The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas is an animated Christmas television special originally broadcast in the United States on NBC , December 17, 1973. The special was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises , executive producer Norman Sedawie, and starred the voices of Tom Smothers , Arte Johnson and Barbara Feldon , with narration by Casey Kasem .
52-673: Barbara Feldon (born Barbara Anne Hall ; March 12, 1933) is an American actress primarily known for her roles on television. Her most prominent role was that of Agent 99 in the 1965–1970 sitcom Get Smart . Feldon was born Barbara Anne Hall in Butler, Pennsylvania , part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area . Feldon and her older sister Patricia were the daughters of Raymond D. and Julia Stewart Hall. She graduated from Bethel Park High School and trained at Pittsburgh Playhouse . In 1955, she graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology with
104-530: A Bachelor of Arts in drama. She was initiated into the Delta Xi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma . In 1957, she won the grand prize on The $ 64,000 Question in the category of William Shakespeare . Feldon studied acting at HB Studio . Following working as a model, Feldon's break came in the form of a popular and much-parodied television commercial for "Top Brass", a hair pomade for men by Revlon. Lounging languidly on an animal-print rug, she purred at
156-510: A book, Living Alone and Loving It, in 2003. Feldon has been the actress's last name since she married Lucien Verdoux-Feldon in 1958. They divorced in 1967 due to Lucien's growing drug addiction. In 1968, while living in Los Angeles, she began a 12-year relationship with Get Smart producer Burt Nodella . Upon ending her relationship, she moved back to New York City, and was still living there as of 2024. Get Smart Get Smart
208-501: A bowl of soup (cream of Technicolor ) that takes a picture (with a conspicuous flash) of the person eating the soup with each spoonful; a mini magnet on a belt, which turns out to be stronger than KAOS's maxi magnet; and a powerful miniature laser weapon in the button of a sports jacket (the "laser blazer"). Another of the show's recurring gags is the " Cone of Silence ". Smart would often insist on strictly following CONTROL's security protocols; when discussing highly confidential things in
260-430: A necktie, comb, watch, and a clock. A recurring gag is Max's shoe phone (an idea from Brooks). To use or answer it, he has to take off his shoe. Several variations on the shoe phone were used. In "I Shot 86 Today" (season four), his shoe phone is disguised as a golf shoe, complete with cleats, developed by the attractive armorer Dr. Simon. Smart's shoes sometimes contain other devices housed in the heels: an explosive pellet,
312-500: A reference to the slang term , meaning to forcibly eject someone, such as a patron from a bar or casino. In 1999, TV Guide ranked Maxwell Smart number 19 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list. The character appears in every episode (though only briefly in "Ice Station Siegfried", as Don Adams was performing in Las Vegas for two weeks to settle gambling debts). Agent 99 ( Barbara Feldon ) works alongside 86 and
364-419: A secret elevator: a soda machine which "disappears". (A cleaning lady sits down in the open space when all of a sudden the machine pops up and knocks the woman into the ceiling.) A late episode of the 1995 series shows that just as Siegfried is leaving a room, Maxwell Smart accidentally activates an atomic bomb just before the end of the show. (The teaser for the episode shows an atomic bomb going off.) This ending
416-525: A short-lived revival of Get Smart in 1995. She wrote and provided audio commentaries and introductions for the DVD release of the original Get Smart series in 2006, but did not take part in the 2008 film adaptation that starred Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart. Feldon guest-starred as a former TV spy star on a 1993 season one episode of Mad About You as Diane "Spy Girl" Caldwell. She played Lauren Hudson, Sam Malone's annual Valentine's Day love interest, in
468-413: A smoke bomb, compressed air capsules that propelled the wearer off the ground, and a suicide pill (which Max believes is for the enemy). Agent 99 had her concealed telephones, as well. She had one in her makeup compact, and also one in her fingernail. To use this last device, she would pretend to bite her nail nervously, while actually talking on her "nail phone". On February 17, 2002, the prop shoe phone
520-547: A tan interior and four seats (as required by the plot) in the episodes "A Tale of Two Tails" and "The Laser Blazer". In the short-lived 1995 TV series , Smart is trying to sell the Karmann Ghia through the classified ads. In Get Smart, Again! , Smart is seen driving a red 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce . The Sunbeam Tiger, the Karmann Ghia, and the Opel GT all make brief appearances in the 2008 film. The Sunbeam Tiger
