About Bernie Kopell
Bernard Morton Kopell (born June 21, 1933) is an American character actor known for his roles as Siegfried in Get Smart from 1966 to 1969 and as Dr. Adam Bricker ("Doc") on The Love Boat from 1977 to 1986. == Early life == Kopell was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jewish parents Pauline (née Taran) and Al Bernard Kopell. Kopell attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn before enrolling at New York University, majoring in dramatic arts and graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1955. While fulfilling his military service, he served as a librarian at Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia, and then between 1956 and 1957 on board the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61). During his time on the USS Iowa, he travelled extensively to Europe in Italy, Spain, Greece, the Middle East in Turkey as well as to South America. He also taught the GED prep course to other military personnel. After completing active duty, Kopell returned to New York before going to Los Angeles with the promise of an agent by fellow graduate James Drury. == Career == In Los Angeles, Kopell initially drove a taxi and tried to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners to make ends meet before being cast in a minor role in The Brighter Day, a daytime soap aired on CBS. From there, he moved on to star in My Favorite Martian and The Jack Benny Program impersonating Latino characters, eventually managing to branch out and do other accents. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Kopell appeared in many television series, often sitcoms, including Ripcord, That Girl, The Jack Benny Program, Our Man Higgins, Green Acres, The Danny Thomas Show, Ben Casey, The Flying Nun, Needles and Pins, McHale's Navy, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Sonny and Cher Show, Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, Petticoat Junction, The Streets of San Francisco, Room 222, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Odd Couple and Kojak.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.