BARBARA FELDON

'Barbara Feldon' (born 'Barbara Hall' on March 12, 1932 in the city of Butler, Pennsylvania) is an American actress, game show panelist of the 1960s and model, known for her character-type roles.
The naturally brunette-head Feldon who gained prominence in the 1960s as a sexy young actress is best known for playing Don Adams's working partner and future wife, 'Agent 99', on the long-running cult 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 woman, on ''Mad About You''.
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 UNCLE who wished for more exictement and got it.
She was most famous for her character ''Agent 99'' in the television comedy series ''Get Smart'', starring with lead Don Adams. When she was cast for the role, she was previously famous, although anonymously, appearing on a tigerskin rug in an advertisement for Top Brass dandruff cream. 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, Feldon 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 voice performer.
In 1991 she played a love interest of Sam Malone in ''Cheers''. Long-divorced 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 was tapped for voice-over introductions in the long-awaited ''Get Smart'' DVD set, partly because of her voice-over skills, but also because she was the only principal cast member still alive (Don Adams having died in 2005, and Edward Platt having died in 1974).

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External links

Bibliography

★ ''Living Alone and Loving It'' (2003) ISBN 0-7432-3517-7

External links

★

★ Barbara Feldon on ABC Radio in Sydney Australia

★ '' Book Review''