This is the list of characters from the television series Get Smart (1965-1971).
Maxwell Smart/Agent 86
"I'm in a thousand other images on this Wiki!" "I find that hard to believe." "Would you believe 999 images?" “Not really.” “How about a photocopy on cardboard?”
"Smart. Maxwell Smart. Agent 86 of CONTROL."
A CONTROL field agent under the very mistaken impression that he's James Bond, Max is, to put it gently, a bumbling idiot who leaves a trail of disastrous accidents in his wake everywhere he goes... yet always manages to come through and save the day through a combination of courage, perseverance, breakthroughs of intelligence and cleverness, and sheer dumb luck. In spite of everything that goes wrong around him, his reputation as one of CONTROL's top agents and KAOS' most formidable opponent is entirely justified.
- Battle Couple: Once they move from working partners to romantic partners, he and 99 are this.
- Berserk Button: Threatening (or flirting with) 99 usually makes him mad, although he'll deny being jealous if they're flirting.
- Born Lucky: Lampshaded in several episodes, like when Leadside furiously points out how Max has foiled all his schemes though dumb luck despite him being The Chessmaster.
- Borrowed Catchphrase:
- In the episode with his army friend Sid, Sid borrows his "The old something-or-other trick" catchphrase many times.
- In "The Only Way to Die", 99 borrows his "Would you believe?" catchphrase.
- In "Spy, Spy, Birdie", Seigfried borrows his "I asked you not to tell me that" catchphrase.
- In "Hubert's Unfinished Symphony," he's evidently had enough of Wolenska's "Don't touch my hands!" schtick, as he throws the line back in his face when the irate pianist tries to shake his hand for saving his life.
- Casanova Wannabe: Played with; Max certainly believes he's brilliant with women, however despite this being mocked several times, he still gets a lot of attention, to the ire of 99.
- The Cast Show Off: Adams' general comedy skills are definitely on display. He also gets to flaunt his Humphrey Bogart impression.
- Catchphrase:
- "Sorry about that, Chief."
- He also says, "And loving it" when being told he'll be in danger.
- Whenever he boasts about something and someone doesn't believe him, he will say, "Would you believe [lesser version of boast]?".
- "Don't tell me..." followed by "I asked you not to tell me that."
- "Missed it by that much."
- Downplayed for "I hope I wasn't out of line with the crack about X" which he says occasionally, but not very often.
- "The old X trick", sometimes followed by "That's the Y time Z's fallen for it this N."
- Chaste Hero: A Handsome Lech around all women who nonetheless panics at the thought of 99 seeing his ankle or his collarbone.
- Chick Magnet: He seems to have no problem attracting women.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He is quite goofy. His goofier attributes include making dopey mistakes, flirting with 99 despite being in danger, and replying, "And loving it" when being told he's going to be in danger.
- Clueless Detective: He frequently overlooks the obvious, focuses on irrelevant details, forgets important briefings...
- Comedic Hero: He's a world-class secret agent, despite being a Bunny-Ears Lawyer at best.
- Comically Missing the Point: He often tends to misunderstand things or focus on the wrong part of a conversation, which is all played for laughs.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: "Jealous? Are you kidding? Why, I don't have a jealous bone in my whole body!" Until another man shows interest in 99 or vice versa, even when it's an act undercover or an accident!
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may be an idiot, but he's actually quite skilled at hand-to-hand combat and a very good shot. And if he needs to grab the Smart Ball to win a confrontation, he will grab it for just long enough to win, before promptly dropping it again.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has a tendency to quip in the face of danger, though he can also be a Dirty Coward with the best of them.
- Determinator: He never gives up, no matter how many times things go wrong.
- The Ditz: Despite his name, he really isn't that smart. Occasionally, he will think of something good, but that's extremely rare.
- Dogged Nice Guy: He has a thing for 99 for most of the series but doesn't make a move until it's almost too late.
- Drives Like Crazy: Downplayed. While he drives normally most of the time, he swerves around like a maniac during chase scenes and occasionally does some crazy driving when he's forgotten how the spy gadgets in his car work.
- Genius Ditz: Not all the time, but he has his moments.
- Fake Defector: Once in Season 1 and again in Season 2.
- The Fool: Max can be kinda of a idoit sometimes.
