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From the Vault...
10/08/2017
#1589 |
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info
Don Adams
"Get Smart"
© Raven Records
Year of Release: 1965
Rating:
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track listing
Washington 4 - Indians 3
School Days
Satan Place
Cone Of Silence
Too Many Chiefs -
Countersign
The Latest Devices
All In The Mind
The Incredible Harry Hoo
I'm Only Human
Kisses For KAOS
Plane Sequence
Too Many Chiefs -
Hotel Sequence
Weekend Vampire
Sorry 'Bout That
99
Barbara Feldon
Max
Barbara Feldon
Get Smart
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Don Adams
"Get Smart"
Every time my wife Norma and I are out and about, and we approach the electronic opening doors, I just can't help but sing out the theme song from
the TV show Get Smart. This show, starring the hilarious Don Adams, was won of those famous shows I used to watch as reruns on local television
back in my early years of childhood. FOr those who remember, Maxwell Smart would enter a various number of electronic opening doors (with sound effects)
throughout the opening theme.) Don Adams starred as bumbling agent Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, along with his partner, Agent 99, portrayed by Barbara Feldon.
(Did Agent 99 actually have a name on the show?) The show was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Both of these creators would become popular in their
own rights, as Brooks created great comedy movies, such as Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. Henry would become a writer in the 1970s
for Saturday Night Live.
As secret agent themed movies were popular, with the likes of the James Bond movies, it was quite apparent to view a TV show, but as a comedy. There
would be enough detective and police TV shows, but they would be of a more serious nature. Don Adams was classic as Maxwell Smart. There were the famous
phrases from the show: "Would you believe...", "Missed it by that much!", "Sorry 'bout that" and others. The TV show premiered in 1965 on NBC. The show
moved to CBS in 1969 for another two years. Ending in 1970, there were a total of 138 episodes. A 1980 film The Nude Bomb and a made-for-TV movie
sequel in 1989, Get Smart, Again!, a 1995 revival series, and a 2008 film remake, starring Steve Carrell. The theme song has also been a favorite,
for those who remember. On a comedy theme, the show was just as comedical as another TV show that was originally serious from the comic book, Batman.
A 1965 album was released of the TV show, and it is a collection of various skits from the actual TV show. As we listen to this album, now in the 21st
Century, the technology of what was used, we often have to laugh. Maxwell Smart's communication was his shoe phone, a phone that was actually located at
the bottom of his work shoe. Of course, cell phones were not available back in the late 1960s, and if they were, they were extremely huge, heavy, and
way expensive. Listening to track six, "The Latest Devices" you have to realize this was the high-technology of the day.
There isn't any main music throughout the album, although there are two tracks by Agent 99, Barbara Feldon -- "99" and "Max." How Barbara
Feldon's singing voice did not make the Rhino Records' Golden Throats collection, is beyond me. Yes, it's bad, although she was nice eye-candy to
look at. Another track is "Vampire Weekend," and no, it is not named for the rock band that would have this name in 2006. Vampire Weekend is a
location in New York City, New York. And as for the actual theme song of the Get Smart TV series, there is a version of it as the last track of
this album, but, it is not the original version from the TV show.
For those who remember and enjoyed the TV show, listening to the various skits from this album will bring smiles to everyone's faces. Get Smart
was one of the best TV comedy shows in television history. Watching Don Adams relive his Maxwell Smart role has always been a delight, as we watched him
in his later years. He would be typecasted as Maxwell Smart, although he provided the cartoon voice for Tennessee Tuxedo and Inspector Gadget.
Don Adams passed away on September 25, 2006 in California, from lymphoma and a lung infection. He was married three times, and had seven children.
He was survived by three of four daughters from his first marriage, two daughters from his second marriage, and a daughter from his third. One daughter
had passed away in 2004, and a son who also died in 2006.
Don Adams has left behind one of the greatest TV shows in history, Get Smart. The five seasons are all available on DVD, and truly worth
watching, for a good laugh. Another comparison would be to Leslie Nielsen's Police Squad and Naked Gun series.
Don Adams was always fun to listen to. I remember he was a guest on WGN Radio, and how he would entertain the listening audience with his stories
and phone calls. One segment I remember, is when WGN reported a bank robbery in progress, and the WGN reporter (Don Harris) had called in, and the bank
robber picked up the phone. As Don Adams and the audience were listening, the police came in, and as it happened, Don Adams pretty much admitted it was
something he had never heard, and would remember it forever. (I had this on tape, as I would tape everything off the radio and/or TV alot.)
Thank you, Don Adams, for becoming one of the famous TV characters in history, Maxwell Smart. Get Smart will always be a great show I will
always remember, and watching it decades later, it still brings a warmth to my heart, knowing this show was one of my childhood highlights of television.
And with these recorded skits from Get Smart on CD, I can only hope that they will reissue on CD another TV show album that was released in 1971,
another comedy classic, All In The Family.
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