| Oscar Smith | |
| Birth Date: | October 28, 1885 |
| Birth Place: | Topeka, Kansas, USA |
| Death Date: | March 18, 1956 (aged 70) |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Spouse: | Nora LaVertt |
| Children: | 1 (Shirley Mae) |
Oscar Smith (1885–1956) was an American actor who worked in Hollywood at Paramount Pictures from the 1920s through the 1940s.[1] [2] Like most black actors of his time, his appearances onscreen were often uncredited. He was known for his short stature, his youthful appearance (he was nicknamed "The Cute Kid"), and his stutter.
Oscar was born in Topeka, Kansas, to Scott Smith and Sarah Jones. He was hired on at Paramount around 1919 as the valet and shoe-shiner of Wallace Reid; the pair met when Oscar was shining shoes in a Los Angeles barber shop.[3] Oscar and his wife, Nora, lived with the Reids for a time while working for the couple. When Reid died, in his will, he stipulated that Oscar be given a shoe shine stand at Paramount for the rest of Oscar's life.[4] [5]
Oscar's shoeshine stand was located right inside the studio gates on Bronson Avenue, and it became known as a spot where one could hear major Hollywood gossip;[6] this position led to numerous small on-screen roles in Paramount films.[7] [8] (His cousin was left in charge of the stand when Oscar would go to work on set.)[9] In 1928, on the merit of his performance in The Canary Murder Case, he signed a long-term contract as an actor, a first for a black performer at Paramount.[10]
Oscar also kept busy working as an agent for aspiring black actors. He also had a membership in the Make-Up Artists Guild; he is noted as having worked on the makeup of black actors on the set of 1943's Happy Go Lucky.[11]