Art Smith

Birthday: 1899-03-22
Deathday: 1973-02-24
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arthur Gordon "Art" Smith (March 23, 1899 – February 24, 1973) was an American film, stage and television actor, best known for playing supporting roles in the 1940s.

Born in Chicago, he was a member of the Group Theatre and performed in many of their productions, including Rocket to the Moon, Awake and Sing!, Golden Boy and Waiting for Lefty, all by Clifford Odets; House of Connelly by Paul Green; and Sidney Kingsley's Men in White. The gray-haired actor usually played studious and dignified types in films, such as doctors or butlers.

Smith appeared in many black-and-white noirish films in supporting roles alongside more handsome and popular movie leads, such as John Garfield in Body and Soul (1947) and Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place (1950). He had a key role as a federal agent in 1947's Ride the Pink Horse, starring and directed by Robert Montgomery. Two of these films, In a Lonely Place and Ride a Pink Horse, were based on novels by Dorothy B. Hughes.

Smith was one of the victims of the Hollywood blacklist, which ended most of his film career in 1952. In 1957, he originated the role of Doc in the stage version of West Side Story. Smith only returned occasionally to the film business, for example in an uncredited part in The Hustler. He also worked on television before retiring in 1967. He died, aged 73, in Long Island, New York, from a heart attack.

Credits

Year Title Character
1967-10-17 Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Arthur Selig
1963-12-01 The Moving Finger
1952-09-27 Just for You Leo
1952-01-28 Rose of Cimarron Deacon
1951-05-04 The Painted Hills Pilot Pete
1950-12-12 The Sound of Fury Hal Clendenning
1950-10-06 The Killer That Stalked New York Anthony Moss
1950-08-30 South Sea Sinner William Grayson
1950-06-29 The Next Voice You Hear... Fred Brannan
1950-05-17 In a Lonely Place Mel Lippman
1950-03-24 Quicksand Oren Mackey
1949-10-27 Song of Surrender Mr. Willis
1949-09-05 Red, Hot and Blue Laddie Corwin
1949-07-21 Manhandled Detective Lt. Bill Dawson
1949-03-06 South of St. Louis Bronco
1949-02-17 Caught Psychiatrist
1948-10-20 Angel in Exile Emie Coons
1948-08-11 Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid Dr. Harvey
1948-04-28 Letter from an Unknown Woman John
1948-02-17 Arch of Triumph Inspector
1947-12-25 A Double Life Wigmaker
1947-12-15 T-Men Gregg
1947-11-11 Body and Soul David Davis (uncredited)
1947-10-08 Ride the Pink Horse Bill Retz
1947-07-16 Brute Force Dr. Walters
1947-05-25 Framed Desk Clerk (uncredited)
1945-02-28 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Charley (uncredited)
1944-09-01 Youth Runs Wild Mr. Fred Hauser
1944-05-04 The Black Parachute Joseph - Guerilla (uncredited)
1944-02-03 None Shall Escape Stys
1943-07-15 Appointment in Berlin Dutch Pastor (uncredited)
1943-04-09 Edge of Darkness Knut Osterholm
1942-05-11 Native Land Harry Carlyle
1932-05-14 Mason of the Mounted Royal Mounted Police Officer