Cyril Edward Bruce-Smith (4 April 1892 – 5 March 1963) was a Scottish actor who began his career as a child in 1900 and went on to appear in numerous stage plays as well as over 100 films between 1914 and his death almost 50 years later. The son of Frederick and Elsa Smith; his mother travelled with him on his engagements during his boyhood.

Career

Smith first became known as a child stage actor in 1900, and by the age of 13 in 1905, he travelled to New York to appear as Cosmo in a production of the

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

play ''Alice-Sit-By-The Fire'', opposite

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

; at the time, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' hailed him as "one of the best-known child actors in England". Smith's film career began in 1914 in the

Wilfred Noy Wilfred Noy (born Wilfred Noy Blumberg, 24 December 1883 – 29 March 1948) was an English film director, actor, screenwriter and producer of the silent era. Noy was the maternal uncle of Leslie Howard.Eforgan, Estel. Leslie Howard: The Los ...

-directed ''Old St. Paul's'' and he appeared in almost 20 other

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s of the 1910s and 1920s before making the transition to sound. From the early 1930s until his death, he featured in dozens of films ranging from the

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

of the 1930s and the

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

of the 1940s and 1950s, through to more prestigious productions starring names such as

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

and

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

. Smith was not a name-billed film actor, and many of his roles were uncredited

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

s or minor roles with generic titles such as "Publican", "Reporter" or "Bailiff"; however towards the end of his life he achieved several more prominent billings after finding a late-career niche portraying scatty and doddery elderly men. For instance, in 1956, he had a leading role in the

Peggy Mount Margaret Rose Mount OBE (2 May 1915 – 13 November 2001) was an English actress. As a child, she found acting an escape from an unhappy home life. After playing in amateur productions, she was taken on by a repertory company and spent nine yea ...

comedy, '' Sailor Beware!'' and a similar leading role in the

Hylda Baker Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ...

comedy, ''

She Knows Y'Know ''She Knows Y'Know'' is a 1962 black and white British comedy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring comedienne Hylda Baker. The film takes its title from Hylda Baker's best known catch-phrase. The BFI describes the film, which was made ...

'' (1962) . Smith also moved into television, as

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

the magician in the 1956

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

series ''

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a Kn ...

'' which was also a success in the U.S. and as Harold Wormold in the first series of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Career

Filmography

References

External links