Kent Smith(1907-1985)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
He was one of Hollywood's more interesting curiosities. Kent Smith, by
most standards, had the makings of a topflight '40s and '50s film star--handsome, virile, personable, highly dedicated, equipped with a rich stage background--and no slouch in the talent department. For some reason
all these fine qualities did not add up to stardom, which would remain
elusive in a career that nevertheless covered almost five decades.
Today, Smith's name and face have been almost completely forgotten. His
solid body of work on stage, screen and TV certainly defies such
treatment. Perhaps his looks weren't distinctive enough, perhaps he was
overshadowed once too often by his more popular female screen stars,
perhaps there was a certain lack of charisma or sex appeal for
audiences to latch onto, or perhaps a lack of ego or even an interest in
being a "name" star. Whatever the reason, this purposeful lead and
second lead's resume deserves more than a passing glance.
Christened Frank Kent Smith, he was born in New York City on March 19,
1907, to a hotelier. An early experience in front of a crowd happened
during childhood when he performed as an assistant to Blackstone the
magician. Kent graduated from boarding school (Philips Exeter Academy
in New Hampshire) and attended Harvard University, finding theater work
at various facilities during his time off. One such group, the
University Players in West Falmouth, Massachusetts, produced such
screen icons as James Stewart,
Henry Fonda and
Margaret Sullavan.
Kent made his theatrical debut in the short-lived play "Blind Window"
at the Ford's Theatre in Baltimore in 1929 in a cast that also featured
young hopeful Clark Gable. Taking his first
Broadway curtain call in "Men Must Fight" in 1932, a steady flow of
theater work came his way throughout the rest of the '30s, in which he
performed opposite some of the theater's finest grande dames: Lillian Gish,
Katharine Cornell,
Jane Cowl,
Blanche Yurka and
Ethel Barrymore. He proved equally adept
in both classic ("Caesar and Cleopatra," "Saint Joan," "A Doll's
House") and contemporary settings ("Heat Lightning," "The Drums
Begin").
Aside from an isolated appearance in
The Garden Murder Case (1936),
Kent's film output didn't officially begin until 1942. 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), Kent
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 Dorothy McGuire,
Jane Wyman,
Ann Sheridan,
Susan Hayward and
Patricia Neal. Normally a third wheel in
romantic triangles or good friend/rival-to-the-star roles, he never found the
one big film role (or TV show) that could have put a marquee name to
the face.
Kent fared better on stage and in the newer medium of TV in the 1950s.
Among the highlights: He complemented
Helen Hayes both in the video
version of her stage triumph "Victoria Regina" and in her Broadway
vehicle "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". He was everywhere on TV,
guesting on such popular shows 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". Also
in the cast was actress Edith Atwater. The
couple married that same year. His first marriage to minor actress
Betty Gillette had ended earlier in divorce
after 17 years and one daughter.
The remainder of Kent'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.
Perhaps with such a common last name as "Smith" it was destined that
he would spend a lifetime trying to stand out. Nevertheless, with a career
as rich and respectable as his was, and with a wide range of roles that
included everything from battling evil cats to spouting Shakespeare at
Stratford, true recognition and reconsideration is long overdue.
most standards, had the makings of a topflight '40s and '50s film star--handsome, virile, personable, highly dedicated, equipped with a rich stage background--and no slouch in the talent department. For some reason
all these fine qualities did not add up to stardom, which would remain
elusive in a career that nevertheless covered almost five decades.
Today, Smith's name and face have been almost completely forgotten. His
solid body of work on stage, screen and TV certainly defies such
treatment. Perhaps his looks weren't distinctive enough, perhaps he was
overshadowed once too often by his more popular female screen stars,
perhaps there was a certain lack of charisma or sex appeal for
audiences to latch onto, or perhaps a lack of ego or even an interest in
being a "name" star. Whatever the reason, this purposeful lead and
second lead's resume deserves more than a passing glance.
Christened Frank Kent Smith, he was born in New York City on March 19,
1907, to a hotelier. An early experience in front of a crowd happened
during childhood when he performed as an assistant to Blackstone the
magician. Kent graduated from boarding school (Philips Exeter Academy
in New Hampshire) and attended Harvard University, finding theater work
at various facilities during his time off. One such group, the
University Players in West Falmouth, Massachusetts, produced such
screen icons as James Stewart,
Henry Fonda and
Margaret Sullavan.
Kent made his theatrical debut in the short-lived play "Blind Window"
at the Ford's Theatre in Baltimore in 1929 in a cast that also featured
young hopeful Clark Gable. Taking his first
Broadway curtain call in "Men Must Fight" in 1932, a steady flow of
theater work came his way throughout the rest of the '30s, in which he
performed opposite some of the theater's finest grande dames: Lillian Gish,
Katharine Cornell,
Jane Cowl,
Blanche Yurka and
Ethel Barrymore. He proved equally adept
in both classic ("Caesar and Cleopatra," "Saint Joan," "A Doll's
House") and contemporary settings ("Heat Lightning," "The Drums
Begin").
Aside from an isolated appearance in
The Garden Murder Case (1936),
Kent's film output didn't officially begin until 1942. 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), Kent
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 Dorothy McGuire,
Jane Wyman,
Ann Sheridan,
Susan Hayward and
Patricia Neal. Normally a third wheel in
romantic triangles or good friend/rival-to-the-star roles, he never found the
one big film role (or TV show) that could have put a marquee name to
the face.
Kent fared better on stage and in the newer medium of TV in the 1950s.
Among the highlights: He complemented
Helen Hayes both in the video
version of her stage triumph "Victoria Regina" and in her Broadway
vehicle "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". He was everywhere on TV,
guesting on such popular shows 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". Also
in the cast was actress Edith Atwater. The
couple married that same year. His first marriage to minor actress
Betty Gillette had ended earlier in divorce
after 17 years and one daughter.
The remainder of Kent'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.
Perhaps with such a common last name as "Smith" it was destined that
he would spend a lifetime trying to stand out. Nevertheless, with a career
as rich and respectable as his was, and with a wide range of roles that
included everything from battling evil cats to spouting Shakespeare at
Stratford, true recognition and reconsideration is long overdue.