- Glad I Thought of It: Almost Once an Episode with 99.
- Happily Married: To 99 in Seasons 4-5
- Hidden Depths: Beneath that bungling exterior beats a brave heart that will always rise to the occasion.
- Idiot Hero: He is the trope's page image after all.
- Idiot Savant: Max isn't the brightest agent, but he's a surprising master of some esoteric skills. For example there's 5 or 6 episodes that show he's actually a master swordsman.
- I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Continues to ogle other women even after getting married.
- Ironic Name: His last name is Smart, but he generally comes off as anything but.
- Jumped at the Call: "...And loving it!"
- Just Friends: Insists this about him and 99 for 3 seasons.
- The Klutz: In addition to being a bit dim, he is also rather clumsy, often knocking things over.
- Lawful Stupid: He's obsessed with following protocol, no matter how silly or impractical it may be.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: If he needs to buckle down and get serious, he becomes a force to be reckoned with.
- Love Confession: In the Season 4 premiere when he thinks he and 99 are about to be killed by KAOS.
- Oblivious to Love: To 99 for the first 3 seasons.
- Official Couple: After three seasons of "will they or won't they", Max decides to tell 99 the truth as they face imminent doom, and they agree to marry if they escape.
- Ridiculously Average Guy: This never fails to baffle KAOS.
- Say My Name: Two characters have a habit of shouting his name: the Chief when he's frustrated with him and 99 when she's worried about him.
- Sherlock Scan: Can tell a bomb has been planted in a car by the position of fallen leaves on the windshield.
- Shoe Phone: Owner of the Trope Namer (a phone in his shoe) and several other spy gadgets disguised as objects.
- Spanner in the Works: The best laid plans of KAOS don't stand a chance against Max's bumbling antics.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Thinks he's The Ace and The Casanova.
Agent 99
"Right, Max!"
Max's attractive, glamorous, sweet, intelligent, far-more-competent partner who nevertheless has the highest respect for him. A former model, she loves being a CONTROL agent as much as Max, becoming one of the first female characters in television to keep her career after becoming a wife and mother. She was far more obvious and open about her affection for and attraction to Max, as, although Max was obviously attracted to her as well, it took him three seasons to admit it. They finally got engaged and married in Season 4 and had twins in Season 5.- Action Girl: Fights just as much and just as well as her fellow male agents.
- Battle Couple: With Max.
- Bound and Gagged: During the course of many missions, she does happen to get trussed up by a good many KAOS agents. However, either her or Max are able to get her out of the situation.
- Brainy Brunette: A brunette whose intelligence is often noted.
- Character Tics: Her eye roll whenever Max says something silly (which is often).
- Cute Bruiser: Just ask Max.
- Deuteragonist: With Max.
- Damsel in Distress: Regularly gets captured and placed in danger, but both her and Max are able to scrape through unscathed
- Damsel out of Distress: Although she might get konked on the head or tied to a lot of chairs, 99 is able to escape every situation KAOS has placed her in.
- Femme Fatale Spy: See every trope in this section.
- Happily Married: To Max in Seasons 4-5.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Max, no surprise.
- In the Blood: Apparently, her father was also a spy.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Not normally, but in "Mr. Big", Max thinks she's a man when he first meets her because her outfit concealed her breasts and she had her hair under her hat.
- Master of Disguise: You name it, she's worn it (teacher, secretary, ballerina, maid, nurse, flight attendant, scientist, harem girl...).
- No Name Given: Her real name is never revealed. (She uses "Susan Hilton" in one episode, but later says it's an alias.) Even Max states long after they're married, "I don't know her name."
- Not So Above It All: She's usually more sensible than Max, but she does get carried away on occasion.
- Number Two: To Max.
- Older Than She Looks: In the film, she remarks briefly that, when she had to get Magic Plastic Surgery after her cover was blown, she "had them take a few years off".
- One Head Taller: But don't let Don Adams know that! The show went to great pains to hide the fact that its hero was an inch or two shorter than his leading lady.
- One of the Boys: Max himself says this about her word-for-word once. Needless to say, she's not too happy.
- Only Sane Woman: She's just about the only traditionally competent field agent in CONTROL: Max is an Idiot Hero and Larabee is just a dumbass.
