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{{Short description|American actor (1916–1974)}}
{{About|the American actor|the English author|Edward Platt (author)|the English professional footballer|Ted Platt}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edward Platt
| image = Edward Platt in The Rebel Set (1959).jpg
| caption = Platt in ''[[The Rebel Set]]'' (1959)
| birth_name = Edward Cuthbert Platt
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|2|14|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Staten Island, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|3|19|1916|2|16|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Juilliard School]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Suzanne Belcher|1954|1973|end=divorce}}
| children = 4
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1941–1974
}}
'''Edward Cuthbert Platt''' (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor widely known for his portrayal of [[Get Smart#The Chief|the Chief]] in the 1965–1970 [[NBC]]/[[CBS]] television series ''[[Get Smart]]''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he played an eclectic mix of characters over the span of his career.

==Early life and military service==
Platt was born in [[Staten Island, New York]]. He spent a part of his childhood in Kentucky and upstate New York, where he attended the [[Northwood School (Lake Placid, New York)|Northwood School]], a private school in [[Lake Placid, New York|Lake Placid]], and was a member of the ski jump team. He also studied at the [[Juilliard School]].<ref name="St. Joseph News-Press">{{cite news |title=Actor Edward Platt Is Dead Of Heart Attack |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bp9eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OlMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1104%2C3692441 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[St. Joseph News-Press]] |date=March 21, 1974 |page=4A |access-date=September 12, 2011}}</ref> He attended [[Princeton University]], but left after his first year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edplatt.20m.com/about.html |title=About Edward Platt |website=The Edward Platt Tribute Site |access-date=July 7, 2014}}</ref> He served in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]]. Before becoming an actor, he sang for two years with the [[Paul Whiteman Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite news |date=March 21, 1974 |title=Ed Platt, Chief in 'Get Smart', 58 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/21/archives/ed-platt-chief-in-get-smart-58-tv-and-stage-actor-diessang-for.html |access-date=November 21, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Acting career==
[[File:Edward Platt in Four Star Playhouse (Bourbon Street).jpg|thumb|Platt in the TV series ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]'' (1954)]]
[[File:Virginia Brissac, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Edward Platt and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause trailer.jpg|thumb|[[Virginia Brissac]], [[Jim Backus]], [[Ann Doran]], Edward Platt and [[James Dean]] in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' (1955)]]

An operatically trained [[bass-baritone]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wouldyoubelieve.com/platt.html|title=Edward Platt|website=Would You Believe}}</ref>{{efn|In the ''Get Smart'' episode "The Hot Line", Platt sings the French song "[[Alouette (song)|Alouette]]".}} with a powerful voice, he debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] musical ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]''. [[José Ferrer]], who performed with Platt in the Broadway play ''The Shrike'', helped him land his first film role in the 1955 film version. Also in 1955, Platt appeared in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' starring [[James Dean]], [[Natalie Wood]] and [[Sal Mineo]].In 1957 he had a supporting role in "Designing Woman" with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall. He returned to Broadway in 1958 with the musical ''[[Oh, Captain!]]'', in a romantic role. In 1959, he played [[Cary Grant]]'s attorney in ''[[North by Northwest]]'', and he starred in the movie ''[[The Rebel Set]].''

Platt also appeared in episodes of the original ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' ("The Case of the Slandered Submarine" and "The Case of the Larcenous Lady"); ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'', ''[[Trackdown (TV series)|Trackdown]]'', ''[[State Trooper (TV series)|State Trooper]]'' (in the episode "Who Killed Doc Robbins"), ''[[Men into Space]]'' ("From Another World"), ''[[Ripcord (TV series)|Ripcord]]'' ("Million Dollar Drop"), ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', ''[[Bonanza]]'', ''[[Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond|One Step Beyond]]'', ''[[The Rifleman]]'' (S5 E7 "The Assailants" as Sen. Bordon 1962), ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'', ''[[Whispering Smith (TV series)|Whispering Smith]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' ("The Man with the Power" and "Keeper of the Purple Twilight"), ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' ("A Nice Friendly Game Of Cards"), ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)|Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'', ''[[Bat Masterson (TV series)|Bat Masterson]]'' (in the 1959  episode "Incident in Leadville"), ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'', ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', and ''[[Wagon Train]]''

