Barbara Feldon

Early life

Feldon was born Barbara Anne Hall in Butler, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Pittsburgh. She graduated from Bethel Park High School and trained at Pittsburgh Playhouse. In 1955 she graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) as 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.

Career

Following some work 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 the camera, addressing the male viewers as "tigers".

This led to small roles in television series. In the 1960s, she made appearances on Twelve O'Clock High, Lorne Greene's Griff, Flipper, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (in "The Never-Never Affair"). In 1964, she appeared with Simon Oakland in 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 TV drama East Side/West Side (S1 E19). It was produced by Talent Associates, who were also developing a TV comedy, with two prominent writers, Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. They created Get Smart, an Emmy Award-winning spy comedy series.

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 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 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 the sponsor of Get Smart was a deodorant soap and she had done a deodorant commercial for Revlon.

Feldon made guest appearances five times on The Dean Martin Show from 1968 to 1972, singing and dancing, as well as 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 Name of the Game and McMillan & Wife.

Her TV movies include Let's Switch! (1975) with Barbara Eden, and the cult-classic thriller A Vacation in Hell (1979) with Maureen McCormick and Priscilla Barnes.

Feldon's feature films included Fitzwilly (1967), Smile (1975) and No Deposit, No Return (1976). Her last film to date is 2006's 'Last Request', a comedy with Danny Aiello and Joe Piscopo.

Feldon reprised her role as "Agent 99" in the made-for-television film Get Smart, Again! (1989) and a short-lived television series also titled 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 episode (S1 E20) of Mad About You, as Diane "Spy Girl" Caldwell.

For one year, she was a co-host, with Bob Eubanks, of the annual January 1 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

Feldon has done much narration and voice-over work. Her distinctive voice has been heard in numerous TV and radio commercials as well as film and TV documentaries.

Personal life

Feldon has served as the actress's last name since her marriage to Lucien Verdoux-Feldon in 1958. The pair divorced in 1967. In 1968 she married Get Smart producer Burt Nodella. That union lasted 12 years. Upon ending her second marriage, she moved back to New York City where she resides. She wrote a book, Living Alone and Loving It, in 2003. Barbara Feldon will still occasionally act in off-Broadway plays, but she is "no longer interested in performing." Feldon is an accomplished writer, and is still actively creating content. In 2015, she had two editorial pieces featured in Metropolitan Magazine.