Maxwell Smart, R.I.P.

By Mitchell

Don Adams, who died Sunday, was something for everyone. To the savvy generation of the 60s he was the bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in Get Smart, the man who succeeded in his mission in spite of himself - a metaphor for America itself in the 60s. For the kids of that same era, like me, he was the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo, the penguin forever hatching grand schemes inevitably doomed to failure. A later generation of children heard him as the voice of Inspector Gadget, whose gadgets might have been the successful product of Tennessee's mind, had the penguin not been in such a hurry to do things his way. In between, he found time to be the commercial spokesman for Aurora games like Skittle Pool. And with advent of nostalgia networks like TV Land, a brand-new audience, equal parts newcomers and returning boomers, saw him once again enter the realm of KAOS, fighting the bad guys for the greater glory of Barbara Feldon. No matter what the show, Don Adams was rarely out of the public eye, providing enjoyment for fans of all ages. R.I.P.