Person Biography:
Kent Smith, born Frank Kent Smith on March 19, 1907, in New York City, was a talented actor who had the makings of a topflight film star in the 1940s and 1950s. Despite his handsome looks, virile presence, and rich stage background, he never achieved stardom, instead building a solid body of work on stage, screen, and TV that defies such treatment.
Smith's early life was marked by an early experience in front of a crowd as an assistant to Blackstone the magician during his childhood. He attended Harvard University, where he found theater work at various facilities during his time off. One such group, the University Players in West Falmouth, Massachusetts, produced screen icons such as James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Margaret Sullavan.
Smith made his theatrical debut in the short-lived play "Blind Window" at the Ford's Theatre in Baltimore in 1929, alongside young hopeful Clark Gable. He took his first Broadway curtain call in "Men Must Fight" in 1932, performing opposite some of the theater's finest grande dames, including Lillian Gish, Katharine Cornell, Jane Cowl, Blanche Yurka, and Ethel Barrymore.
Aside from an isolated appearance in "The Garden Murder Case" (1936),Smith's film output didn't officially begin until 1942, when RKO took an interest in the stage-trained actor and offered him a lead role in the low-budget horror classic "Cat People" (1942) as the husband of menacingly feline Simone Simon. He returned to his protagonist role in the sequel "The Curse of the Cat People" (1944).
After a few more decent films, including "Hitler's Children" (1943) and "This Land Is Mine" (1943),Smith joined the U.S. Army Air Force and appeared in several government training films during his service, which ended in 1944. He came back to films without a hitch during the post-war years, posting major credits in "The Spiral Staircase" (1946),"Magic Town" (1947),"Nora Prentiss" (1947),"My Foolish Heart" (1949),and "The Fountainhead" (1949),although he tended to pale next to his illustrious female stars.
Smith fared better on stage and in the newer medium of TV in the 1950s. Among the highlights were his performances in "Victoria Regina" and "The Wisteria Tree", which was based on Chekhov's "'The Cherry Orchard". He was also praised for his strong stage performances in "The Wild Duck" and "The Autumn Garden" and appeared alongside Elaine Stritch in the national touring company of the musical "Call Me Madam".
Smith was everywhere on TV, guesting on popular shows such as "Wagon Train", "Naked City", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Outer Limits", and "Peyton Place". In 1962, he replaced Melvyn Douglas in the national company of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man". The same year, he married actress Edith Atwater, his second wife, following a divorce from his first wife, minor actress Betty Gillette, after 17 years and one daughter.
The remainder of Smith's career remained quite steady, if unremarkable, in both films and on TV. He lent able character support as assorted gray-haired authoritarians usually upstanding in reputation but certainly capable of shady dealings if called upon. The actor died at age 78 of heart disease in Woodland Hills, California, just outside of Los Angeles. His widow, Edith, died less than a year later of cancer.
