Matthew Wilson
It’s a sad day for fans of the classic spy sitcom Get Smart. David Ketchum, known for his role as Agent 13 on the show, has passed away.
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What happened: The TV icon was 97 years old. His daughter Nicole Madden confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he passed away while at an assisted care facility in Thousand Oaks, California. A cause of death wasn’t revealed for the celebrity, but Ketchum lived a long life.
He leaves behind a legacy in film and TV having starred on Get Smart, ABC sitcom I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster, and the NBC comedy Camp Runamuck. Let’s take a look back at his historic career.
Remembered For ‘Get Smart’
Landing an iconic role: As Agent 13, David Ketchum often appeared from a variety of different locals on the spy sitcom. For instance, he would pop out from a steam cabinet or washing machine. It became a recurring gag on the show. But how did it all start. Well, it was producers’ idea.
- “Wait a minute, wouldn’t it be funny if he was in a sofa?” he recalled in a 2002 interview. “So there would be a party, everybody would stand up, and I’d be inside the sofa with a girl and a drink. Stuff like that was tricky. And then they put me in a locker at the airport, and then an ice machine, and it kept getting more and more ridiculous.”
- “The hardest part for me was when they put Agent 13 in a washing machine. I’m 6-foot-2, so I can’t fit easily into cramped places, and a washing machine is about as cramped as it gets. They also built an eight-foot tube I got into so I could be spun around in the front. You try remembering your lines while you’re spinning around with water and soap squirting in your face!”
David Ketchum Had a Backup Career Plan
Backup plan: If things didn’t work out in entertainment, then he had a backup career in mind. He was going to be an electrical engineer. He even majored in the craft at UCLA.
- “I had already done a lot of performing,” he said in a 1965 interview, “but I couldn’t quite resign myself to being in show business. I figured eventually I’d have to work for a living — so I took engineering.”
His Big Break Came Earlier
What made him a star: Ketchum appeared on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show in 1957, but he didn’t get his big acting break until he landed on I’m Dickens, He’s Fenster. That show helped him connect with Leonard Stern, who later served as a producer on Get Smart. The rest is showbiz history, as they say.
