Barbara Feldon

Barbara Feldon (born March 12, 1933) is an American character actress who works mostly in the theatre, but is primarily known for her roles on television. Her most prominent role was that of Agent 99 on the 1960s sitcom Get Smart. She also worked as a model.

Early life

Feldon was born Barbara Anne Hall in Butler, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. She graduated from Bethel Park High School and trained at Pittsburgh Playhouse. She graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1955, with a Bachelor of Arts in drama. She 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. 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.