John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include ''

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

'' (1966), '' No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968), ''

Airport 1975 ''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, a ...

'' (1974), '' Midway'' (1976), and ''

Fast Break Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...

'' (1979).

Biography

Smight was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and went to Cretin High School with future actor

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 ...

. He joined the Army Air Forces, flying missions in the Pacific during World War II, before earning his degree at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. He then sought work as an actor. He worked as a radio actor and had a bit part in a stage production of '' Anna Lucasta''. He became stage manager for TV's ''The Good Egg of the Week'' and then assistant director on ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' and ''

The Dennis Day Show ''The RCA Victor Show'' is a 1950s American television program broadcast on NBC that eventually became ''The Dennis Day Show''. It began on November 23, 1951, and ended on August 2, 1954. ''The RCA Victor Show'' With Ezio Pinza ''The RCA Victor ...

''. He said a big break was working on ''

Visit to a Small Planet ''Visit to a Small Planet'' is a 1960 American black-and-white science fiction comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Jerry Lewis, Joan Blackman, Earl Holliman, and Fred Clark. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was produced by ...

'' with

Cyril Ritchard Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...

. In 1959, he won an Emmy for his direction of the hour-long play ''Eddie'', which starred

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

. He directed the 1960 Broadway play ''

The 49th Cousin ''The 49th Cousin'' is a play by Florence Lowe and Caroline Francke. The work premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on 27 October 1960 and closed after 102 performances on January 21, 1961.Volume 42 - Page 303 The production was direc ...

''. He directed episodes for ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' and ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was re ...

''. Smight's first feature film was ''

I'd Rather Be Rich ''I'd Rather Be Rich'' is a 1964 romantic comedy film with musical aspects directed by Jack Smight, produced by Ross Hunter and starring Sandra Dee. The film focuses on a dying man who wishes to meet his granddaughter's fiancé, but he is unavail ...

'' (1964), a remake of ''

It Started with Eve ''It Started with Eve'' is a 1941 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, and Charles Laughton. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music Score (Charles Previ ...

'' (1941). Smight said "it was not a particularly good script but it opened up a whole new life for me."Hollywood Kind to TV Directors Los Angeles Times 17 May 1966: c9. Smight then signed a contract with Warners to make six films at one a year. He produced and directed ''

The Third Day ''The Third Day'' is a 1965 suspense thriller film directed by Jack Smight and starring George Peppard and Elizabeth Ashley. It was based on a novel by Joseph Hayes. Plot Steve Mallory has been involved in a car crash, and it appears he has k ...

'' (1965) and then directed the

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

starring vehicle ''

'' (1966), a big hit. He followed that with the British action comedy,

Kaleidescope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when vie ...

with

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

. In 1966 he signed a three-picture deal with the Mirisch Brothers and bought the rights to the novel ''The Illustrated Man''.MOVIE CALL SHEET: Jack Smight Signs Contract Los Angeles Times 12 Dec 1966: D25. In 1968, he directed the cult classic comedic thriller '' No Way to Treat a Lady'', starring

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...

and George Segal. Other notable films directed by Smight include ''

'' (1974) and '' Midway'' (1976). Smight's last film was a US-Swiss co-production, '' The Favorite'' (1989), also known as La Nuit du serail. Smight died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2003.

Filmography

Film

Television

Television Series Television Films

Awards & Nominations

References

External links

* * *
Obituary-Jack Smight
The Guardian {{DEFAULTSORT:Smight, Jack Artists from Minneapolis 1925 births 2003 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Film directors from Minnesota Film producers from Minnesota