Platt was widely known for his role as The Chief in the espionage parody television series ''[[Get Smart]]'' (1965–1970). After it ended, he had a recurring role in the situation comedy series ''[[The Governor & J.J.]]'' in 1970. He had guest roles in several other television series of the era, mostly comedies, including ''[[Temperatures Rising]]'', ''[[Bewitched]]'', ''[[Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law]]'', ''[[Love, American Style]]'', and ''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]'' as Oscar Madison's boss in the episode "[[List of The Odd Couple (1970 TV series) episodes#Season 1 .281970–1971.29|Oscar's New Life]]".

Platt appeared as [[Sotto voce]] in the 1969 [[KCET]] television reading of [[Norman Corwin]]'s 1938 radio play ''[[The Plot to Overthrow Christmas]]''.

==Work as producer==
In 1973, Platt raised the money to produce one of the first independent feature films shot entirely on videotape: ''[[Santee (film)|Santee]]'', starring [[Glenn Ford]]. His crew shot the production with electronic TV cameras and portable video tape recorders, then had the images transferred to film for theatrical release. The movie was not commercially successful. {{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

==Death==
Platt was found dead in his Santa Monica apartment on March 19, 1974, at the age of 58.<ref>{{cite news |title=Edward Platt, Actor, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6436670/lincoln_evening_journal/ |newspaper=[[Lincoln Journal Star]]| agency=[[United Press International]]| date=March 21, 1974| page=22| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| access-date=July 7, 2024| url-access=subscription}}</ref> Initial reports indicated the cause of death was a heart attack, but Platt's son later said that his father died from suicide after a long struggle with untreated depression.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/153187%7C44929/Edward-Platt/ "Edward Platt —Biography"]. ''[[Turner Classic Movies]]''. Retrieved July 7, 2024. "While early reports blamed a heart attack for the actor's death, his son later admitted Platt had committed suicide after a long struggle with untreated depression."</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1949
|''[[I Was a Male War Bride]]''
|Lieutenant in Gates's Office
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=6|1955
|''[[Cult of the Cobra]]''
|Lamian Threatening Death
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Shrike (film)|The Shrike]]''
|Harry Downs
|
|-
|''[[The McConnell Story]]''
|Medical Corps Instructor
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Illegal (1955 film)|Illegal]]''
|Ralph Ford
|
|-
