Frank A. Smith (August 31, 1911 – February 23, 1975) was an American cartoon animator and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He was the father of actor and film director

Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, director and writer based in British Columbia, Canada. His breakout role was as Terry "The Toad" Fields in George Lucas' film ''American Graffiti'' (1973), which he reprised ...

, and the brother of animator and director

Paul Smith Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

and animator Hank Smith.

Biography

Born in

Gladstone, Michigan Gladstone is a city in Delta County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. First settled in 1877, Gladstone's original name was Minnewasca. The population was 5,257 according to the 2020 census, The U.S. Highways 2 and 41 run ...

, Smith left home in his teens with the dream of working in films. He lost one of his eyes in a sawmill accident. Not having any money, he made his way across country to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

by hitching rides illegally on freight trains. After some time of living as a

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

, he finally reached Hollywood in 1930. Smith eventually was hired on as an animator at the

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

in the late 1930s. He worked on several feature films with that studio, including ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'' (1939) and various short films including ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Betty Boop Betty Boop is a cartoon character designed by Grim Natwick at the request of Max Fleischer. She originally appeared in the '' Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pic ...

''. In the 40s he was appointed the Animation Supervisor of

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

, working alongside his brother Paul. He then joined UPA studios, working alongside Robert Cannon,

John Hubley John Kirkham Hubley (May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American Animation, animated film director, art director, Film producer, producer, and Screenwriter, writer, known for his work with the United Productions of America, United Product ...

and others. His films at UPA included the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning ''

Gerald McBoing-Boing ''Gerald McBoing-Boing'' is an animated short film about a little boy who speaks through sound effects instead of spoken words. Produced by United Productions of America (UPA), it was given a wide release by Columbia Pictures on November 2, 19 ...

'' (1951). For three years Smith directed and produced films in Paris, France, for

Cineaste Productions Cineaste (or cinéaste) may refer to: * A cinema enthusiast; a cinephile * A person involved in filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and di ...

, winning many awards. His work in the 1960s included commercials and short films for Playhouse Pictures, followed by a long association with director/producer

Bill Melendez José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was an American animator, director, producer, and voice actor. Melendez is known for working on the ''Peanuts'' animated specials, as well as providing the voices of Sno ...

, animating many of the ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' television specials including ''

A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...

'', ''

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' is a 1966 American animated Halloween television special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. The third ''Peanuts'' special, and the second holiday-themed special, to be created, i ...

'' and the feature films ''

A Boy Named Charlie Brown ''A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' is a 1969 American animated musical comedy-drama film, produced by Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures, and directed by Bill Melendez with a screenplay by Charles M. Schulz. It is the fi ...

'' and ''

Snoopy Come Home ''Snoopy Come Home'' is a 1972 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Bill Melendez and written by Charles M. Schulz, based on the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. Marking the on-screen debut of Woodstock, who had first appeared in the ...

''.

References

External links

1911 births 1975 deaths People from Gladstone, Michigan American animators Film directors from Michigan {{US-animator-stub