Kent Smith
Kent Smith | |
---|---|
Kent Smith (1953) | |
Born |
Frank Kent Smith March 19, 1907 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died |
April 23, 1985 78) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1929-1977 |
Spouse(s) |
Edith Atwater (1962–1985; his death) Betty Gillette (1937–1954) |
Children | 1 |
Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television.
Early years
Smith was born in New York City and was educated at Harvard University.[1]
Stage
Smith's early acting experience came included productions with the Maryland Theatre in Baltimore. His professional acting debut was in 1929 in Blind Window in Baltimore. He made his Broadway acting debut in 1932 in Men Must Fight.[1] He also appeared on Broadway in Measure for Measure, Sweet Love Remembered, The Best Man, Ah, Wilderness!,[2] Dodsworth (1934), Saint Joan (1936), Old Acquaintance (1941), Antony and Cleopatra (1948) and Bus Stop (1956).
Film
Smith moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The Garden Murder Case.[1]
His biggest successes occurred during the 1940s in films such as Cat People (1942), Hitler's Children (1943), This Land Is Mine (1943), Three Russian Girls (1943), Youth Runs Wild (1944), The Curse of the Cat People (1944), The Spiral Staircase (1946), Nora Prentiss (1947), Magic Town (1947), My Foolish Heart (1949), The Fountainhead (1949), and The Damned Don't Cry (1950). He continued acting in films such as Comanche (1956), Sayonara (1957), Party Girl (1958), The Mugger (1958), Imitation General (1958), The Badlanders (1958), This Earth Is Mine (1959), Strangers When We Meet (1960), Susan Slade (1961), The Balcony (1963), A Distant Trumpet (1964), Youngblood Hawke (1964), The Young Lovers (1964), The Trouble with Angels (1966), A Covenant with Death (1967), Games (1967), The Money Jungle (1968), Kona Coast (1968), Assignment to Kill (1968), Death of a Gunfighter (1969), The Games (1970), Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), Die Sister, Die! (1972), Lost Horizon (1973) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).
During WW II, Smith served as a private in the US Army, making training films covering among others, medical, dental, artillery, & electronics.
Television
Regular cast
Smith played Edgar Scoville in the ABC science fiction series The Invaders (1967-1968)[3] and was a host for the CBS anthology series Philip Morris Playhouse (1953-1954).[3]:831
Guest appearances
Smith had roles in television films such as How Awful About Allan (1970), The Night Stalker (1972), The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972), The Cat Creature (1973) and The Disappearance of Flight 412 (1974). His numerous television credits included a continuing role in the soap opera Peyton Place as Dr. Robert Morton; Smith's wife, actress Edith Atwater, played his character's wife on the series. He began guest-starring in television series in 1949 in The Philco Television Playhouse, and also appeared in Robert Montgomery Presents, Wagon Train, General Electric Theater, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, Have Gun Will Travel, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Americans, Barnaby Jones, The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, and the 1976 miniseries Once an Eagle. His last appearance was in a 1977 episode of Wonder Woman.[4]
Personal life
Smith was married to actress Betty Gillette from 1937 until 1954, and to actress Edith Atwater (died March 1986) from 1962 until his death from congestive heart failure in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 78.
He was survived by his wife and daughter.[2]
Smith was a Republican and campaigned for Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election[5].
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1936 | The Garden Murder Case | Woode Swift | |
1939 | Back Door to Heaven | Attorney | |
1942 | Cat People | Oliver Reed | |
1943 | Hitler's Children | Professor Nichols | |
1943 | Forever and a Day | Gates Trimble Pomfret | |
1943 | This Land Is Mine | Paul Martin | |
1943 | Three Russian Girls | John Hill | Alternate title: She Who Dares |
1944 | The Curse of the Cat People | Oliver Reed | |
1944 | Resisting Enemy Interrogation | Capt. Reining - American Working for the Nazis | |
1944 | Youth Runs Wild | Danny Coates | |
1946 | The Spiral Staircase | Dr. Parry | |
1947 | Nora Prentiss | Dr. Richard Talbot | |
1947 | Magic Town | Professor Frederick Hoopendecker | |
1947 | The Voice of the Turtle | Kenneth Bartlett | |
1949 | The Fountainhead | Peter Keating | |
1949 | My Foolish Heart | Lew Wengler | |
1950 | The Damned Don't Cry | Martin Blankford | |
1950 | This Side of the Law | David Cummins | |
1952 | Paula | John Rogers | Alternate title: The Silent Voice |
1956 | Comanche | Quanah Parker | |
1957 | Sayonara | General Mark Webster | |
1958 | Imitation General | Brig. Gen. Charles Lane | |
1958 | The Badlanders | Cyril Lounsberry | |
1958 | Party Girl | Jeffrey Stewart | |
1958 | The Mugger | Dr. Pete Graham | |
1959 | This Earth Is Mine | Francis Fairon | |
1960 | Strangers When We Meet | Stanley Baxter | |
1961 | Susan Slade | Dr. Fane | |
1962 | Moon Pilot | Secretary of the Air Force | |
1963 | The Balcony | General | |
1964 | A Distant Trumpet | Secretary of War | |
1964 | Youngblood Hawke | Paul Winter Sr. | |
1964 | The Young Lovers | Dr. Shoemaker | |
1966 | The Trouble with Angels | Uncle George | |
1967 | A Covenant with Death | Parmalee | |
1967 | Games | Harry Gordon | |
1967 | The Money Jungle | Paul Kimmel | |
1968 | Kona Coast | Akamai | |
1968 | Assignment to Kill | Mr. Eversley | |
1969 | Death of a Gunfighter | Andrew Oxley | |
1970 | The Games | Kaverley | |
1970 | How Awful About Allan | Raymond | Television film |
1971 | The Last Child | Gus Iverson | Television film |
1972 | The Night Stalker | D.A. Tom Paine | Television film |
1972 | Probe | Dr. Edward Laurent | Television film |
1972 | Another Part of the Forest | Simon Isham | Television film |
1972 | The Crooked Hearts | James Simpson | Television film |
1972 | The Judge and Jake Wyler | Robert Dodd | Television film |
1972 | Pete 'n' Tillie | Father Keating | |
1972 | Call Me by My Rightful Name | Mr. Watkins | |
1973 | Lost Horizon | Bill Fergunson | |
1973 | Maurie | Dr. Walker | |
1973 | The Affair | Mr. Patterson | Television film |
1973 | The Cat Creature | Frank Lucas | Television film |
1974 | Murder or Mercy | Judge | Television film |
1974 | The Disappearance of Flight 412 | General Enright | Television film |
1976 | Once an Eagle | Gen. Jacklyn | Television miniseries |
1977 | Billy Jack Goes to Washington | Senator Joe Foley | |
1978 | Die Sister, Die! | Dr. Thorne | Alternate title: The Companion |
References
- 1 2 3 Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 690–691. ISBN 9781557835512. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- 1 2 "Kent Smith, the Actor, Dies; Career Lasted Four Decades". The New York Times. New York, New York City. Associated Press. April 26, 1985. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 508509. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ↑ Kent Smith on IMDb
- ↑ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kent Smith. |