|''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''
|Ray Fremick
|
|-
|''[[Sincerely Yours (film)|Sincerely Yours]]''
|Dr. Eubank
|Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=11|1956
|''[[The Lieutenant Wore Skirts]]''
|Major Dunning
|
|-
|''[[The Steel Jungle]]''
|Judge Wahller
|
|-
|''[[Backlash (1956 film)|Backlash]]''
|Sheriff J.C. Marson
|Credited as Edward C. Platt
|-
|''[[Serenade (1956 film)|Serenade]]''
|Everett Carter
|
|-
|''[[The Proud Ones]]''
|Dr. Barlow
|
|-
|''[[Storm Center]]''
|Reverend Wilson
|
|-
|''[[The Unguarded Moment (film)|The Unguarded Moment]]''
|Attorney Briggs
|
|-
|''[[Written on the Wind]]''
|Dr. Paul Cochrane
|
|-
| ''[[Reprisal!]]''
|Neil Shipley
|
|-
|''[[Rock, Pretty Baby]]''
|Thomas Daley Sr. M.D.
|
|-
|''[[The Great Man]]''
|Dr. O'Connor
|
|-
|rowspan=6|1957
|''[[The Tattered Dress]]''
|Ralph Adams
|
|-
|''[[Designing Woman]]''
|Martin J. Daylor
|
|-
|''[[Omar Khayyam (1957 film)|Omar Khayyam]]''
|Jayhan
|
|-
|''[[House of Numbers (1957 film)|House of Numbers]]''
|The Warden
|
|-
|''[[The Helen Morgan Story]]''
|Johnny Haggerty
|
|-
|''[[Oregon Passage]]''
|Roland Dane
|
|-
|rowspan=6|1958
|''[[The Gift of Love]]''
|Dr. Jim Miller
|
|-
|''[[Damn Citizen]]''
|Joseph Kosta
|
|-
|''[[The High Cost of Loving]]''
|Eli Cave
|
|-
|''[[Summer Love (1958 film)|Summer Love]]''
|Dr. Thomas Daley
|
|-
|''[[The Last of the Fast Guns]]''
|Sam Grypton
|Credited as Edward C. Platt
|-
|''[[Gunman's Walk]]''
|Purcell Avery
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1959
|''[[The Rebel Set]]''
|Mr. Tucker / Mr. T
|
|-
|''[[North by Northwest]]''
|Victor Larrabee
|
|-
|''[[They Came to Cordura]]''
|Colonel DeRose
|
|-
|''[[Inside the Mafia]]''
|Dan Regent
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1960
|''[[Cash McCall]]''
|Harrison Glenn
|
|-
|''[[Pollyanna (1960 film)|Pollyanna]]''
|Ben Tarbell
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1961
|''[[The Fiercest Heart]]''
|Madrigo
|
|-
|''[[Atlantis, the Lost Continent]]''
|Azar the High Priest
|
|-
|''[[Snow White and the Three Stooges]]''
|Villager
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[The Explosive Generation]]''
|Mr. Morton
|
|-
|1962
|''[[Cape Fear (1962 film)|Cape Fear]]''
|Judge
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1963
|''[[Black Zoo]]''
|Detective Rivers
|
|-
|''[[Johnny Shiloh (film)|Johnny Shiloh]]''
|General [[George Henry Thomas]]
|
|-
|''[[A Ticklish Affair]]''
|Captain Haven Hitchcock
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1964
|''[[Shock Treatment (1964 film)|Shock Treatment]]''
|District Attorney
|Uncredited
|-
|''[[Bullet for a Badman]]''
|Tucker
|
|-
|1965
|''[[The Man from Button Willow]]''
|The Man in the Black Cape
|Voice, Uncredited
|}

