Edward Platt

Edward Cuthbert Platt (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor born in Staten Island, New York, who built a career spanning Broadway, film, and television over more than three decades. He spent portions of his childhood in Kentucky and upstate New York, attending the Northwood School, a private institution in Lake Placid where he was a member of the ski jump team. He later studied at the Juilliard School and enrolled at Princeton University, though he left after his first year. Before pursuing acting, Platt sang for two years with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. He served in the United States Army during World War II.

An operatically trained bass-baritone, Platt made his Broadway debut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Allegro. His stage career, which extended from 1942 to 1958, included productions such as The Silver Whistle, the musical Texas, Li'l Darlin', and The Shrike, in which he appeared alongside José Ferrer. Ferrer subsequently helped Platt secure his first film role in the 1955 screen adaptation of The Shrike. Platt returned to Broadway in 1958 in a romantic role in the musical Oh, Captain!, and his other stage credits included On the Twentieth Century.

Also in 1955, Platt appeared in Rebel Without a Cause, the film starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. In 1957 he took a supporting role in Designing Woman alongside Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall. Two years later he played Cary Grant's attorney in North by Northwest and starred in The Rebel Set. In 1969 he appeared as Sotto Voce in a KCET television reading of Norman Corwin's 1938 radio play The Plot to Overthrow Christmas.

Platt became most widely recognized for his portrayal of the Chief in the NBC/CBS espionage parody series Get Smart, which ran from 1965 to 1970. Following that series, he held a recurring role in the situation comedy The Governor & J.J. in 1970 and made guest appearances on numerous other television programs, including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Rifleman, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bat Masterson, and The Odd Couple, in which he played Oscar Madison's boss.

In 1973, Platt raised the financing to produce Santee, starring Glenn Ford, one of the first independent feature films shot entirely on videotape. His crew used electronic television cameras and portable video tape recorders, then transferred the footage to film for theatrical release. The film was not commercially successful. Platt was found dead in his Santa Monica apartment on March 19, 1974, at the age of 58. Initial reports attributed his death to a heart attack, though his son later stated that Platt died by suicide following a prolonged struggle with untreated depression.