- Plucky Girl: Well, she's not the immediate protagonist, but she's a lead character, and she is optimistic.
- Show Some Leg: She was a model after all.
- Straight Man: To Max. She frequently reasons with him and tells him when he's doing something reckless.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Later wife.
- You Go, Girl!: She is one of CONTROL's best agents.
The Chief
"CONTROL headquarters, this is the Chief."
The head of CONTROL who is mostly seen in headquarters, dealing with bureaucratic red tape, briefing Max and 99 on their next assignment, passing out the gadgets of the week, chewing out Max for his latest screw-up, trying to tell Max that the Cone Of Silence isn't working, and wondering why in the world he puts up with that guy!- Amicable Exes: With KAOS agent Mary Jack Armstrong. While he's arresting her, she sincerely congratulates him on being promoted to chief.
- Butt-Monkey: He's often on the butt end of Max's shenanigans (specially those involving the ever-malfunctioning "Cone of Silence") and has been the victim on occasion such as when he was shot in "A Man Called Smart" and when he was tranquilized in "Operation Ridiculous".
- Cool Old Guy: On those rare occasions where the Chief actually has to go into the field, or is confronted by a bad guy, he shows everyone exactly why they made him the Chief!
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": His real first name is Thaddeus, and his cover name is Harold Clark, but his real last name is never revealed, and Max and 99 never call him anything but "Chief." (Except in one episode where he's demoted and Max is promoted; they go back to his old designation, Agent Q. Yeah, it was before they switched to numbers.)
- A Father to His Men: Once confessed under the influence of Truth Serum that the only reason he hasn't fired Max is because he's Like a Son to Me.
- Frontline General: Despite being the head of the agency and a semi-elderly man, the Chief sure doesn't shy away from fieldwork. Several episodes show him personally leading raids or pulling a Big Damn Heroes moment to save Max.
- Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: He had hair when Max was first hired and likes to imply that Max made him bald, although he's at the normal age to go bald.
- Kick the Dog: When Hymie gets reprogrammed and attacks him, the Chief (understandably) orders Hymie to be disassembled. He then orders Max to disassemble him, despite Max's insistence that Hymie is his good friend and despite Max not being particularly inclined in the field of robotics, for the sole reason that Max was the one who brought him into CONTROL. Thankfully, this works out in the end, since if he had passed the job off to an actual CONTROL mechanical worker, Hymie wouldn't have lasted to them getting to the bottom of things.
- Mission Control: His primary job at CONTROL, although he does get an occasional moment to shine in the field.
- Only Sane Man: Along with 99, he is often the only one being sensible while everyone else is goofing off.
- Techno Babble: Edward Platt apparently had such a hard time with this that Don Adams would collect bets on when he would flub a line.
Larabee
"Right, chief!"
A CONTROL agent who seems to be the Chief's primary assistant, he could usually be seen in the Chief's office transferring phone calls from the President or delivering the latest report on KAOS' last strike. Not seen very often until Season 4, where he quickly replaced Max as the biggest, most clueless ditz at CONTROL.- Characterization Marches On: His comedic cluelessness wasn't present until Season 4.
Hymie
"I am programmed for goodness and niceness. I will not do anything evil."
A robot built by KAOS who was reprogrammed by CONTROL and now, between his computer-fast brain, Super-Strength, and Nigh-Invulnerability, serves as one of their most talented agents. He and Max, the agent who convinced him to leave KAOS in the first place, consider each other best friends.- Acting Unnatural: In his debut episode (when he was still under KAOS control) he and Max (who thought he was a new CONTROL agent) were attending a party. To help him try and blend in, Max told Hymie to just copy what he does, but while Max puts on a pretty decent display of acting natural, Hymie unfortunately undermines it by sitting down next to him and copying his every move down to the tiniest motion.
- Berserk Button: As his Evil Counterpart Groppo learned the hard way, the one guaranteed way to push him to his Rage Breaking Point is by threatening Max.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Hymie tries to be nice, even when it causes complications, but when there is true villainy to deal with, he's been known to say, "Hey! Nice is nice, but enough is enough!"
- Genius Bruiser: Having a computer for a brain, and being stronger and more durable than humanly possible, he qualifies.
- Implacable Man: Next to unstoppable and he will always keep trying, unless he loses interest.