==Television credits==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Series
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1955
|''[[Gunsmoke]]''
|Mr. Burgess
|Season 1 Episode 7: "Smoking Out the Nolans"
|-
| rowspan=3|1958
|''Silent Service''
|Captain Benítez
|Episode: "The Last Dive"
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 2 Episode 18: "Doc Bell"
|-
|''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]''
|Sheriff Galt
|Season 2 Episode 14: "Trial by Fear"
|-
| rowspan=7|1959
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Matthew Sinclair
|Season 2 Episode 30: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Duke LeMay Story]]" (airdate: April 29, 1959)
|-
|''[[Have Gun – Will Travel]]''
|Mayor
|Season 2 Episode 17: "The Traffetta Mayor" (airdate: January 10, 1959)
|-
|''[[Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond|One Step Beyond]]''
|Will Denning
|Season 1 Episode 16: "The Burning Girl" (airdate: May 5, 1959)
|-
|''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''
|Jason Clark
|Season 2 Episode 6: "Incident of the Thirteenth Man" (airdate: October 23, 1959)
|-
|''[[Mr. Lucky (TV series)|Mr Lucky]]''
|Henry Praiswater
|Season 1 Episode 3: "The Stowaway"
|-
|''Police Station''
|Desk Sergeant
|
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 4 Episode 12: "Return of Doc Bell"
|-
| rowspan=6|1960
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Spinoza de Costa
|Season 3 Episode 16: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Maidie Brant Story]]" (airdate: January 20, 1960)
|-
|''[[Men into Space]]''
|Dr. Luraski
|Season 1 Episode 29: "From Another World"
|-
|''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre]]''
|Marshall Mays
|Season 5 Episode 4: "The Ox"
|-
|''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
|Commander Driscoll
|Season 3 Episode 23: "The Case of the Slandered Submarine"
|-
|''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
|Tom Stratton
|Season 4 Episode 12: "The Case of the Larcenous Lady"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Harvey Bufford
|Season 1 Episode 17: "The Outcast"
|-
| rowspan=3|1961
|''[[The Twilight Zone]]''
|The Doctor
|Season 2 Episode 23: "[[A Hundred Yards Over the Rim]]"
|-
|''[[Boris Karloff's Thriller]]''
|Jim Weeks
|Season 1 Episode 27: "Late Date"
|-
|''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''
|Mr. Henshaw
|Season 6 Episode 25: "Museum Piece"
|-
| rowspan=5|1962
|''[[Wagon Train]]''
|Cyrus Bolton
|Season 5 Episode 34: "[[List of Wagon Train episodes|The Frank Carter Story]]" (airdate: May 23, 1962)
|-
|''[[Bronco (TV series)|Bronco]]''
|Sheriff Ben Lockwood
|Season 4 Episode 7: "Ride the Whirlwind"
|-
|''[[The Rifleman]]''
|Senator Jim Bordon
|Season 5 Episode 7: "The Assailants"
|-
|''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''
|Doc Bell
|Season 6 Episode 34: "Vignette of a Sinner"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Wade Colly
|Season 3 Episode 23: "The Guilty"
|-
| rowspan=3|1963
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|Dean Radcliffe
|Season 1 Episode 4: "[[The Man with the Power]]"
|-
|''[[Bonanza]]''
|Will Flanders
|Season 4 Episode 15: "The Colonel"
|-
|''[[Ripcord (TV series)|Ripcord]]''
|Jake Miller
|Season 2 Episode 23: "Million Dollar Drop"
|-
| rowspan=6|1964
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|Mr. Terrence
|Season 1 Episode 28: "[[The Special One (The Outer Limits)|The Special One]]"
|-
|''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]''
|Lou Gregory
|Season 3 Episode 18: "A Nice, Friendly Game of Cards"
|-
|''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]''
|2nd patient (Sam)
|Season 2 Episode 10: "The Gun"
|-
|''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
|David Hunt
|Season 2 Episode 12: "[[Keeper of the Purple Twilight]]"
|-
| ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''
|Stuart Brynmar
|Season 2 Episode 26: "The Secret of Brynmar Hall"
|-
| ''[[Petticoat Junction]]''
|General Patterson
|Season 2 Episode 12: "The Lost Patrol"
|-
|1965–1970
|''[[Get Smart]]''
|Chief of CONTROL
|Main cast (137 episodes)
|-
| rowspan=5|1970
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 6: "Fawcett is Running"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 9: "The Making of the Governor"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 10: "A Day in the Life"
|-
|''[[The Governor & J.J.]]''
|Orrin Hacker
|Season 2 Episode 12 "P.S. I Don't Love You"
|-
|''[[Bewitched]]''
|Jennings Booker
|Season 7 Episode 10 Samantha's Old Man
|-
|1971
|''[[The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)|The Odd Couple]]''
|Bill Donnelly
|Season 1 Episode 21: "Oscar's New Life"
|-
|1972
|''[[The Snoop Sisters]]''
|Julius 'Jules' Nero
|Season 1 Pilot Episode: "The Female Instinct"
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090207211633/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/1340966-edward-platt "Chief" places 6th on Great Secondary TV Characters list]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Edward}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:1974 suicides]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:American bass-baritones]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Juilliard School alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from Staten Island]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category:Singers from New York City]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Actors and actresses who died by suicide]]

Edward Platt - Revision history

2601:803:4300:4D90:71C8:418F:DE12:1D04: /* External links */