Alexis Smith

Name	Alexis Smith
Image
Caption	Alexis Smith in 1951
Birthname	Margaret Alexis Smith
Birth Date	1921-6-8
Birth Place	Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Death Place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma Mater	Los Angeles City College
Awards	Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
Occupation	Actress ⋅ pin-up girl ⋅ singer
Yearsactive	1940–1993
Spouse	Craig Stevens (1944 – now)

Early life

Warner Bros

Early roles

After being discovered by a talent scout while attending college, Smith was signed to a contract by Warner Bros. Her early film roles were uncredited bit parts in films like Lady with Red Hair (1940), She Couldn't Say No (1940), Flight from Destiny (1941), The Great Mr. Nobody (1941), Here Comes Happiness (1941), Affectionately Yours (1941), Singapore Woman (1941), Passage from Hong Kong (1941) and Three Sons o' Guns (1941). Her first credited role was in the feature film Dive Bomber (1941), playing the female lead opposite Errol Flynn. It was a "decorative" part but the film was very successful. Warners decided to build her up as a star. She had a support role in The Smiling Ghost (1941) and appeared with her future husband Craig Stevens in Steel Against the Sky (1941), the first time she was top billed.

Stardom

Smith co starred opposite Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim (1942), one of the most popular movies of the year. Her lead appearance in The Constant Nymph (1943) was well-received and led to bigger parts.

After a cameo dancing in Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), Smith appeared opposite Fredric March in The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), and starred alongside Ann Sheridan in The Doughgirls (1944). She had another cameo in Hollywood Canteen (1944) then co starred with Jack Benny in The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945).

Smith co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in Conflict (1945) and Robert Alda in the George Gershwin biopic Rhapsody In Blue (1945). She liked her part in the latter because "while a heavy of sorts I get to do the unexpected."

She was reunited with Flynn in San Antonio (1945) in which she sang a special version of the popular ballad "Some Sunday Morning"; the movie was a huge hit.

After Warners

Smith went to Universal to appear in Wyoming Mail (1950), a Western with Stephen McNally, and Undercover Girl (1950) a film noir. She played a shy aristocrat who is coached out of her staid shell by Bing Crosby to rival Jane Wyman in Paramount's Here Comes the Groom (1951), her favorite role. At Universal she made Cave of Outlaws (1951) with MacDonald Carey then back at Paramount was in The Turning Point (1952) with William Holden.

She received excellent reviews for playing Private Lives on stage with Victor Jory.

Stage career

While Smith was under contract at Warner Bros., she met fellow actor Craig Stevens; they wed in 1944. In her later years, Smith toured in several stage hits including the 1955 National company of Plain and Fancy, Jean Kerr's Mary, Mary, Any Wednesday and Cactus Flower, all co-starring her husband.

In the 1960s Smith continued to work on television with roles in Adventures in Paradise, Michael Shayne, The Defenders, The Governor & J.J., and Marcus Welby, M.D..

Smith appeared on the cover of the May 3, 1971 issue of Time as the result of the critical acclaim for her singing and dancing role as Phyllis Rogers Stone in Hal Prince's Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's Follies, which marked her long-awaited Broadway debut. In 1972, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.

Her stage career continued through the 1970s, with appearances in the 1973 all-star revival of The Women (1973), the short-lived re-working of William Inge's drama Picnic, re-titled Summer Brave (1975), and the ill-fated musical Platinum (1978), which earned Smith another Tony nomination for her performance but closed after a brief run.

She starred in several regional productions of Applause and then toured for more than a year as the madam in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, including a seven-month run in Los Angeles.

She continued to appear on TV in movies like Nightside and shows such as The Lives of Benjamin Franklin. She also performed in nightclubs.

Later work

Smith returned to the big screen with star billing at the age of 54 in Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975) opposite Kirk Douglas, followed by The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane with Martin Sheen and Jodie Foster the following year and Casey's Shadow with Walter Matthau in 1978. She and her husband appeared in Losey's The Trout (1982).

One of her later film roles came in 1986, again with Douglas when he reunited with frequent co-star Burt Lancaster for the comedy Tough Guys. Smith had a recurring role on the television series Dallas as the mentally unstable Lady Jessica Montford in 1984, and again in 1990. She starred in the short-lived 1988 series Hothouse, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on Cheers in 1990. Her last film role was in The Age of Innocence (1993).

Death

Alexis Smith died of brain cancer in Los Angeles on June 9, 1993, the day after her 72nd birthday. She had no children; her sole survivor was her husband of 49 years, actor Craig Stevens. Smith's final film, The Age of Innocence (1993), was released shortly after her death. Her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage work

• Private Lives (1952)
• Bell, Book and Candle (1953)
• Plain and Fancy (1955 National Tour)
• Wonderful Town (1957)
• Mary, Mary (1965)
• Cactus Flower (1968 National Tour)
• Follies (1971)
• The Women (1973)
• Applause (1973)
• Summer Brave (1975)
• Platinum (1978)
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1979–80 National Tour)
• Pal Joey (1983)
• Nymph Errant (1989 Concert)

Radio appearances

See also

References

Notes

• VIII. Sweet Springs area – West Virginia, Virginia, August 22 – November 3, 1941; February 21 – March 28, 1942, Ladd, Harry S., 1941, s.n., 10.5962/bhl.title.132196

Bibliography

• Bubbeo, Daniel. The Women of Warner Brothers. McFarland, 2001. isbn 978-0-7864-1137-5.
• Cozad, W. Lee. More Magnificent Mountain Movies: The Silver Screen Years 1940–2004. Lake Arrowhead, California: Sunstroke Media, 2006. isbn 978-0-9723372-3-6.
• Donnelley, Paul. Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. London: Omnibus Press, 2005. isbn 1-84449-430-6.
• Kirby, Walter. "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review, November 16, 1952. Retrieved: June 18, 2015 via Newspapers.com .
• Maltin, Leonard. "Alexis Smith". Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia. New York: Dutton, 1994. isbn 0-525-93635-1.
• Monush, Barry. Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the silent era to 1965. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2003. isbn 978-1-55783-551-2.
• "Film and legit actress Alexis Smith dead at 72". Variety, June 10, 1993. Retrieved: March 11, 2009.

External links