Excerpts from: "Nutin' Funnier!"
interview by Ira Sandler. Filmfax, Feb/Mar 2002, Pages 74-79.
Nutin Funnier!
The Incomparable Comedy of Leonard Stern Interview by
Ira Sandler
(Webmaster's note: The following is only selected
excerpts from the above article.)
FAX: Another classic TV comedy you helped create was Get
Smart. How did you put together that cast
STERN: The first person signed for Get Smart was Barbara Feldon,
Dan Melnick 
and David Susskind, my partners at TA, saw Barbara in a commercial
and fell in love with her. Convinced she was right for 99, the sent me a
copy of her 60-second spot. Thirty seconds into the viewing, I knew Danny
and David were on the mark. In an unprecedented move, we put Barbara under
contract before we even had a buyer for the script. It took on the form a
major financial goof until, at the very last moment, NBC picked up the show for
Don Adams, who they had under contract. Don turned out to be the right
Max. Looking back, it's hard to believe the role was originally written
for Tom Poston. We did make alterations in the script to tailor it to fit
Don. Unfortunately, what we couldn't tailor was Barbara's height.
She was taller than Don was, and we knew once he found out, there'd be trouble
in Television City. To convince Don that Barbara's talent was greater than
her height, we ran for him an episode of Mr. Broadway in which Barbara
co-starred with Craig Stevens. The minute they came on screen, Don
screamed out, "My god, she's taller than Craig Stevens!" His
second reaction was a reluctant admission that Barbara was exceptionally
talented and absolutely right for the part of 99.
FAX: What made you cast Ed Platt as the Chief?
STERN: His memorable performance in the role of James Dean's
sympathetic juvenile officer in Rebel Without a Cause. He
had the right physical and parental look. He also had the voice of the
Chief --he spoke and you listened. My only concern was, would Ed be
comfortable in a comedy? Five minutes into our interview, I put the
question to him. He answered by bursting into a baritone-rich rendition
of "Old Man River" and doing a soft-shoe. It was a routine
he did in vaudeville. Nine minutes into the interview, he had the job.
(Webmaster's Note: The above
picture of Don Adams, Leonard Stern, and Buck Henry was among a myriad of
pictures in this article.)
*****
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