John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003)
[ was an American theatre and film director.][ and '' Fast Break'' (1979).
]
Biography
Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
and went to Cretin High School with future actor Peter Graves.
He joined the Army Air Forces, flying missions in the Pacific during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, before earning his degree at the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. He then sought work as an actor. He worked as a radio actor and had a bit part in a stage production of '' Anna Lucasta''.
He became stage manager for TV's ''The Good Egg of the Week'' and then assistant director on '' The Colgate Comedy Hour'' and '' The Dennis Day Show''. He said a big break was working on '' Visit to a Small Planet'' with Cyril Ritchard.Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for his direction of the hour-long play ''Eddie'', which starred Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
. He directed the 1960 Broadway play '' The 49th Cousin''. He directed episodes for '' The Twilight Zone'' and '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''.
Smight's first feature film was '' I'd Rather Be Rich'' (1964), a remake of '' It Started with Eve'' (1941). Smight said "it was not a particularly good script but it opened up a whole new life for me."[Hollywood Kind to TV Directors
Los Angeles Times 17 May 1966: c9.]
Smight then signed a contract with Warners to make six films in one a year. He produced and directed '' The Third Day'' (1965) and then directed the Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
vehicle
A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
'' Harper'' (1966). He followed that with the British action comedy, '' Kaleidoscope'' (1966) with Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...
.
In 1966, he signed a three-picture deal with Mirisch Brothers and bought the rights to the book '' The Illustrated Man''.[MOVIE CALL SHEET: Jack Smight Signs Contract
Los Angeles Times 12 Dec 1966: D25.] In 1968, he directed the cult classic
A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
comedic thriller '' No Way to Treat a Lady'', starring Rod Steiger and George Segal. Other notable films directed by Smight include '' Airport 1975'' (1974) and '' Midway'' (1976), back-to-back box office hits.
In 1976, Smight was hired to direct the technically-complex '' Damnation Alley'', expected to be another box office hit upon release. After the director's cut was delivered, and Smight moved on to other projects, studio meddling and re-editing resulted in a drastically altered film, which was released and failed at the box office.
Smight's last film, '' The Favorite'' (1989), also known as La Nuit du serail, was a co-production of the United States and Switzerland.
Smight died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2003.
Filmography
Film
Television
Television Series
Television Films
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
Obituary-Jack Smight
The Guardian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smight, Jack
Artists from Minneapolis
1925 births
2003 deaths
Deaths from cancer in California
Film directors from Minnesota
Film producers from Minnesota