Queenie Smith (September 8, 1898 – August 5, 1978) was an American stage, television, and film actress.

Life and career

Smith was born in Texas. Her family moved from Texas to New York shortly before Smith began studying at the Metropolitan Opera's ballet school. She got an early start, being trained in ballet and dance and spent her teen years performing as a dancer with the

Metropolitan Opera Company The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s such as ''Aida'', ''La Traviata'', and ''Faust''. By the 1920s she was appearing on Broadway in shows such as ''Helen of Troy, New York'' (1923), ''Sitting Pretty'' (1924), and ''The Street Singer'' (1929), and by the mid-1930s had made her way into films. She also appeared on Broadway in '' Tip-Toes'' (1925). She costarred in the 1936

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

film version of

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

's '' Show Boat'', playing Ellie May Chipley. Smith replaced stage actress

Eva Puck Eva Puck (November 25, 1892 – October 25, 1979) was an American entertainer, a vaudeville headliner who later found success performing in Broadway musical comedies and film. Early life She was born in New York City, the middle of three ...

who had starred as Chipley in the 1927 premiere and 1932 revival of ''Show Boat''. In 1947 she appeared in the film '' The Long Night'' and then played other character roles on film, and later, television. She was seen as

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

's wife in '' The Great Rupert'', and in guest shots in many television shows, including '' The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'', '' A.E.S. Hudson Street'', '' Rhoda'', ''Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was cre ...

'', ''

Mother, Jugs & Speed ''Mother, Jugs & Speed'' is a 1976 American black comedy film directed by Peter Yates. It stars Bill Cosby (Mother), Raquel Welch (Jugs), Harvey Keitel (Speed), and Larry Hagman as employees of an independent ambulance service trying to survive i ...

'', '' Chico and the Man'', '' McMillan & Wife'', '' Love American Style'', '' The Waltons'', '' Here's Lucy'', '' The Funny Side'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', '' The Monkees'', '' The Odd Couple'', '' The Love Boat'', '' Maude'' and '' Little House on the Prairie'' (in a recurring role as Mrs. Whipple). Smith was a teacher and mentor to many a young actor. She taught at the Hollywood Professional School and was the director for the training program at Melodyland Theater in Anaheim, California, during the 1960s. She worked until the year of her death, her last role being Elsie in the

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

/ Goldie Hawn film '' Foul Play''. (1978). She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

a month before her 80th birthday.

Partial filmography

*''

John Halifax, Gentleman ''John Halifax, Gentleman'' is a novel by Dinah Craik, first published in 1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – Americ ...

'' (1915) - Minor Role (uncredited) *''

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

'' (1935) - Alabam *''

Special Agent K-7 ''Special Agent K-7'' is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Raymond K. Johnson and starring Walter McGrail, Queenie Smith and Irving Pichel. It was based on the radio series of the same title. Synopsis FBI Special Agent K-7 Vince Landers ( ...

'' (1936) - Ollie O'Dea *'' Show Boat'' (1936) - Elly May Chipley *''On Your Toes'' (1939) - Mrs. Dolan *'' From This Day Forward'' (1946) - Mrs. Beesley *''

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

'' (1946) - Mary Ellen 'Queenie' Daugherty (uncredited) *'' Nocturne'' (1946) - Queenie *'' The Long Night'' (1947) - Mrs. Tully *'' Sleep, My Love'' (1948) - Mrs. Grace Vernay *'' The Snake Pit'' (1948) - Lola *'' Massacre River'' (1949) - Mrs. Johanssen *'' The Great Rupert'' (1950) - Mrs. Amendola *''

Caged In music, a barre chord (also spelled bar chord) is a type of chord on a guitar or other stringed instrument played by using one finger to press down multiple strings across a single fret of the fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strin ...

'' (1950) - Mrs. Warren - Marie's Mother (uncredited) *'' Union Station'' (1950) - Landlady (uncredited) *'' Prisoners in Petticoats'' (1950) - Beatrice *'' Emergency Wedding'' (1950) - Rose - Reno Hotel Maid (uncredited) *''

Belle Le Grand ''Belle Le Grand'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and written by D.D. Beauchamp. The film stars Vera Ralston, John Carroll, William Ching, Hope Emerson, Grant Withers, Stephen Chase, John Qualen and Harry Morgan. The fi ...

'' (1951) - Anna (uncredited) *'' The First Legion'' (1951) - Henrietta *'' When Worlds Collide'' (1951) - Matron with Cigarette (uncredited) *'' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952) - Spectator (uncredited) *''

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a play, a musical, a radio play (an ...

'' (1955) - Alice - Baker's Secretary (uncredited) *'' Fighting Trouble'' (1956) - Miss Kate Kelly *''

You Can't Run Away from It ''You Can't Run Away from It'' is a 1956 musical comedy directed and produced by Dick Powell and starring June Allyson and Jack Lemmon. The film is a remake of the 1934 Academy Award-winning film ''It Happened One Night''. The supporting cast fea ...

'' (1956) - Elderly Lady *'' Hot Shots'' (1956) - Mrs. Kate Kelly *'' Hold That Hypnotist'' (1957) - Kate Kelly *'' Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957) - Mildred Tam (uncredited) *'' The Legend of Lylah Clare'' (1968) - Hairdresser *''

The Day of the Locust ''The Day of the Locust'' is a 1939 novel by American author Nathanael West set in Hollywood, California. The novel follows a young artist from the Yale School of Fine Arts named Tod Hackett, who has been hired by a Hollywood studio to do scen ...

'' (1975) - Palsied Lady *'' Hustle'' (1975) - Customer #1 *''

'' (1976) - (uncredited) *''

Invisible Strangler ''Invisible Strangler'' is a 1984 American horror film directed by John Florea, an alternate cut of the 1978 film ''The Astral Factor'', also known as ''The Astral Fiend'', starring Robert Foxworth, Stefanie Powers, Cesare Danova, Sue Lyon and El ...

'' (1978) - Darlene's Landlady *'' The End'' (1978) - Old Lady in Car *'' Foul Play'' (1978) - Elsie (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Queenie 1898 births 1978 deaths American stage actresses American television actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City Deaths from cancer in California