Roger LaVerne Smith (December 18, 1932 – June 4, 2017) was an American television and film actor, producer, and screenwriter. He starred in the television detective series ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' and in the comedy series '' Mister Roberts''. Smith went on to manage the career of

Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...

, his wife of 50 years.

Early life

Smith was born in

South Gate, California South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, with . It is located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. South Gate is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County. The city was incorporated on J ...

, the son of Leone Irene (née Adams) and Dallas LaVerne Smith. When he was six, his parents enrolled him into a stage school, where he took singing, dancing, and elocution lessons. He grew up in

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (; English: or ) is a city in and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales L ...

, where his family moved when he was 12. He was educated at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

on a football scholarship. He won several amateur talent prizes as a singer and guitarist.

Career

Smith served with the Naval Reserve and was stationed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

with the Fleet All-Weather Training Unit-Pacific, a flight-training unit near Honolulu. After a chance meeting with

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

, he was encouraged to try a career in Hollywood. (Cagney had also encouraged other young actors for whom he found roles in two 1956 films.) He later played Cagney's character's son, Lon Chaney Jr. in '' Man of a Thousand Faces''. Roger Smith actor

Smith signed with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

in 1957 and made several films, then moved to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1958. On April 16, 1958, Smith appeared with

Charles Bickford Charles Ambrose Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor known for supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' The Song of Bernadette'' (1943), '' The Fa ...

in "The Daniel Barrister Story" on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

''. His greatest film exposure was the role of the adult Patrick Dennis in '' Auntie Mame'', with

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

. His signature television role was private detective Jeff Spencer in '' 77 Sunset Strip''. Smith appeared in 74 episodes of the Warner Bros. Television series. Due to his popularity on the show,

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

released one LP album by Smith titled, ''Beach Romance'' on Warner Bros. Records WS 1305, in June 1959. He left the popular ABC program in 1962 because of a blood clot in his brain. He recovered from this after surgery. Before he obtained a role in another television series, Smith said he had to "fight my way back from a point where I had almost decided to give up acting." He then starred as Lt. Douglas Roberts in the Warner Bros. Television series '' Mister Roberts'', a comedy-drama series on

-TV in 1965–1966. He produced two films with Allan Carr, '' The First Time'' (1969) and '' C.C. and Company'' (1970), which he also wrote. His health declined, and in 1980, according to wife Ann-Margret, he was diagnosed with

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...

, a neuromuscular disease. His condition went into remission in 1985. Following his retirement from performing, he managed his wife's career and produced her popular

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

stage shows. In an interview with the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'', Ann-Margret said that he had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He appeared rarely on television after his health deteriorated, although he participated on '' This Is Your Life'', when host Ralph Edwards devoted an episode to Ann-Margret. In addition to the appearances credited below, Smith appeared on several game shows.

Personal life

Smith married twice. His first wife (1956–1965) was

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n-born actress Victoria Shaw with whom he had three children: daughter Tracey (b. 1957), and sons Jordan (b. 1958) and Dallas (b. 1961). Smith and Shaw divorced in 1965. He married

on May 8, 1967. He became her manager, but he largely retired due to his myasthenia gravis.

Death

Smith died at age 84 on June 4, 2017, at Sherman Oaks Hospital in

Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

, of complications from

. He is interred in the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California, United States. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. History The first Fo ...

Filmography

Film

*''

Over-Exposed ''Over-Exposed'' is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna and Raymond Greenleaf. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. This film was released on DVD by Sony Picture ...

'' (1956) — Reporter (uncredited) *'' Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) — Creighton Chaney at 21 *'' Operation Mad Ball'' (1957) — Cpl. Berryman *'' No Time to Be Young'' (1957) — Bob Miller *'' Crash Landing'' (1958) — John Smithback *'' Auntie Mame'' (1958) — Patrick Dennis (older) *'' Never Steal Anything Small'' (1959) — Dan Cabot *'' For Those Who Think Young'' (1964) — Detective (uncredited) *'' Sette uomini e un cervello'' (1968) — Un giocatore *'' Rogues' Gallery'' (1968) — John Rogue (final film role)

Television

*'' The Original Amateur Hour'' (1948) — as a

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

with Ted Mack *'' Damon Runyon Theater'' (1956, Episode: "Hot Oil") — Richard *'' Celebrity Playhouse'' (1956, Episode: "Faith") — Eddie Mason *''

Ford Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

'' (1956) — Skee Langford / Jug Jensen / Carter *''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...

'' (1956–1958) — Doyle Hobbs *''

Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode run ...

'' (1957, Episode: "The Kidnapper") — Jim *''West Point'' (1957, Episode: "M-24") *'' The George Sanders Mystery Theater'' (1957, Episode: "Round Trip") *''

'' (1958, Episode: "The Daniel Barrister Story") — Dr. Peter Culver *'' Sugarfoot'' (1958, Episode: "Yampa Crossing") — Gene Blair *''

'' (1958–1963) — Jeff Spencer *''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

'' (1960, Episode: "I Wed Three Wives") — Jeff Spencer *'' The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' (December 22, 1960) — Himself *'' Surfside 6'' (1962, Episode: "Love Song for a Deadly Redhead") — Jeff Spencer *'' Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (1964, Episode: "Knight's Gambit") — Anthony Griswold Knight *'' Mister Roberts'' (1965 Series) — Lt. Douglas Roberts *'' Hullabaloo'' (1966)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Roger 1932 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Television writers from California American male television writers University of Arizona alumni People from South Gate, California Male actors from California Warner Bros. contract players United States Navy sailors Military personnel from California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Screenwriters from Arizona Deaths from myasthenia gravis