Bill Dana in his cameo as the man who does not speak Spanish in "Supersonic Boom."
"Bill Dana" was the stage name of William Szathmary, born as the youngest of six children on October 5, 1924, who was an actor, writer, and comedian who was acknowledged as the creator of the "Would you believe--?" joke.
Dana portrayed three Get Smart characters, and was a credited writer of The Nude Bomb, the 1980 feature film that was based on the series.
He was also the brother of Irving Szathmary, composer of the Get Smart theme music.
Dana died on June 15, 2017, three months and twenty-one days before he would have reached the age of ninety-three.
Appearances[]
- Episode #66: "Supersonic Boom." Dana's cameo appearance, as a passerby who does not speak Spanish, was something of an in-joke, given that Dana had risen to fame portraying the Mexican character Jose Jimenez, including in The Bill Dana Show, in which his friend Don Adams co-starred. (The Szathmary brothers were actually Jewish.)
- Episode #125: "Ice Station Siegfried." When Adams was unavailable for filming, Dana stepped in to guest star as CIA Agent Quigley.
- Movie: The Nude Bomb, released in 1980. In addition to his writing credit, Dana appeared in the film as boutique owner Jonathan Levinson Seigle.