From Shorthair to Spy

At the end, the producers of Get Smart tried to squeeze every last ounce of satiric comedy out of the show, but there was nothing left, and hadn’t been any for some time.

The series ran out of fresh ideas and had to restore to ratings-grabbing clichés as marriage and child birth. But at the start it was clever, intelligent, ridiculous and very funny. A great deal of credit for the show went to the clever, intelligent, ridiculous and very funny Mel Brooks and Buck Henry.

Brooks moved from television and comedy records to memorable feature films. We won’t get into those but will instead check out several interviews with Brooks at the time Get Smart was getting started.

How did Brooks get his start on TV? It wasn’t exactly auspicious. This unbylined story, perhaps from the NBC publicity department, appeared in papers starting March 26, 1965.

Party Laughs Led to Footlights
HOLLYWOOD—For a fellow who was supposed to be a cat in his television debut, but couldn't even meow on cue, Mel Brooks is coming along.
He has become known to a lot of people who buy records and watch television as “the 2000 year old man,” that stocky guy in the black cape and black hat who’s usually being interviewed by Carl Reiner.
The two have made three hit comedy records, several TV guest appearances and now cap these with a visit to the season's fifth and final “Danny Thomas Special” on NBC-TV Friday, April 23 (8:30-9:30 EST).
No one is more surprised at this lengthening list of performing credits than Brooks a writer by trade.
'I'D NEVER PERFORMED in television," said Mel, “and the first thing they gave me to do I nearly goofed.”
That was back in the '50s when “Your Show of Shows” topped the TV comedy field. Sid Caesar was the star, Carl Reiner was second banana and Mel Brooks was one of the writers.
"There was this sketch we called ‘Dial M for Money,’” Mel began. “It was supposed to be spooky-funny and at one point I was supposed to make a sound off-camera like a cat. But when it came time, I froze. Sid had to retrace his steps, go back to my place in the script and give me a second shot at it before I could come through.”
It was at one of the cast parties that followed these shows that "The 2000 year old man” was born.
"WE'D ALWAYS GO to somebody's apartment and have some laughs,” said Mel. "One time Carl brought along a tape recorder. In those days a big show on radio was “We the People”—you know, interviews with unusual characters.
“Well, one night Carl decided he was going to do ‘We the People.’ He pushed the mike in front of me and announced—off the top of his head, I'm sure”—'Here's a man who's lived 2000 years. Let's see what he has to say.’ He started asking me all kinds of questions and I started ad libbing answers. Our friends loved it. We became a big hit on the party circuit".
Next thing the pair knew, they were making a record of the act for Steve Allen's recording company. They proved a smash on platters, "but in personal appearances we didn't do so well,” said Brooks. "Then I got the idea of using the cape and hat and from then on everything's been fine."
Although the cat bit was Brooks' first performance on TV, it wasn't his first performance in front of an audience. For several years he worked outside his native New York in the Catskill Mountain summer resorts known as the “borscht belt" as a social director.
“I did everything from heavy drama to revue comedy to tending the rowboats. But mostly what was expected of me was singing, dancing and not eating with the guests.”
Now, considering how far Mel has come along, maybe they'd let him.

Brooks and Buck Henry took a concept about an inept spy from David Susskind and Dan Melnick and developed it into Get Smart. It might seem odd a writer/creator was picked instead of the star to talk about a series, but Brooks was pretty hot then thanks to the 2,000 Year Old Man. This Newspaper Enterprise Association column appeared starting Sept. 3rd.

Finally, An Inept Spy
By ERSKINE JOHNSON
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (NEA)—Maxwell Smart is a bungling espionage agent—Secret Agent 86—who works for CONTROL in "its ceaseless conflict with the nefarious agents of KAOS."
Smart is aided by a feminine assistant secret—Agent 99—and Fang, a dog. The dog is as cowardly as Smart is incredibly inept.
Like James Bond, Smart lives in a world of unreality created by CONTROL. A tiny telephone, hidden in the heel of his shoe, rings at the strangest times. While, for instance, he is attending a symphony concert.
The heavies of KAOS are as incredible as Smart is inept. Sinister Mr. Big of KAOS is a midget.
SILENT ROAR
Another villain confronted by Smart's zealous inefficiency is a ballet star.
Among Secret Agent Smart's big collection of deadly weapons is a gun silencer (which produces the roar of a cannon) and an invisible shield which he seldom can locate because it is invisible even to him.
Comedian Don Adams plays the role of Maxwell Smart in NBC's new weekly series, "Get Smart," debuting Sept. 18. Last year Don played Glick, the world's worst house detective, on "The Bill Dana Show."
The creator of Get Smart Is Mel Brooks (with Buck Henry), one-time comedy writer (five years) for Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. He's also the writer, with Carl Reiner, of the 2000 Year Old Man, which he plays, in the hit comedy album.
"Get Smart" is described by NBC as "a spoof of cloak and dagger heroics." It is closer, however, to being an outrageous triple spoof. Since the first James Bond movie. Agent 007's heroics have been cloaked in satire. A satire on this satire has been the key to the success of television's "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." starring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo.
Now "Get Smart" will spoof both Bond as 007 and Vaughn as Solo.
Is it possible to successfully spoof a spoof of a spoof?
Creator Mel Brooks thinks it is. He says:
"We are simply translating the James Bond syndrome into our terms in adventure comedy. We hope to become America's dessert for laughs. We're not going to edify or illuminate. Our character of Smart is so overearnest I think maybe he will be compared to Harold Lloyd in his early comedies.
"We're not just tongue-in-cheek. We jam our tongue in cheek. We spent four months writing the original script. We gave it the same care Tolstoi gave 'Anna Kerenina.’ “Get Smart” isn't as massive a work as 'Anna Kerenina,’ but," grins Mel, "it's funnier."
Of all the new fall shows, "Get Smart" is the most-talked about in Hollywood TV circles these days. A cinch hit is the verdict.
Mel Brooks isn't worried about this, either. "Living up to a preseason prediction can be dangerous," he admits, "but I'm not worried. I'm fat. I've got bread for a year, at least."

Somewhat remarkably, Brooks came back to television earlier this year 96 when a sequel to his 1981 “History of the World, Part I” aired on Hulu. Brooks is 97 years old. Why work so late in life, especially considering all the honours showered on him. He told Variety he’s happy “every once in a while, hearing people laugh.”

Perhaps that’ll be on his tombstone. He has only 1,903 years to go.