572-634: A total of 138 episodes. The Museum of Broadcast Communications found the show notable for "broadening the parameters for the presentation of comedy on television". The series centers on bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart (Adams)- Agent 86, and his unnamed female partner, Agent 99 (Feldon). They work for CONTROL, a secret U.S. government counterintelligence agency based in Washington, DC , fighting against KAOS, "the international organization of evil". While Smart always succeeds in thwarting KAOS, his incompetent nature and insistence on doing things "by
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#1732801804105624-504: Is 2006's Last Request , a comedy with T. R. Knight , Danny Aiello , and Joe Piscopo . In 1978 she was Bob Eubanks ' first co-host of the annual January 1 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. In 1982, Feldon appeared at Denver's Elitch Theatre in What I Did Last Summer . Feldon reprised her role as "Agent 99" in the made-for-television film Get Smart, Again! (1989) and in
676-735: Is Siegfried's equally ruthless but often inept chief henchman, prone to silly behaviors which annoy his boss as unbecoming of KAOS. Hymie the Robot ( Dick Gautier ) is a humanoid robot built by KAOS, but in his first mission, Smart manages to turn him to the side of CONTROL. Hymie had a tendency to take instructions too literally. Agent 13 ( David Ketchum ) is an agent who is usually stationed inside unlikely, sometimes impossibly small or unlucky places, such as cigarette machines , washing machines, lockers, trash cans, or fire hydrants. He tends to resent his assignments. Agent 44 ( Victor French ) Six episodes (1965–66). French's first role
728-437: Is a beautiful, sexy, and brilliant CONTROL scientist who develops formulas while undercover as a dancer and strip-tease artist. She remains oblivious to Smart's clearly discomfited attraction to her. The character appeared in three episodes in season 3, replaced the next season by Dr. Simon who has the same cover (played by different actresses in two episodes). In Get Smart , telephones are concealed in over 50 objects, including
780-544: Is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the James Bond films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry , and had its television premiere on NBC on September 18, 1965. It starred Don Adams (who was also a director on the series) as agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86), Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, and Edward Platt as The Chief. Henry said that they created
832-466: Is another one of the top agents at CONTROL. Her actual name is never revealed. In the episode "A Man Called Smart Part 3" (S2 E30), Max calls her Ernestine and she says, "Too bad that's not my name." In another episode, "99 Loses CONTROL" (S3 E19), she uses the name Susan Hilton, but later in the same episode tells Max that it is not her real name. When 99 marries Max in Season 4, Admiral Hargrade snores when
884-544: Is curious about Christmas and decides to go searching for it while the other bears hibernate for the winter. In the early 1980s, a plush Ted E. Bear was sold in stores. A Halloween sequel, The Great Bear Scare , premiered in October 1983 and was later broadcast on the Disney Channel until the late 1990s. Rights to The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas are now owned by Lionsgate and is currently available through
936-575: Is never actually named in most of them. The series was broadcast on NBC -TV from September 18, 1965, to September 13, 1969, after which it moved to the CBS network for its final season, running from September 26, 1969, to September 11, 1970, with 138 total episodes produced. During its five-season run, Get Smart broke the Nielsen Top 30 twice. It ranked at number 12 during its first season, and at number 22 during its second season, before falling out of
988-819: Is seen in the CONTROL Museum, along with the original shoe phone, which Smart also briefly uses. The Opel GT is driven by Bernie Kopell and is rear-ended by a truck. Smart steals the Karmann Ghia to continue his escape. Get Smart used several familiar character actors and celebrities, and some future stars, in guest roles , including: Both Bill Dana and Jonathan Harris , with whom Adams appeared on The Bill Dana Show , also appeared, as did Adams' father, William Yarmy, brother, Dick Yarmy, and daughter, Caroline Adams. The series featured several cameo appearances by famous actors and comedians, sometimes uncredited and often comedian friends of Adams. Johnny Carson appeared, credited as "special guest conductor", in "Aboard
1040-529: Is similar to a device used by the Get Smart -inspired series Sledge Hammer! at the end of its first season. Hopes for the series were not high, as Andy Dick had already moved on to NewsRadio , which premiered weeks later in 1995. With the revival series on Fox, Get Smart became the first television franchise to air new episodes (or made-for-TV films) on each of the aforementioned current four major American television networks, although several TV shows in