- Literal-Minded: Being a robot he takes every command to the letter, such as literally hopping across a room when Max tells him to hop to it.
- Manly Tears: In his first appearance when his creator ordered him to kill Max and he realized he couldn't do it ("You were the only one who ever treated me like a real person").
- Neat Freak: He was "programmed for neatness", so he cleans and sorts anything untidy.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Almost all physical force doesn't bother him; bullets just bounce off him.
- Phrase Catcher: In at least one episode, Hymie's habit of being Literal-Minded results in people heading him off with "That's only an expression."
- Reluctant Warrior: A side-effect of his reprogramming is that he now "detests violence" and will only attack even in self-defense if the situation is very dire.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Able to cry, develop friendships and even get drunk (although the latter was just Max's interpretation).
- The Stoic: Has a neutral expression no matter his emotional state and he speaks in a monotone.
- Tranquil Fury: Due to his stoicism, this is the only anger he ever shows.
Count Conrad von Siegfried
A high-ranking KAOS agent and Max's "old friend and bitter enemy." Originally intended to be a one-shot villain, he returned several times throughout Seasons 2-4 and was quickly promoted to Max's Arch-Enemy. Although he frequently tries to kill "Shmart," the two treat their rivalry more as a fun game and genuinely like and respect each other.
- Battle Couple: Implied, assuming the person he calls in "The Spy Who Met Himself" is the wife he mentions in "A Spy For A Spy":"Darling, would you kindly put Plan B into effect? pause Thank you, sweetheart."
- Even if it isn't, his wife is still implied to be a badass in her own right, as he takes her threat to kill him if he ever takes off his wedding ring so seriously he treats said ring as a suicide ring.
- Bad Boss: When Plan A goes awry, Plan C is, apparently, shoot the men responsible.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Upon meeting Zach in the 1995 series, he's rather irritated to find that the son of his greatest enemy doesn't already know who he is.
- Dueling Scar: The Made-for-TV Movie Get Smart, Again! reveals he got it in a duel with his Identical Twin brother in Heidelberg.
- Evil Counterpart: Max's opposite number and most frequent opponent. He is clearly smarter than Max, but also more prone to hammy outbursts.
- Fake Defector: Almost manages to pull this off once in Season 3.
- Faux Affably Evil: Is quite chatty and acts like he's Max's friend when not actively trying to defeat him, but he's also killed a number of people.
- Freudian Excuse: Parodied when he once claims he only turned evil because his mother never bought him a sled! Though he goes on to imply that wasn't because of neglectful parenting, but because they lived in Florida.
- Friendly Enemy: To Max. In one episode while the two share a drink, Siegfried admits he always liked Max, even when trying to kill him.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He's evil and has a scar on his cheek.
- Large Ham: Tends to shout a lot when annoyed.
- Last-Name Basis: His first name isn't even revealed until the 1989 Reunion Movie.
- Laughably Evil: Downplayed. He's treated as a legitimate threat, but there are still plenty of jokes focusing on him.
- Mad Libs Catchphrase: "Zis is KAOS! Ve don't [whatever Shtarker said] here!"
- Multiple-Choice Past: Little information has been revealed about his past, and what has is often contradictory. He has:
- Grown up in Florida.
- Spent some time in Heidelberg, where he dueled his twin brother.
- Referred to South America as his "Glorious Fatherland".
- Participated in the Battle of El Alamein, where he was the first man out (this is mentioned twice—first, that he left with Starker [explicitly stated to be an ex-Nazi], second, that he tunneled out of the city before the battle, implying he was either a civilian or an incredibly cowardly soldier).
- Interestingly, though his speech, mannerisms, and uniforms strongly imply that he is an ex-Nazi, he is never explicitly named as one in the show, possibly so he remains a likable villain.
- Only Sane Man: Played with. He thinks he's the only sensible person around, but he's a bit hammy himself.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Which is an understandable feeling since he's often followed around by Shtarker.
- Vague Age: The actor who played him was in his 30s during the show's original run, far too young to have served in World War II. While it's clear that he was made to look older, it's unknown exactly how much older he's supposed to be. Complicating matters further is that he's a spy whose past history is somewhat murky — a little plastic surgery would not be out of the question.
