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Gerald Oliver Smith

{{Short description|English actor (1892–1974)}}

{{more citations needed|date=June 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Gerald Oliver Smith

| image = Gerald Oliver Smith in Federal Fugitives (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Smith in Federal Fugitives (1941)

| birth_name = Gerald Wilson Oliver Smith

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|06|26|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Sidcup, Kent, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1974|05|28|1892|06|26}}

| death_place = Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1917–1960

| spouse =

| children =

| website =

}}

Gerald Wilson Oliver Smith (June 26, 1892 – May 28, 1974) was an English-born actor who spent most of his career in the United States, both in New York City as a stage actor and in the Hollywood film industry.

Biography

Born in Sidcup, Kent, England, Smith debuted as a music hall singer in London. He came to the United States as part of a London Gaiety Company production of To-night's the Night.{{cite news |title=English comedian long on stage |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47043556/gerald-oliver-smith/ |access-date=March 21, 2020 |work=The Standard Union |date=February 27, 1930 |location=New York, Brooklyn |page=11|via = Newspapers.com}} His Broadway career began in 1916, and he appeared in, among other productions, three George Gershwin musicals: Lady Be Good (1924), Oh, Kay! (1928) and Pardon My English (1933).{{cite web |title=Gerald Oliver Smith |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/gerald-oliver-smith-60377 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=March 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321012145/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/gerald-oliver-smith-60377 |archive-date=March 21, 2020}} He also had bit parts in silent films, such as The Mysterious Miss Terry (1917), and went on to appear in talkies and musicals in the 1930s and 1940s. He began working in Hollywood in 1937, and was frequently typecast as a genteel butler or pompous English gentleman.[http://www.allmovie.com/artist/gerald-oliver-smith-p66431 Gerald Oliver Smith] at Allmovie His film appearances included Casablanca, National Velvet, and One Hundred Men and a Girl. Smith appeared in more than one hundred movies, often in small roles, and was not always mentioned in the credits. From 1952 to 1956 he made several television appearances. He retired to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital late in life.

Death

On May 28, 1974, Smith died in Woodland Hills, California, at age 81.{{cite book |last1=Ellenberger |first1=Allan R. |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0983-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bOJCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Gerald+Oliver+Smith%22&pg=PA208 |page=208|access-date=March 21, 2020 |language=en}} He is buried at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, Los Angeles.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Filmography

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References

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External links

{{Portal|England|Film|Television}}

{{Commons category}}

  • {{IMDb name}}
  • [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/179719%7C60600/Gerald-Oliver%20Smith#overview Gerald Oliver Smith] at Turner Classic Movies
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20180528135445/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba9c07fb7 Gerald Oliver Smith] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
  • {{IBDB name}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gerald Oliver}}

Category:1892 births

Category:1974 deaths

Category:English male actors

Category:Male actors from London

Category:English expatriate male actors in the United States