Alexis Smith

Alexis Smith Career

Born Gladys Smith in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada, Smith was raised in Los Angeles. She was signed to a contract by Warner Bros. after being discovered by a talent scout while attending college.Her earliest film roles were uncredited bit parts and it took several years for her career to gain momentum. Her first credited part was in the feature film Dive Bomber (1941), playing the female lead opposite Errol Flynn. Her appearance in The Constant Nymph (1943) was well received and led to bigger parts. During the 1940s she appeared opposite some of the most popular male stars of the day, including Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim (1942) and San Antonio (1945) (in which she sang a special version of the popular ballad "Some Sunday Morning"), Humphrey Bogart in The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947), Cary Grant in a sanitized, fictional version of Cole and Linda Porter's life in Night and Day (1946), and Bing Crosby in Here Comes the Groom (1951).

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

She appeared on the cover of the May 3, 1971 issue of Time with the announcement that she would be starring in Hal Prince's Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. She followed this with the 1973 all-star revival of The Women, the short-lived 1975 comedy Summer Brave and the ill-fated 1978 musical Platinum, which drew decent notices only for her performance and quickly closed.

Smith had a recurring role on the TV series Dallas as Clayton Farlow's sister Jessica Montford in 1984 and again in 1990. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on the television sitcom Cheers in 1990.

Alexis Smith Death

Smith died in Los Angeles, California from brain cancer on the day after her 72nd birthday. She had no children and was survived by her husband actor Craig Stevens. Smith's final film, The Age of Innocence (1993), was released shortly after her death.

Alexis Smith Trivia

Tall, graceful, talented, Canadian-born actress who was married for 49 years to actor Craig Stevens.

During the 1959 filming of The Young Philadelphians (1959) starring Paul Newman, she fell during a horse riding sequence and broke her back.

Had her own night club act in the 70s which she took to Los Angeles and Canada.

Her first professional dance job was in 1934 in the ballet "Carmen" at the Hollywood Bowl.

Signed by Warner Brothers after being seen in a college drama production, she was subsequently billed as "The Dynamite Girl" and "The Flame Girl" in promotional articles.

Won Broadway's 1972 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Follies." She was nominated in the same category in 1979 for "Platinum."