Fang/Agent K-13
A dog who is employed by CONTROL and usually works with Max.
- Big Friendly Dog: He is friendly and quite large.
- A Lizard Named "Liz": His name is Fang and dogs have fangs.
Harry Hoo
Played by: Joey Forman
A famous detective with mixed Hawaiian, Chinese, and Swiss heritage. He frequently uses idioms.
- Affectionate Parody: Of Charlie Chan.
- Alliterative Name: Harry Hoo.
- Clueless Detective: Not normally, but he has some questionable practices, like counting himself amongst the list of suspects for any case.
- Consistent Clothing Style: Harry Hoo always wears similar-looking (but not identical) white suits.
- Expy: His appearance, speech patterns, and background are parodically based on Charlie Chan.
- Limited Wardrobe: Zigzagged. He wears different suits, but all white, except in the summertime.
- Spell My Name With An S: His surname is canonically spelled "Hoo", but in the end credits of one episode, he was credited as "Harry Who".
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: His accent is mostly Chinese, but with a slight European hint.
- You No Take Candle: Downplayed. Due to spending most of his time in Hawaii and Hong Kong, his English is not very good, but he doesn't sound like Cookie Monster or anything like that.
"The Claw"
Played by: Leonard Strong
A recurring villain, and a KAOS agent. His "name" comes from his clawlike prosthetic arm; he has an unfortunate speech impediment that leads to Max misnaming him.
- Accidental Misnaming: Max thinks that his name said with a speech impediment is his actual name.
- Catchphrase: "Da Craw, not da "Craw"!" And other variations thereof.
- Laughably Evil: There are a lot of jokes regarding his speech impediment.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Claw.
Agent 13
Played by: David Ketchum (TV Series), Joey Foreman (The Nude Bomb), Bill Murray in Get Smart (2008 movie)
A CONTROL agent who hides in weird places and complains about it.
- Butt-Monkey: He is quite unlucky with the places he's stationed at. Once he was apparently stationed at in a washing machine. It made him really want a hot bath as soon as he got home.
- Chew Toy: His bad luck is played as a joke.
- Deadpan Snarker: He often makes snide remarks about his bad assignments.
- 13 Is Unlucky: Which explains the Butt-Monkey and Chew Toy entries. Maybe he should have asked for a different number?
Agent 44
Played by: Victor French (Season 1), Al Molinaro (Season 5)
Another agent who hides in strange places and complains about it, but is more gloomy, while 13 is more grumpy.
- Butt-Monkey: He's maybe even unluckier than 13.
- Chew Toy: While his predicaments seem a bit more unfortunate than 13's due to the fact that he cries easily, they're still often played as a joke.
Dr. Steele
Played by: Ellen Weston
A scientist who's an expert on drugs, poisons, and antidotes. She's also a dancer and is often seen wearing dancing outfits.
Starker
Played by: King Moody (TV Series), Ken Davitian in Get Smart (2008 movie)
Siegfried's enthusiastic assistant. Unfortunately for Siegfried, he's also incredibly childish and dumb, prone to making silly noises when he isn't just goofing up. He claims to have been track champion of the Third Reich (although he looks rather young for that), and the second man out of El Alamein (right behind Siegfried).
- The Ditz: Downplayed. He's definitely dimmer than Siegfried, but not nearly as dumb as Max or Larabee.
- Phrase Catcher: He regularly instigates Siegfried's Mad Libs Catchphrase with his silly noises.
- Put on a Bus: In the 1995 series, Starker does not reappear alongside Siegfried. It's explained to Max that he got married and is operating a small business in Heidelberg. Siegfried sounds happy for his old colleague before abruptly returning to business.Siegfried: Enough. Ve are former KAOS! Ve don't reminisce here!
- Spell My Name With An S: Sometimes, his name is spelled as "Shtarker". In reality, "Starker" is his name, it's just mainly spoken by Siegfried, who has a lisp.
Admiral Harold Harmon Hardgrave
Played by: William Schallert
The previous chief (and founder) of CONTROL.
- Alliterative Name: Harold Harmon Hardgrave.
- Dented Iron: The years have not been kind to the Admiral. He's prone to falling asleep (or just plain falling) at random occasions, he thinks the President is still Herbert Hoover.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: He's the founder of CONTROL.
