Alexis Smith

Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was an actress.

Related Topics:
June 8 - 1921 - June 9 - 1993 - Actress

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Born Gladys Smith in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada, after Mary Pickford she was the second Canadian born with the name "Gladys Smith" to make their way to stardom in New York City and Hollywood. She would say later in life that she preferred New York, while her husband favored California.

Related Topics:
Penticton, British Columbia - Canada - Mary Pickford - Canadian

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As stage actress "Alexis Smith," she was signed to a contract by Warner Brothers Studios in Hollywood after being seen in a play. Her earliest film roles were uncredited bit parts and it took several years for her career to gain momentum, but her appearance in The Constant Nymph was well received and led to bigger parts. During the forties she appeared opposite some of the most popular male stars of the day such as Errol Flynn in San Antonio (1945), Humphrey Bogart in The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947), and Cary Grant in the hyperfictionalized and ultrasanitized version of Cole and Linda Porter's life together in Night and Day (1946).

Related Topics:
Warner Brothers - The Constant Nymph - Errol Flynn - Humphrey Bogart - Cary Grant - Night and Day

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Some of her other films include Rhapsody In Blue (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), and The Young Philadelphians (1959).

Related Topics:
Rhapsody In Blue - Of Human Bondage - The Young Philadelphians

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She made the cover of the May 3, 1971, issue of Time magazine with the announcement that she would be starring in the Hal Prince Broadway production of Follies. In 1972 she won a Tony Award for "Best Actress in a Musical" for her performance. She next appeared in the musical Platinum in which she earned good reviews, but the show quickly closed. Almost twenty years later she would be nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest appearance in the television sitcom Cheers in 1990.

Related Topics:
Time magazine - Hal Prince - Broadway - Follies - 1972 - Tony Award - Platinum - Emmy Award - Television sitcom - Cheers

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Alexis Smith was married to the actor Craig Stevens from 1944 for 49 years until her death in Los Angeles, California from brain cancer on the day after her 72nd birthday. They had no children and he was her only survivor.

Related Topics:
Craig Stevens - Los Angeles, California - Brain cancer

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Her final film, The Age of Innocence (1993) was released shortly after her death.

Related Topics:
The Age of Innocence - 1993

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Rumors of her sexuality began when lesbian author Rita Mae Brown dedicated her book about the life of a Florida lesbian, Rubyfruit Jungle, to Smith. And after her death, author Boze Hadleigh declared her a bisexual in his book on Hollywood lesbians.

Related Topics:
Rita Mae Brown - Rubyfruit Jungle - Boze Hadleigh

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