Editing Barbara Feldon

{{short description|American actress (born 1933)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name     = Barbara Feldon
| image    = Barbara Feldon Get Smart 1966.jpg
| caption   = Feldon as Agent 99 in the sitcom ''[[Get Smart]]'' in 1965
| birth_name  = Barbara Anne Hall
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1933|3|12}}
| birth_place = [[Butler, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation  = Actress
| years_active = 1957–2006
| known_for   = ''[[Get Smart]]''
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| spouse    = {{marriage|Lucien Verdoux-Feldon|1958|1967|end=div}}
| partner   = [[Burt Nodella]] <br /> (1968–1979)
| education = [[Carnegie Mellon University]] ([[Bachelor of Fine Arts|BFA]])
}}

'''Barbara Feldon''' (born '''Barbara Anne Hall'''; March 12, 1933)<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- Not stated --> |date=2019-03-12 |title=Birthdays |work=[[The Modesto Bee]] |page=2A |agency=[[The Associated Press]] |quote=Actress Barbara Feldon is 86.}}</ref> 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]]''.

==Early life==
Feldon was born Barbara Anne Hall in [[Butler, Pennsylvania]], part of the [[Greater Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh metropolitan area]].<ref>{{cite interview | url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/barbara-feldon?clip=85314#interview-clips | title=Barbara Feldon | interviewer=Jim Colucci | date=October 22, 2007 | publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|Television Academy]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thewallbreakers.com/whatever-happened-to-barbara-feldon/|title=The Wall Breaker Interviews|website=Thewallbreakers.com|date=March 26, 2013|access-date=July 22, 2017|archive-date=August 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810095832/http://thewallbreakers.com/whatever-happened-to-barbara-feldon/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Feldon and her older sister Patricia were the daughters of Raymond Dorsey<ref>["Pennsylvania, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29Z-DYNL : Fri Feb 23 18:33:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Raymond Dorsey Hall and R D Hall, 16 Feb 1942.]</ref> and Julia Stewart Hall.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ilovegetsmart.com/articles/tvrm-1266.html | title=Aunt Barbara is a Softie | first=Paul | last=Denis | work=TV Radio Mirror | date=December 1966}}</ref> She graduated from [[Bethel Park High School]] and trained at [[Pittsburgh Playhouse]].<ref>Conner, Lynne (2007). ''Pittsburgh In Stages: Two Hundred Years of Theater''. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 152; {{ISBN|978-0-8229-4330-3}}. Retrieved June 6, 2011.</ref> In 1955, she graduated from [[Carnegie Mellon University|Carnegie Institute of Technology]] with 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/64000-question-aka-64000-challenge#|title=$64,000 Question aka $64,000 Challenge|website=Emmytvlegends.org|date=October 22, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2013/07/05/barbara-feldon-and-the-64000-question/|title=Barbara Feldon and 'The $64,000 Question'|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url-access=subscription|date=July 5, 2013}}</ref>

==Career==
Feldon studied acting at [[HB Studio]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/|title=HB Studio – Notable Alumni {{pipe}} One of the Original Acting Studios in NYC|website=Hbstudio.org}}</ref> 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 the camera, addressing the male viewers who use it as "tigers."<ref>{{YouTube|qDxMaQuVlF0|Top Brass commercial}}</ref>

This led to small roles in television series. In the 1960s, she made appearances on ''[[Twelve O'Clock High (TV series)|Twelve O'Clock High]]'' (season one episode "End of the Line"), ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|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).<ref name=TVGuide>{{Cite web|title=Barbara Feldon|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/barbara-feldon/credits/141127/|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> In 1964, she appeared with [[Simon Oakland]] in the episode "Try to Find a Spy" of [[CBS]]'s short-lived drama ''[[Mr. Broadway (TV series)|Mr. Broadway]].''<ref name=TVGuide />

One substantial guest-starring role was opposite [[George C. Scott]] in the television drama ''[[East Side/West Side (TV series)|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]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Battaglio | first=Stephen | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1TT4POdbGUC&dq=brooks+henry+get+smart&pg=PA176 | title=David Susskind: A Televised Life | page=176 | publisher=St. Martin's Press | location=New York | isbn=978-0-312-38286-5 | year=2010}}</ref>

Feldon was cast in this new show as "Agent 99". She starred opposite comedian [[Don Adams]], who portrayed Maxwell Smart, "Secret Agent 86".<ref name=TVGuide /> She played the role for the duration of the show's production from 1965 until 1970 and was nominated for an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series|Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series]] in 1968 and 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|title=20th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series – 1968|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1968/outstanding-lead-actress-in-a-comedy-series|website=Emmys.com|publisher=[[Emmy Award]]s|access-date=January 31, 2019}}</ref>

