status of other cast members had not been announced. As of 2019, Get Smart 2 is no longer in development Get Smart, Again! eventually prompted the development of a short-lived 1995 weekly series on Fox also titled Get Smart , with Adams and Feldon reprising their characters with Maxwell Smart now being
2703-500: Was the idea of Buck Henry, though it was preceded in an episode of the syndicated television show Science Fiction Theatre titled "Barrier of Silence", written by Lou Huston, that first aired on September 3, 1955, 10 years ahead of Get Smart . The car that Smart is seen driving most frequently is a red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger two-seat roadster. This car had various custom features, such as a machine gun, smoke screen, radar tracking, and an ejection seat . The Sunbeam Alpine , upon which
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#17328562152352756-454: Was the insurance man in "Too Many Chiefs", and subsequent episodes as Agent 44. He is the predecessor to Agent 13 in season 1. Agent 13 takes over the function of Agent 44 for seasons 2 to 4, but Agent 44, now played by Al Molinaro , returns in season 5. Carlson ( Stacy Keach Sr. ) is a CONTROL scientist and inventor of such gadgets as an umbrella rifle (with a high-speed camera in the handle) and edible buttons. Dr. Steele ( Ellen Weston )
2809-669: Was the sitcom Get Smart , a spoof of the then-popular secret agent genre, which premiered in 1965 on NBC and starred Don Adams and Barbara Feldon . Production took place at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood , so Talent Associates had to establish a West Coast presence. Get Smart spanned 138 episodes over 5 years, and was very popular in broadcast syndication . It spawned sequels, reunion shows and even major feature films decades after its premiere. Talent Associates continued with television and motion picture projects, including producing duties on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore ,
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