Wonderful Smith (June 21, 1911August 28, 2008) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

comedian and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

from

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderso ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Early and personal life

Wonderful Smith was born Floyd Smith in 1911 in

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...

, to parents Sam Smith, Sr., a farmer, and his wife Mattie. Smith left home to go to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

at the age of 16. According to his obituary in the ''Los Angeles Times'', Smith married three times but had no children.

''Hello, Mr. President''

As a comedian, he was most notable for his routine, "Hello, Mr. President" which was an imaginary conversation with American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that lampooned the New Deal and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

preparations. The routine appeared in Duke Ellington's satirical revue " Jump for Joy". No complete copy of the routine exists, although most of the routine appeared in the 1941 movie '' Top Sergeant Mulligan,'' performed by Smith, and was later re-released on the Smithsonian's ''Jump for Joy'' LP in 1988.

Radio

He was a member of Red Skelton's radio shows in the early and mid-1940s. Others in the cast during this time were Ozzie and

Harriet Nelson Harriet Nelson (formerly Hilliard; born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Nelson is best known for her role on the Situation comedy, sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. Early ...

. When Smith returned from his

service, he found that his role in the show had been changed, along with the program's format. Smith claimed racial and veterans' discrimination. The radio show's sponsor responded that his contract had been honored because, while his role in the show was smaller than it had been previously, he was not written out with his contract paid off.

Television

Smith also made numerous appearances as an extra in various television series and movies, such as the head chef in '' The Bold Ones: The New Doctors'' and a janitor in the cavernous backstage scene in '' This is Spinal Tap''.

Personal appearances

Smith was a member of the "Wild" Bill Davis musical trio, which also included Davis and "Crazy Chris" Columbus. The group disbanded in 1956, and Smith became part of a larger group, the Swingin' Gentlemen, headed by Columbus.

Legacy

Smith was the inspiration for the name of a Chicago-based indie rock group.

Partial filmography

*'' Top Sergeant Mulligan'' (1941) - Wonderful *'' Over My Dead Body'' (1942) - Wonderful *''Howzer'' (1973) *'' A Piece of the Action'' (1977) - Daniel McLean *'' Oh, God!'' (1977) - Court Clerk *'' This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984) - Janitor *''

To Sleep with Anger ''To Sleep with Anger'' is a 1990 American black comedy film written and directed by Charles Burnett. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, h ...

'' (1990) - Preacher

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Wonderful 1911 births 2008 deaths Male actors from Arkansas People from Arkadelphia, Arkansas 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians American military personnel of World War II African-American male comedians American male comedians African Americans in World War II 21st-century African-American people