Stanley Adams

Stanley Adams, born Stanley Abramowitz on April 7, 1915, in New York City, was an American actor, screenwriter, composer, and book writer whose career spanned stage, film, and television. He died on April 27, 1977, at the age of 62.

Adams made his first film appearance playing a bartender in the 1951 movie adaptation of Death of a Salesman. Early screen roles included a barkeep in The Gene Krupa Story and a safecracker in Roger Corman's 1959 film High School Big Shot. He built a lengthy career as a character actor, frequently cast in comic or pompous roles, while simultaneously working as a freelance television scriptwriter from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s.

His theatrical film credits include the 1962 adaptation of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight, in which he played Perelli, a promoter who offers a washed-up boxer work as a professional wrestler. He had originated the same role in the 1956 Playhouse 90 television production. In Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), he portrayed Rutherford "Rusty" Trawler, described in the film as the ninth richest man in America under fifty, and in Lilies of the Field (1963) he played a Chicano café owner. He appeared as Bernie in the 1974 action film Act of Vengeance, and as Stanley in the 1966 television film Death of a Salesman.

On television, Adams accumulated an extensive list of guest appearances. He played Ralph, the brother of recurring character Otis Campbell, on The Andy Griffith Show, and portrayed political boss Frank Templeton in the final episode of McHale's Navy. His other television roles included King Kaliwani in the final episode of Gilligan's Island, Captain Courageous in two episodes of the 1960s Batman series, pool shark "Sure Shot" Wilson on The Odd Couple, and a trainer named Louie in a 1961 episode of The Lucy Show. He appeared in six episodes of Wagon Train, three episodes of Gunsmoke, and two episodes of Death Valley Days. On The Twilight Zone, he appeared opposite Buster Keaton in "Once Upon a Time" as a time-traveling scientist and as a bartender in "Mr. Garrity and the Graves." He played Ilya Klarpe on The Addams Family in 1964 and Tybo, an anthropomorphic carrot, in the Lost in Space episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" in 1968.

Adams is perhaps most widely recognized for his portrayal of Cyrano Jones, an outer space peddler and purveyor of tribbles, in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles." He reprised the character as a voice actor in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles" in 1973, and archival footage of his performance was incorporated into the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" in 1996. He also co-wrote the Star Trek episode "The Mark of Gideon."

As a television scriptwriter, Adams wrote for numerous series including It's Always Jan, Mister Ed, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Star Trek, The Flying Nun, Mannix, and The Name of the Game, among others. He generally did not appear as an actor in episodes he wrote.

Adams also worked in the theater. His Broadway credits include the musicals A Lady Says Yes and Shady Lady, as well as A Celebration of Richard Rodgers, for which he appeared in 1972. His work in theater extended to composing and book writing in addition to performing.

Adams died by suicide on April 27, 1977, having grown despondent from chronic pain resulting from a back injury. He was cremated at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. He was survived by an ex-wife, a son, and a daughter.