Trivia

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.

Concurrent with his acting career, Adams also maintained a career as a freelance television scriptwriter from the mid-1950s through the early 70s, writing for shows such as It's Always Jan, Mister Ed, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Star Trek, The Outsider, The Flying Nun, Mannix, The Name of the Game and others. Although he did appear in guest roles in many of these series, Adams generally did not appear as an actor in episodes he wrote.

Adams also had a lengthy theatrical motion picture career. In the 1962 theatrical film adaptation of Rod Serling's teleplay Requiem for a Heavyweight he played the supporting role of Perelli, a sleazy promoter who offers a washed-up boxer a degrading job as a professional wrestler. He played the Chicano café owner in Lilies of the Field and portrayed Rutherford "Rusty" Trawler, "the 9th richest man in America under 50" in the Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Adams had a lengthy career as a character actor, often playing comic, pompous characters.

Adams made appearances in several films during the 1930s, but continued working primarily in theater.