1092-408: Is the head of CONTROL. His first name is revealed to be Thaddeus but his surname is never revealed. On some occasions he uses the "code name" "Harold Clark" for outsiders, but this is understood among CONTROL agents not to be his real name. He is supportive of Agents 86 and 99 and considers them to be his two closest friends, but he is often frustrated with Smart. When he was a field agent, his code name
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#17328018041051144-592: The 1940s and 1950s aired on NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont . The different versions of Get Smart did not all feature the original lead cast. Get Smart was parodied on a sketch in the Mexican comedy show De Nuez en Cuando called "Super Agente 3.1486" , making fun of the Spanish title of the series ( Super Agente 86 ) and the way the series is dubbed. The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas The story focuses on Theodore Edward Bear (Ted E. Bear for short) who
1196-488: The 1991 Cheers episode "Sam Time Next Year". Feldon's distinctive voice has been heard in numerous TV and radio commercials and film and TV documentaries. She has occasionally acted in off-Broadway plays but said she is "no longer interested in performing". Feldon is an accomplished writer and is still actively writing. In 2015, she had two editorial pieces featured in Metropolitan Magazine . She wrote
1248-512: The Chief of Control as their bumbling son, Zach ( Andy Dick ), becomes Control's star agent (Zach's twin sister is never seen nor mentioned – though the new leader of KAOS, a hidden female figure, would have been revealed as the other twin if the show had continued). And 99 is now a congresswoman. The beginning teaser shows Maxwell Smart and Zach driving to Control headquarters in a car wash separately; Smart, Zach and their secretary cram themselves into
1300-657: The Game , McMillan & Wife and Lorne Greene 's Griff . Her TV movies include Getting Away from It All (1972) with Larry Hagman , Let's Switch! (1975) with Barbara Eden , and the cult-classic thriller A Vacation in Hell (1979) with Maureen McCormick and Priscilla Barnes . She voiced the character Patti Bear in the 1973 animated television special The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas . Feldon's feature films included Fitzwilly (1967), Smile (1975), and No Deposit, No Return (1976). Her last film to date
1352-542: The Orient Express". Carson returned for an uncredited cameo as a royal footman in the third-season episode "The King Lives?" Other performers to make cameo appearances included Steve Allen , Milton Berle , Ernest Borgnine , Wally Cox , Robert Culp (as a waiter in an episode sending up Culp's I Spy ), Phyllis Diller , Buddy Hackett , Bob Hope , and Martin Landau . Actress Rose Michtom (the real-life aunt of
1404-609: The Tiger was based, was used by customizer Gene Winfield because the Alpine's four-cylinder engine afforded more room under the hood than the V8 in the Tiger. AMT , Winfield's employer, made a model kit of the Tiger, complete with hidden weapons. It is the only kit of the Tiger, and has been reissued multiple times as a stock Tiger. Adams received the Sunbeam and drove it for 10 years after
1456-461: The book" invariably cause complications. The enemies, world-takeover plots, and gadgets seen in Get Smart were a parody of the James Bond film franchise. "Do what they did except just stretch it half an inch", Mel Brooks said of the methods of this TV series. Talent Associates commissioned Mel Brooks and Buck Henry to write a script about a bungling James Bond-like hero. Brooks described
1508-524: The camera, addressing the male viewers who use it as "tigers". This led to small roles in television series. In the 1960s, she made appearances on Twelve O'Clock High (season one episode "End of the Line"), Flipper (season one two-parter episode "The Lady and the Dolphin") and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (in "The Never-Never Affair", which aired spring 1965). In 1964, she appeared with Simon Oakland in
1560-487: The chief's office, he would insist on speaking under the Cone of Silence—two transparent plastic hemispheres which are electrically lowered on top of Max and Chief and are supposed to prevent their conversation from being heard outside. It invariably malfunctions in various ways, making it difficult for the two to communicate. People outside the cone could often hear them better than they could hear themselves. The Cone of Silence
1612-404: The end of the show. It was wrecked and repaired several times, and its current whereabouts are unknown. In the black-and-white pilot episode only, Smart drives a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT PF Spider Cabriolet. In the opening credits, the Tiger was used for seasons one and two. In seasons three and four, Smart drives a light blue Volkswagen Karmann Ghia , because Volkswagen had become a sponsor of
