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Art Smith

Art Smith

Birthday: 1899-03-23 | Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1951
The Painted Hills

as    Pilot Pete

1950
The Killer That Stalked New York

as    Anthony Moss

1950
The Sound of Fury

as    Hal Clendenning

1950
In a Lonely Place

as    Mel Lippman

1950
Quicksand

as    Oren Mackey

1949
South of St. Louis

as    Bronco

1949
Manhandled

as    Detective Lt. Bill Dawson

1949
Song of Surrender

as    Mr. Willis

1949
Caught

as    Psychiatrist

1948
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid

as    Dr. Harvey

1948
1947
Ride the Pink Horse

as    Bill Retz

1947
Framed

as    Desk Clerk (uncredited)

1947
T-Men

as    Gregg

1943
Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi

as    Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1942
Native Land

as    Harry Carlyle