| Jack Smight | |
| Birth Name: | John Ronald Smight |
| Birth Date: | 9 March 1925 |
| Birth Place: | Minneapolis, Minnesota, US |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation: | Theatre director, film director, film producer |
John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director.[1] [2] His film credits include Harper (1966), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), Airport 1975 (1974),[3] Midway (1976),[1] and Fast Break (1979).
Smight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to Cretin High School with future actor Peter Graves.
He joined the Army Air Forces, flying missions in the Pacific during World War II, before earning his degree at the University of Minnesota. He then sought work as an actor.[4] 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 and The Dennis Day Show. He said a big break was working on Visit to a Small Planet with Cyril Ritchard.
In 1959, he won an Emmy Award for his direction of the hour-long play Eddie, which starred Mickey Rooney. He directed the 1960 Broadway play The 49th Cousin. He directed episodes for The Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
Smight's first feature film was I'd Rather Be Rich (1964), a remake of It Started with Eve (1941). Smight said "it was not a particularly good script but it opened up a whole new life for me."[5]
Smight then signed a contract with Warners to make six films in one a year. He produced and directed The Third Day (1965) and then directed the Paul Newman vehicle Harper (1966).[6] He followed that with the British action comedy, Kaleidescope (1966) with Warren Beatty.
In 1966, he signed a three-picture deal with Mirisch Brothers and bought the rights to the book The Illustrated Man.[7] In 1968, he directed the cult classic comedic thriller No Way to Treat a Lady, starring Rod Steiger and George Segal. Other notable films directed by Smight include Airport 1975 (1974) and Midway (1976), back-to-back box office hits.
In 1976, Smight was hired to direct the technically-complex Damnation Alley, expected to be another box office hit upon release. After the director's cut was delivered, and Smight moved on to other projects, studio meddling and re-editing resulted in a drastically altered film, which was released and failed at the box office.
Smight's last film, The Favorite (1989), also known as La Nuit du serail, was a co-production of the United States and Switzerland.
Smight died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2003.[8]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | I'd Rather Be Rich | |
| 1965 | The Third Day | |
| 1966 | Harper | |
| 1966 | Kaleidoscope | |
| 1968 | The Secret War of Harry Frigg | |
| 1968 | No Way to Treat a Lady | |
| 1969 | The Illustrated Man | |
| 1969 | Strategy of Terror | |
| 1970 | Rabbit, Run | |
| 1970 | The Traveling Executioner | |
| 1974 | Airport 1975 | |
| 1976 | Midway | |
| 1977 | Damnation Alley | |
| 1979 | Fast Break | |
| 1980 | Loving Couples | |
| 1987 | Number One with a Bullet | |
| 1989 | The Favorite | |
Television Series
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | One Man's Family | TV series |
| 1955 | Repertory Theatre | 2 episodes |
| 1955 | Goodyear Playhouse | 2 episodes |
| 1956-57 | Climax! | 13 episodes |
| 1956-58 | General Electric Theater | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | The Seven Lively Arts | Episode: "The Sound of Jazz" |
| 1957-58 | Studio One in Hollywood | 4 episodes |
| 1957-58 | Suspicion | 3 episode |
| 1958 | Alcoa Theatre | Episode: Eddie |
| 1959 | Oldsmobile Music Theatre | Episode: "A Nice Place to Hide" |
| 1959 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | 2 episodes |
| 1959-61 | The Twilight Zone | 4 episodes |
| 1960 | The United States Steel Hour | Episode "Shadow of a Pale Horse" |
| 1960-61 | Art Carney Special | 2 episodes |
| 1960-61 | Sunday Showcase | 2 episodes |
| 1960-61 | Our American Heritage | 4 episodes |
| 1961 | Naked City | Episode: "Dead on the Field of Honor" |
| 1961 | Route 66 | Episode: "Goodnight Sweet Blues" |
| 1961 | The Law and Mr. Jones | Episode: "Lincoln" |
| 1962 | The Defenders | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | The DuPont Show of the Week | 5 episodes |
| 1962 | Alcoa Premiere | Episode: "Broken Year" |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | 4 episodes |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | 5 episodes |
| 1963-64 | Dr. Kildare | 3 episodes |
| 1964-65 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | 4 episodes |
| 1971 | Columbo | Episode: "Dead Weight" |
| 1971-72 | McCloud | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Banacek | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Madigan | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Code of Vengeance | 2 episodes |
Television Films
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Victor Borge's Comedy in Music III | TV movie |
| 1959 | The Ten Commandments | TV movie |
| 1959 | The Sound of Miles Davis | TV movie |
| 1960 | Destiny, West! | TV movie |
| 1961 | Westinghouse Presents: Come Again to Carthage | TV movie |
| 1961 | The Enchanted Nutcracker | TV movie |
| 1962 | Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going | TV movie |
| 1972 | The Screaming Woman | TV movie |
| 1972 | The Longest Night | TV movie |
| 1973 | Partners in Crime | TV movie |
| 1973 | Double Indemnity | TV movie |
| 1973 | Linda | TV movie |
| 1973 | TV movie | |
| 1973 | Legend in Granite | TV movie |
| 1974 | The Man from Independence | TV movie |
| 1978 | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | TV movie |
| 1982 | Remembrance of Love | TV movie |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcoa Theatre Episode: Eddie | [9] | ||||
| Westinghouse Presents: Come Again to Carthage | |||||
| 1970 | The Illustrated Man | ||||