Barbara Feldon - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-507: The episode "Too Many Chiefs" (season one), Max tells Tanya, the KAOS informer whom he is protecting, that if anyone breaks in, to pick up the house phone, dial 1-1-7, and press the trigger on the handset, which converts it to a gun. The phone-gun is only used that once, but Max once carried a gun-phone, a revolver with a rotary dial built into the cylinder. In the episode "Satan Place", Max simultaneously holds conversations on seven different phones:
1716-517: The episode "Try to Find a Spy" of CBS 's short-lived drama Mr. Broadway . One substantial guest-starring role was opposite George C. Scott in the television drama East Side/West Side (season one). It was produced by Talent Associates , which was also developing a TV comedy called Get Smart with two prominent writers, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry . Feldon was cast in this new show as "Agent 99". She starred opposite comedian Don Adams , who portrayed Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86. She played
1768-527: The first. Brooks and Henry proposed the show to ABC, where network executives called it "un-American" and demanded a "lovable dog to give the show more heart", as well as scenes showing Maxwell Smart's mother. Brooks strongly objected to the second suggestion: They wanted to put a print housecoat on the show. Max was to come home to his mother and explain everything. I hate mothers on shows. Max has no mother. He never had one. The cast and crew contributed joke and gadget ideas, especially Don Adams, but dialogue
1820-491: The minister says her name, making it inaudible. Several instances refer to her high level of professionalism; in one episode the Chief says an assignment requires extreme bravery and competence but since 99 isn't available, Max could do it. According to Feldon, 99 is deeply in love with Max and either overlooks or understands his quirks, while he is clueless about her affection yet often demonstrates his care through his concern for her well being. The Chief ( Edward Platt )
1872-433: The premise for the show that they created in an October 1965 Time magazine article: I was sick of looking at all those nice, sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life. If a maid ever took over my house like Hazel , I'd set her hair on fire. I wanted to do a crazy, unreal, comic-strip kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be
1924-436: The role for the duration of the show's production from 1965 until 1970 and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1968 and 1969. The character was unusual for the era, showing a capable woman succeeding in a stressful career. Feldon noted, "A lot of women said 99 was a role model for them because she was smart and always got the right answer." Feldon almost lost her role as 99 because
1976-477: The series after the first season, but Henry served as story editor through 1967. The crew of the show included: Maxwell "Max" Smart , Agent 86 , ( Don Adams ) is the central character of the series. Despite being a top-secret government agent, he is absurdly clumsy. Yet Smart is also resourceful, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, a proficient marksman, and incredibly lucky; all of this makes him one of CONTROL's top agents. Brooks decided on Smart's code number, 86, as
2028-401: The shoe, his tie, his belt, his wallet, a garter, a handkerchief, and a pair of eyeglasses. Other unusual locations include a garden hose, a car cigarette lighter (with the lighter being hidden in the car phone), a bottle of perfume (Max complains of smelling like a woman), the steering wheel of his car, a painting of Agent 99, the headboard of his bed, a cheese sandwich, lab test tubes (Max grabs
2080-441: The show at the request of Daniel Melnick to capitalize on James Bond and Inspector Clouseau , "the two biggest things in the entertainment world today". Brooks described it as "an insane combination of James Bond and Mel Brooks comedy". The show generated a number of popular catchphrases during its run, including "sorry about that, Chief", "...and loving it", "missed it by that much ", and "would you believe...". The show
2132-454: The show's executive producer Leonard Stern) appeared in at least 44 episodes—usually as a background extra with no speaking role. In the season-one episode "Too Many Chiefs", when she is shown in a photograph, Max refers to her as "my Aunt Rose", but the Chief corrects Max by saying that she is actually KAOS agent Alexi Sebastian disguised as Max's Aunt Rose. Fans refer to her as "Aunt Rose" in all of her dozens of appearances, though her character