The character was unusual for the era, showing a capable woman succeeding in a stressful career.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3490201355&v=2.1&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=fcc7c9d0e4cd7188d6a5da2d8490b4f6 | title=Television and the Feminine Mystique | work=American Decades Primary Sources | editor=Cynthia Rose}} Vol. 7: 1960–1969. Detroit: Gale, pp.&nbsp;396–399.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VJCaXXANA0C&q=barbara+feldon+%27role+model%27&pg=PA127 | title=Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962–1973 | first1=Tom | last1=Lisanti | first2=Louis | last2=Paul | date= 2002| isbn=9780786411948 |page =127| publisher=McFarland }}</ref> Feldon was also noticeably taller than Adams, her male co-star, another rarity for the time.<ref name=Forbed/>
[[File:Don Adams Barbara Feldon Get Smart 1967.jpg|thumb|Feldon and [[Don Adams]] in ''[[Get Smart]]'', 1967]]
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 (British TV series)|Thriller]]'' (season 1, episode 1 (1973)), ''[[The Name of the Game (TV series)|The Name of the Game]]'', ''[[McMillan & Wife]]'' and [[Lorne Greene]]'s ''[[Griff (TV series)|Griff]]''.<ref name=TVGuide />

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]].<ref name=TVGuide /> 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 film)|Smile]]'' (1975), and ''[[No Deposit, No Return]]'' (1976).<ref name=TVGuide /> Her last film to date is 2006's ''[[Last Request (film)|Last Request]]'', a comedy with [[T. R. Knight]], [[Danny Aiello]], and [[Joe Piscopo]].

In 1978 she was [[Bob Eubanks]]'s first co-host of the annual January 1 [[Rose Parade|Tournament of Roses Parade]] in Pasadena. In 1982, Feldon appeared at Denver's [[Elitch Theatre]] in ''[[What I Did Last Summer]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=R |first=Greg |title=Barbara Feldon (1982) |url=https://historicelitchtheatre.org/barbara-feldon/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Historic Elitch Theatre |date=March 25, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Feldon reprised her role as "Agent 99" in the made-for-television film ''[[Get Smart, Again!]]'' (1989) and in a short-lived revival of ''[[Get Smart (1995 TV series)|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 [[Get Smart (film)|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 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 a book, ''Living Alone and Loving It,'' in 2003.<ref>[http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/11/15/liv_104540.shtml#.VcrbTRNVhBc ''The Augusta Chronicle''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928055949/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/11/15/liv_104540.shtml#.VcrbTRNVhBc |date=September 28, 2017 }}, November 5, 2006</ref>

==Personal life==
''Feldon'' has been the actress's last name since she married Lucien Verdoux-Feldon in 1958. They divorced in 1967<ref name=Forbed>{{cite news |last1=Clash |first1=Jim |title=Barbara Feldon (Agent 99): Why I Did 'Get Smart' In Bare Feet |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2016/03/25/barbara-feldon-agent-99-why-i-did-get-smart-in-bare-feet/?sh=1a522a344076 |access-date=August 14, 2021 |work=[[Forbes]] |date=March 25, 2016}}</ref> due to Lucien's growing drug addiction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clash |first=Jim |title=Barbara Feldon, At 90 Still Getting Smarter |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2023/09/10/barbara-feldon-at-90-still-getting-smarter/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> In 1968, while living in Los Angeles, she began a 12-year relationship with ''Get Smart'' producer [[Burt Nodella]].<ref name=Forbed/><ref>{{cite news| title=Burt Nodella, Emmy-Winning Producer on 'Get Smart,' Dies at 91| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/burt-nodella-dead-get-smart-872976| first=Mike| last=Barnes| date=March 5, 2016| newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]| access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref> Upon ending her relationship, she moved back to New York City, and was still living there as of 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gross |first1=Ed |title=Here's What Happened to Actress Barbara Feldon Before, During and After Playing Agent 99 on 'Get Smart' |url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/heres-what-happened-to-get-smart-star-barbara-feldon/ |access-date=August 14, 2021 |work=[[Closer (magazine)|Closer]] |date=July 2, 2020}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Awards
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Production
! Result
|-
| 1968
| [[Emmy Awards]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series]]
| ''[[Get Smart]]''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1969
| [[Emmy Awards]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series]]
| ''[[Get Smart]]''
| {{nom}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title= Living Alone and Loving It|url= https://archive.org/details/livingalonelovin00feld|url-access= registration|last= Feldon|first= Barbara|year= 2003|publisher= [[Simon & Schuster]]|location= [[New York City|New York]]|isbn= 978-0-7432-3517-4|oclc= 50091772}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0271156}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{iobdb name|7669}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes-person|barbara_feldon}}
* {{EmmyTVLegends name|barbara-feldon|Barbara Feldon}}
* {{tcmdb name}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldon, Barbara}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:Female models from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:RCA Victor artists]]
[[Category:Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni]]
[[Category:People from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Contestants on American game shows]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century American actresses]]
[[Category:People from Butler, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:ArtistShare artists]]