Kent Smith

Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith.[1] He was born in New York City and was educated at Lincoln School, Phillips Exeter Academy[1] in Exeter, New Hampshire,[2] and at Harvard University.[3]

Smith's early acting experience started in 1925 when he was one of the founders of the Harvard University Players, which later included Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Joshua Logan and Margaret Sullavan in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Smith's stock experience 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.[3] He appeared on Broadway in Measure for Measure, Sweet Love Remembered, The Best Man, Ah, Wilderness!,[4] Dodsworth (1934), Saint Joan (1936), Old Acquaintance (1941), Antony and Cleopatra (1948) and Bus Stop (1956).

Smith moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The Garden Murder Case.[3]

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 World War II, Smith served as a private in the U.S. Army, making training films covering among others, medical, dental, artillery, and electronics.

Smith was married to actress Betty Gillette from 1937 until 1954 and to actress Edith Atwater 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.[4]

Smith was a Republican and campaigned for Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.[6] In 1961, he said: "I'm capricious when there's a national election. My background's Republican, but whenever I'm planted in a city long enough to vote on the local level, I find I'm against whoever is in office."[2]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kent Smith.

• Kent Smith at IMDb 
• Kent Smith at the Internet Broadway Database