Barbara Feldon - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-402: The show. The Volkswagen was never used in the body of the show. In season five (1969–1970), Buick became a show sponsor, so the Tiger was replaced with a gold 1969 Opel GT , which also appears in the body of the show. In season four (1968–1969), Adams uses a yellow Citroën 2CV in the wedding episode "With Love and Twitches", and a blue 1968 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible with
2236-649: The sponsor of Get Smart was a deodorant soap, and she had done a deodorant commercial for Revlon. Feldon was also noticeably taller than Adams, her male co-star, another rarity for the time. Feldon made guest appearances five times on The Dean Martin Show from 1968 to 1972, singing and dancing and performing in comedy skits. She also appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In . After her starring TV role, she guest-starred in several 1970s television series, including The Carol Burnett Show (season 3, episode 17 (1970)), Thriller (season 1, episode 1 (1973)), The Name of
2288-529: The top 30 for its last three seasons. The series won seven Emmy Awards , and it was nominated for another 14 Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards . In 1995, the series was briefly resurrected starring Adams and Feldon with Andy Dick as Max's and 99's son Zack Smart and Elaine Hendrix as 66. Four feature-length films have been produced following the end of the NBC/CBS run of the TV series: In October 2008, it
2340-460: The wrong one and splashes himself), a Bunsen burner (Max puts out the flame anytime he pronounces a "p"), a plant in a planter beside the real working phone (operated by the dial of the working phone), and inside another full-sized working phone. Other gadgets include a bullet-proof invisible wall in Max's apartment that lowers from the ceiling, into which Max and others often walk; a camera hidden in
2392-459: Was "Q." Agent Larabee ( Robert Karvelas , Don Adams' cousin) is the Chief's assistant, even more slow-witted and incompetent than Max. Ludwig Von Siegfried ( Bernie Kopell ) is a recurring villain, and the vice president in charge of public relations and terror at KAOS, though his title does vary. Despite his gruff and proper demeanor, he is as incompetent as Max. Starker (Often pronounced by Siegfried as Shtarker ) ( King Moody )
2444-497: Was followed by the films The Nude Bomb (a 1980 theatrical film made without the involvement of Brooks and Henry) and Get Smart, Again! (a 1989 made-for-TV sequel to the series), as well as a 1995 revival series and a 2008 film remake . In 2010, TV Guide ranked Get Smart ' s opening title sequence at number two on its list of TV's top 10 credits sequences as selected by readers. The show switched networks in 1969 to CBS . It ended its five-season run on May 15, 1970, with
2496-662: Was included in a display titled "Spies: Secrets from the CIA, KGB, and Hollywood", a collection of real and fictional spy gear that exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California . Flinders University in South Australia has researched medical applications for shoe phone technology after being inspired by the show. Gag phones also appear in other guises. In
2548-414: Was rarely ad-libbed. An exception is the third-season episode "The Little Black Book". Don Rickles encouraged Adams to misbehave, and he ad-libbed. The result was so successful that the single episode was turned into two parts. The first four seasons on NBC were filmed at Sunset Bronson Studios , while the final season, shown on CBS, was filmed at CBS Studio Center . Brooks had little involvement with
2600-477: Was reported that Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Mosaic Media Group were producing a sequel . Carell and Hathaway were set to return, but the status of other cast members had not been announced. As of 2019, Get Smart 2 is no longer in development Get Smart, Again! eventually prompted the development of a short-lived 1995 weekly series on Fox also titled Get Smart , with Adams and Feldon reprising their characters with Maxwell Smart now being
2652-500: Was the idea of Buck Henry, though it was preceded in an episode of the syndicated television show Science Fiction Theatre titled "Barrier of Silence", written by Lou Huston, that first aired on September 3, 1955, 10 years ahead of Get Smart . The car that Smart is seen driving most frequently is a red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger two-seat roadster. This car had various custom features, such as a machine gun, smoke screen, radar tracking, and an ejection seat . The Sunbeam Alpine , upon which
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#17328018041052704-454: Was the insurance man in "Too Many Chiefs", and subsequent episodes as Agent 44. He is the predecessor to Agent 13 in season 1. Agent 13 takes over the function of Agent 44 for seasons 2 to 4, but Agent 44, now played by Al Molinaro , returns in season 5. Carlson ( Stacy Keach Sr. ) is a CONTROL scientist and inventor of such gadgets as an umbrella rifle (with a high-speed camera in the handle) and edible buttons. Dr. Steele ( Ellen Weston )
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