Barbara Feldon
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| Barbara Feldon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Barbara Hall March 12, 1932 Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Barbara Feldon (born Barbara Hall on March 12, 1932 in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) is an American actress, game show panelist of the 1960s and model, known for her character-type roles. The naturally brunette-headed Feldon gained prominence in the 1960s for playing Don Adams's working partner and future wife, Agent 99, on the long-running cult favourite 1960s sitcom, Get Smart. She also guest-starred on Cheers, and she also guest-starred as Paul Reiser's TV idol, Diane Caldwell, a spy, on Mad About You.
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[edit] Biography
She graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in drama, shortly after which she won the grand prize on The $64,000 Question in the category of William Shakespeare. In 1965 she had a lead role in an earlier spy show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in "The Never-Never Affair" where she was a Portuguese translator for U.N.C.L.E. who wished for more excitement and got it.
[edit] Career
She was most famous for her character Agent 99 in the television comedy series Get Smart, starring with lead Don Adams throughout the series' five seasons. When she was cast for the role, she was already famous, although anonymously, appearing on a tigerskin rug in an advertisement for Top Brass dandruff cream. In addition, she also had a wonderful on- and off- screen chemistry with Adams, throughout the entire run, and when the series had ended, she became best friends until Adams' own death on September 26, 2005. For her performance in Get Smart, she was nominated for an Emmy award for 'Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series' in 1968 and 1969.
During the run of Get Smart she appeared in a comedy film with Dick Van Dyke titled Fitzwilly, released in 1967. Before this film she had small parts in various popular TV shows such as: The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Twelve O'Clock High and Flipper.
After Get Smart ended, she was strongly typecast. She appeared in an episode of Mad About You as Diane "Spy Girl" Caldwell, an actress who was trying to shake her typecasting as "Spy Girl" in a series similar to Get Smart. She frequently appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, guest-starring on the first show in 1968 and several episodes thereafter. Her finest performance may be as the beauty contest organizer in Michael Richie's Smile (1974). In recent years she has been successful as a commercial voice performer.
In 1991 she played a love interest of Sam Malone in Cheers. Long-divorced (Feldon has been unmarried since 1967) and New York City-based, Feldon has appeared on stage and on guest spots on TV shows, including in her old role as "99" in a brief sequel to the old Get Smart series, which had the same name, co-starring her old star Don Adams and new actor Andy Dick, in 1995. In 2003, Feldon authored Living Alone and Loving It, a self-help guide to assist single people of all ages live more fulfilling lives.
In 2006, she provided audio commentaries for the long-awaited Get Smart DVD set, being the only surviving principal cast member, (Edward Platt having died in 1974, and Don Adams in 2005).
[edit] References
- Living Alone and Loving It (2003) ISBN 0-7432-3517-7
