Actor Roger Smith personified the slick glamour of private eyes in the classic television series 77 Sunset Strip, and later resilience as he fought to overcome nerve disease myasthenia gravis. Smith, whose career dates back to the 1950s passed away Sunday at the age of 84.
The LA Times reports that Jack Gilardi, the agent of Smith’s wife Ann-Margret announced Smith’s passing after a battle with a terminal illness.
Born in 1932, Smith seemed ready for stardom, even at a young age. The LA Times continues, “When he was 6, his parents enrolled him in professional school in Hollywood where he learned singing and dancing…”.
Smith’s climb to stardom was a gradual one, seeing him working as a singer (a lesser known part of his career), before being discovered in the late 1950s.
The Washington Post reports that it was screen legend James Cagney who first discovered Smith, and took him under his wing. “(Smith) sang at a party where Cagney – then filming Mr. Roberts with (Henry) Fonda– was present. Impressed, the veteran star urged Mr. Smith to go into the movies”.
Smith enjoyed a brief film career, scoring roles in films like Man of a Thousand Faces (starring James Cagney) and Auntie Mame. However, his career took off in the still new medium of television in the late 1950s.
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In 1958 he scored the role which came to define his career. 77 Sunset Strip ran for 150 episodes on ABC, lasting until 1964. Smith starred alongside Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Edd Byrnes and Jacqueline Beer.
The show enjoyed a lengthy run, and its success resulted in multiple spin-offs (Hawaiian Eye, Sufside 6). The Washington Post writes, “It was a light-hearted and popular series… Mr. Smith (featured) as a onetime federal undercover agent, Jeff Spencer”. By all accounts, the show is best known for the career explosion of Edd Byrnes. The teen idol featured as jive-talking parking attendant Kookie.
Smith departed 77 Sunset Strip in 1963, when the show underwent a large restructuring. He continued working across genres in television until he scored his next starring role. In 1965 Smith joined the television cast or Mr. Roberts in the title role.
Mister Roberts was a tremendously successful property during the immediate post WWII period. The story centers on the crew of a back-water cargo ship, struggling against boredom as well as the tyranny of their superior officers. Initially published as a novel in 1946, the story was later adapted into a Broadway play and then an Academy Award winning feature film. In the 1960s, the property served as the inspiration for a second feature film, Ensign Pulver as well as the television series Mister Roberts.
The series ran on NBC, and lasted 30 episodes. The series featured Steve Harmon and Richard X. Slattery in co-starring roles.
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In 1967, Smith married actress Ann-Margret. Much has been written about their marriage, which stands as a union for the ages, in an industry not known for successful marriages. In fact, the two recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
The two shared a strong bond, which kept the marriage together through numerous problems and health scares for both. The Washington Post writes,
He cared for her doing her addictions to pills and alcohol as well as her recovery from an accident in 1972 when she fell 22 feet off an elevated platform onstage and required extensive reconstructive surgery to her face. She later cared for Mr. Smith as his myasthenia gravis worsened…
Smith was diagnosed with myasthenia graves in 1965. The disorder is described as a nerve disorder causing extreme weakness in voluntary muscle groups. The weakness results from a disruption in communication between nerve signals to the muscles.
While Smith’s health worsened towards the end of the 1960s, he stepped back from acting. His last on-screen role is credited in 1968.
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Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Smith happily took a back seat, managing Ann-Margret’s career. The period stands as one of tremendous evolution for the actress. While she began her career as a “sex kitten”, it was during this period which she showed a tremendous amount of growth and evolution. She worked extensively during the two decades, and put forward some of her best performances in films like Carnal Knowledge and Tommy.
In 1970, Smith wrote C.C. and Company, which came to life as a film starring football player Joe Namath and Ann-Margret. While the film found itself savaged by critics, it possesses some fascinating negative reviews. The Washington Post quotes New York Times movie reviewer Vincent Canby, “… Here, at last, is a picture to name when someone asks you to recommend a ‘good, bad movie’”
The Washington Post quotes Smith in talking about his wife,
Being a famous actor is not nearly as satisfying as people think. When I met Ann-Margret, I felt happy for the first time in my life. Once I found Ann-Margret, I couldn’t stand to be without her, and surprisingly, she couldn’t stand to be without me… Being with her was more important than all my childhood dreams about being a famous actor…
Even though forty years passed since his last television appearance, Roger Smith remained a supportive husband and figure in Ann-Margret’s career. His contributions during his fifty years in Hollywood will definitely be missed.
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