Biography

Stanley Adams

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Born
April 7, 1915 · New York City, New York, USA
Died
April 27, 1977 · Santa Monica, California, USA (suicide by shooting himself)
Birth name
Stanley Abramowitz

Stanley Adams (born Abramowitz) had a lengthy career on both stage and screen, the majority of which was spent playing minor supporting roles. A possible exception was the part of Rusty Trawler, a pint sized millionaire in the classic romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Otherwise, he portrayed innumerable minor ethnic villains, bartenders and avuncular, fast-talking characters, known in the credits only by their first names. On television, conversely, he proved himself more of a scene stealer, particularly in the 1960s and early '70s, when his face popped up on just about every major prime time show. He was at his best as pool hustler Sure-shot Wilson in an episode of The Odd Couple (1970), Rollo, a quirky time-traveling scientist on The Twilight Zone (1959), and - famously - as 'asteroid detecting', tribble-dispensing galactic entrepreneur Cyrano Jones on Star Trek (1966). Alas, he may also be remembered as a sentient space carrot named Tybo on Lost in Space (1965)....

His suicide in April 1977 has been attributed to severe depression as a result of a back injury, sustained earlier in the decade. Apart from the obvious pain, it would almost certainly have limited his employment opportunities.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

Appeared in the first episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959) and in the last episode of Gilligan's Island (1964), both of which starred Bob Denver.
Found dead in his Santa Monica home by his former wife, Harriette, who said there was a .22 pistol in his hand and a note nearby.
Following his suicide, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.
Sometime in the 1970s, Adams sustained a back injury which caused him constant pain and thus reduced his employability. After that, he reportedly struggled with depression from which he never fully recovered.
During World War II, he served as a staff sergeant in the US Army Air Corps.

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