Would you believe dead as a doornail?

Don Adams, who played the inept secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1960s sitcom "Get Smart," died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of a lung infection. Adams jumped at the role after finding out Mel Brooks and Buck Henry had written the pilot. "Get Smart" ran for two years on NBC and two years on CBS before being cancelled as audiences grew tired of the rehashing of well-worn gags that plagued the sitcom. Fox actually revived the sitcom in 1995. It lasted seven episodes.

Adams was also known for his voice work, specifically as Tennessee Tuxedo from the "Underdog" show, and Inspector Gadget, the 1980s inept secret agent (ahem) cartoon character that spawned a feature film starring Matthew Broderick and a straight-to-DVD sequel featuring French Stewart in the title role. Adams also played Comet the Coach in the 1964 TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Adams was 82.