Kent Smith

Frank Kent Smith<ref name="gordon">Gordon, Dr. Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures: Volume II. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publishing. pp. 130, 131. Template:ISBN. "Kent Smith: Frank Kent Smith was born on March 19, 1907, in New York City. [...] He was married to Betty Gillette from 1937 until their divorce in 1954. They had one daughter. He married actress Edith Atwater, who appeared with him in the national company of The Best Man, in 1962. Kent Smith passed away from heart disease at age 78 in Woodland Hills, California on April 23, 1985."</ref> (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television.

Early years

Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith.<ref name="pph">Template:Cite news</ref> He was born in New York City and was educated at Lincoln School, Phillips Exeter Academy<ref name="pph" /> in Exeter, New Hampshire,<ref name="slgd">Template:Cite news</ref> and at Harvard University.<ref name=sw/>

Stage

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.<ref name="sw">Template:Cite book</ref> He appeared on Broadway in Measure for Measure; Sweet Love Remembered; The Best Man; Ah, Wilderness!;<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=sw/>

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); the (1973) made-for-tv horror film, The Cat Creature; 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.<ref>The Bulletin of the U.S. Army Medical Department, June 1945, page 28</ref>

Television

Regular cast

Kent Smith played the imperious Dr. Morton on the popular series Peyton Place with his real-life wife (Edith Atwater) cast as Mrs. Morton. Smith played Edgar Scoville in the second season of the science-fiction series The Invaders (1967-1968)<ref name="etvs">Template:Cite book</ref> and was a host for the anthology series Philip Morris Playhouse (1953-1954).Template:R

Guest appearances

Smith had roles in TV movies such as How Awful About Allan (1970), The Night Stalker (1972), The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972), The Cat Creature (1973), The Affair (1973) and The Disappearance of Flight 412 (1974). His numerous television credits included a continuing role in Peyton Place as Dr. Robert Morton. He began guest-starring in television series in 1949 in The Philco Television Playhouse and appeared in Robert Montgomery Presents; General Electric Theater; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Naked City; Have Gun – Will Travel; Perry Mason; Gunsmoke “Beaton” (1963), a man trying to steal two Irish immigrants’ land in “Two of a Kind” (S8E27, 1963), "Dakota" (1963), and as an aging gunslinger in “The Glory & The Mud” (S9E14); The Beverly Hillbillies; Rawhide S2 E8 as Capt. Loomis in "Incident of the Haunted Hills" (1959); The Americans; Barnaby Jones; Wagon Train in 1957 as "Professor Paul Owens", husband to Shelley Winters, in "The Ruth Owens Story" (S1E3); The Outer Limits; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour S1 E4 as Jerry O'Hara in "I Saw the Whole Thing" (1962); Mission: Impossible ("The Confession" 1/22 (1967); Night Gallery and the 1976 miniseries Once an Eagle.

File:The Curse Of The Cat People trailer.jpg

Kent Smith and Simone Simon in Curse of the Cat People (1944)

He played Governor Winston Brubaker in The Wild Wild West S3 E12 "The Night of the Legion of Death" which aired 11/22/1967. He appeared in the musical remake of Lost Horizon (1972), and the television movie Probe (1972), that would become the pilot for the TV series Search.

Personal life

Smith was married to actress Betty Gillette from 1937 until their divorce in 1954 and to actress Edith Atwater from 1962 until his death from congestive heart failure in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 78.<ref name="gordon"/>

He was survived by his wife and daughter.<ref name=nyt/>

Smith was a Republican and campaigned for Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.<ref>Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers </ref> 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."<ref name="slgd" />

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
	Forever and a Day	Gates Trimble Pomfret
	This Land Is Mine	Paul Martin
	Three Russian Girls	John Hill	alternate title: She Who Dares
1944	The Curse of the Cat People	Oliver Reed
	Resisting Enemy Interrogation	Captain Reining, American Working for the Nazis
	Youth Runs Wild	Danny Coates
1946	The Spiral Staircase	Dr. Parry
1947	Nora Prentiss	Dr. Richard Talbot
	Magic Town	Professor Frederick Hoopendecker
	The Voice of the Turtle	Kenneth Bartlett
1949	The Fountainhead	Peter Keating
	My Foolish Heart	Lew Wengler
1950	The Damned Don't Cry	Martin Blankford
	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	Brigadier General Charles Lane
	The Badlanders	Cyril Lounsberry
	Party Girl	Jeffrey Stewart
	The Mugger	Dr. Pete Graham
1959	This Earth Is Mine	Francis Fairon
	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Gilbert Hughes	Season 4 Episode 34: "A True Account"
1960	Strangers When We Meet	Stanley Baxter
1961	Susan Slade	Dr. Fane
1961	Rawhide	Captain Loomis	S2:E8, "Incident of the Haunted Hills"
1962	Moon Pilot	Secretary of the Air Force
	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Jerry O'Hara	Season 1 Episode 4: "I Saw the Whole Thing"
1963	The Balcony	General
1964	A Distant Trumpet	Secretary of War
	Youngblood Hawke	Paul Winter Sr.
	The Young Lovers	Dr. Shoemaker
	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Dr. Sam Adamson	Season 2 Episode 32: "Body in the Barn"
	Rawhide	Colonel Greer	S6:E23, "Incident at Hourglass"
1965	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Mr. Benner	Season 3 Episode 22: "Thou Still Unravished Bride"
1966	The Trouble with Angels	Uncle George
1967	A Covenant with Death	Parmalee
	Games	Harry Gordon
	The Money Jungle	Paul Kimmel
	Mission Impossible	Congressman Townsend	"The Confession"
1968	Assignment to Kill	Mr. Eversley
	Kona Coast	Akamai
1969	Death of a Gunfighter	Andrew Oxley
1970	The Games	Kaverley
	How Awful About Allan	Raymond Colleigh	TV movie
1971	The Last Child	Gus Iverson	TV movie
1972	The Night Stalker	District Attorney Tom Paine	TV movie
	Probe	Dr. Edward Laurent	TV movie
	Another Part of the Forest	Simon Isham	TV movie
	The Crooked Hearts	James Simpson	TV movie
	The Judge and Jake Wyler	Robert Dodd	TV movie
	Pete 'n' Tillie	Father Keating
	Call Me by My Rightful Name	Mr. Watkins
1973	Lost Horizon	Bill Fergunson
	Maurie	Dr. Walker	uncredited
	Cops and Robbers	Bit Part	uncredited
	The Affair	Mr. Patterson	TV movie
	The Cat Creature	Frank Lucas	TV movie
1974	Murder or Mercy	Judge	TV movie
	The Disappearance of Flight 412	General Enright	TV movie
1976	Once an Eagle	General Jacklyn	TV miniseries
1977	Billy Jack Goes to Washington	Senator Joe Foley
1978	Die Sister, Die!	Dr. Thorne	alternate title: The Companion final film role

External links

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