Stanley Adams

Acting

Stanley Adams

Born 1915-04-07 · New York City, New York, USA

Stocky character actor Stanley Adams had a relatively minor career in motion pictures, with the possible exception of his baby-faced millionaire Rusty Trawler of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) fame. Otherwise, he played innumerable minor ethnic villains, bartenders and avuncular, fast-talking characters, known in the credits only by their first names. In other words, most of his roles were rather small. On television, conversely, he proved himself quite a scene-stealer, particularly in the 1960's and early 70's, when his face appeared on just about every major 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 Twilight Zone (1959), and - famously - as 'asteroid detecting', tribble dealing galactic entrepreneur Cyrano Jones on Star Trek (1966). Alas, he was also a 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. Date of Death 27 April 1977, Santa Monica, California  (suicide)

Acting credits

North by Northwest poster
8.0

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

North by Northwest

1959

Breakfast at Tiffany's poster
7.6

Holly Golightly is an eccentric New York City playgirl determined to marry a Brazilian millionaire. But when young writer Paul Varjak moves into her apartment building, her past threatens to get in their way.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

1961

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask poster
6.5

A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask

1972

Lilies of the Field poster
7.2

An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior, who believes the man has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.

Lilies of the Field

1963

The Night Stalker poster
6.9

Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.

The Night Stalker

1972

Fate Is the Hunter poster
6.5

An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.

Fate Is the Hunter

1964

Nevada Smith poster
6.7

Nevada Smith is the alias of Max Sand, the son of an Indian mother and American father. When they are killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to avenge them. The young man is taken in by a gun merchant who shows him how to shoot, on time and correctly.

Nevada Smith

1966

Ship of Fools poster
6.6

A varied group of passengers boarding a ship bound for pre-WWII Germany represents a microcosm of early-1930s society.

Ship of Fools

1965

The Rat Race poster
6.8

An aspiring musician arrives in New York in search of fame and fortune. He soon meets a taxi dancer, moves in with her, and before too long a romance develops.

The Rat Race

1960

North to Alaska poster
6.5

After striking gold in Alaska, the romantic George sends his womanizing partner Sam to bring his fiancée up from Seattle. When Sam finds that she has already married, he returns instead with Angel, a dancer originally from France.

North to Alaska

1960

Somebody Up There Likes Me poster
7.2

The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.

Somebody Up There Likes Me

1956

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat poster
5.1

Fritz, now married and a father, is desperate to escape the domestic hell he now finds himself in. Lighting up a joint, he begins to dream about his eight other lives, hoping to find one to provide a pleasant distraction. The drug-induced journeys he takes include spells as an astronaut, Hitler's psychiatrist, a courier travelling in hostile territory during a race war, and as a pupil of an Indian guru in the sewers of New York.

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat

1974

The Errand Boy poster
6.2

Paramutual Pictures wants to know where all the money is going so they hire Morty to be their spy. Morty works for Mr. Sneak and gets a job in the mail room so that he can have access to the lot. But all that Morty ever finds is that he can cause havoc no matter what he does.

The Errand Boy

1961

Saddle the Wind poster
6.7

Steve Sinclair is a world-weary former gunslinger, now living as a peaceful farmer. Things go wrong when his wild younger brother Tony arrives on the scene with his new bride Joan Blake.

Saddle the Wind

1958

Hell on Frisco Bay poster
5.3

A cop framed for a murder he did not commit hunts the San Francisco waterfront for the Mob racketeers who are responsible.

Hell on Frisco Bay

1955

The Seven Minutes poster
5.8

To help with an upcoming election, a bookstore clerk is indicted for selling obscene material. The defense attorneys need to uncover the mystery of the original publication of the book.

The Seven Minutes

1971

The Gazebo poster
6.9

TV writer Elliott Nash buries a blackmailer under the new gazebo in his suburban backyard. But the nervous man can't let the body rest there.

The Gazebo

1959

Requiem for a Heavyweight poster
7.2

After suffering a brutal defeat and being told he can no longer fight, 37-year-old, scar-ridden prizefighter Louis 'Mountain' Rivera struggles to find a new direction in life.

Requiem for a Heavyweight

1962

Valerie poster
4.6

After the American Civil War, former Union Major John Garth marries pretty settler Valerie but tragedy strikes and the two spouses end up in court where they give two different conflicting accounts of their marriage.

Valerie

1957

The Wizard of Baghdad poster
7.0

A genie turned mortal after his many failures is sent to Baghdad. As his last chance to prove himself he must help a prince and princess fulfill a prophecy.

The Wizard of Baghdad

1961

Act of Vengeance poster
5.6

A woman is sexually assaulted by a serial rapist wearing a hockey mask. She and other victims form a squad that targets would-be rapists, all the while searching for the mask wearing maniac that raped them all.

Act of Vengeance

1974

Critic's Choice poster
5.6

Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.

Critic's Choice

1963

Double Trouble poster
5.0

When singer Guy Lambert goes on tour in Europe, he is pursued by two beautiful women, bumbling jewel thieves, and a mysterious killer.

Double Trouble

1967

The Killer Is Loose poster
6.7

A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance against Wagner. Poole begins his plans to get revenge when he escapes his captors.

The Killer Is Loose

1956