Cyril Smith (actor)

Cyril Smith
Born	4 April 1892(1892-04-04) Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died	5 March 1963(1963-03-05) (aged 70) London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1900s – 1962

Cyril Bruce Smith (4 April 1892 – 5 March 1963) was a Scottish actor who began his career as a child in the 1900s and went on to appear in over 100 films between 1914 and his death almost 50 years later.

Career

Smith first became known as a child stage actor, and by the age of 13 travelled to New York to appear in a production of the J. M. Barrie play Alice-Sit-By-The Fire, with the New York Times referring to him as "one of the best-known child actors in England".^[1] Smith's film career began in 1914 in the Wilfred Noy-directed Old St. Paul's and he appeared in almost 20 other silent films of the 1910s and 1920s before making the transition to sound. From the early 1930s until his death, he featured in dozens of films ranging from the quota quickies of the 1930s and the B-movies of the 1940s and 1950s, through to more prestigious productions starring names such as Vivien Leigh, Trevor Howard and Deborah Kerr. Smith was not a name-billed film actor and many of his roles were uncredited bit parts or minor roles with generic titles such as "Publican", "Reporter" or "Bailiff"; however towards the end of his life he achieved several more prominent billings after finding a late-career niche portraying scatty and doddery elderly men. Smith also moved into television, starring as Merlin in the 1956 ITV series The Adventures of Sir Lancelot which was also a success in the U.S. and as Harold Wormold in the first series of the BBC sitcom Hugh and I in 1962.

Smith suffered a heart attack in December 1962 and died on 5 March 1963, aged 70.^[2]

Partial filmography

Fires of Fate (1923) 1932: The Mayor's Nest 1933: The Roof 1933: The Man from Toronto 1933: The Good Companions 1933: Channel Crossing 1933: Friday the Thirteenth 1934: It's a Cop 1934: Waltzes from Vienna 1935: Oh, Daddy! 1935: Music Hath Charms 1935: Bulldog Jack 1935: Brown on Resolution 1935: Me and Marlborough 1935: The Tunnel 1936: The Last Journey 1936: Pot Luck 1936: Jack of All Trades 1937: O.H.M.S. 1937: Dark Journey 1937: Storm in a Teacup 1937: The Frog 1938: Sidewalks of London 1938: The Return of the Frog 1939: Sword of Honour 1939: Traitor Spy 1940: Law and Disorder 1940: The Flying Squad 1942: They Flew Alone 1943: When We Are Married 1944: One Exciting Night 1944: Fanny by Gaslight 1945: The Agitator 1945: Meet Sexton Blake

1945: Don Chicago 1945: The Echo Murders 1946: This Man Is Mine 1946: Appointment with Crime 1946: School for Secrets 1947: They Made Me a Fugitive 1947: So Well Remembered 1947: If Winter Comes 1948: Daughter of Darkness 1948: Escape 1948: No Room at the Inn 1949: The History of Mr. Polly 1949: The Interrupted Journey 1949: Conspirator 1949: The Rocking Horse Winner 1951: Green Grow the Rushes 1951: The Third Visitor 1952: Hindle Wakes 1952: Stolen Face 1952: The Lost Hours 1953: Women of Twilight 1953: The Steel Key 1954: The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp 1954: Svengali 1954: Burnt Evidence 1955: John and Julie 1955: Value for Money 1956: Sailor Beware! 1959: The Rough and the Smooth 1960: Light Up the Sky! 1961: Over the Odds 1961: On the Fiddle

References

1. ^ "English Boy Actor Here" New York Times, 04-12-1905. Retrieved 02-09-2010
2. ^ "Actor dies" Ottawa Citizen, 06-03-1963. Retrieved 02-09-2010

External links

Cyril Smith at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Smith, Cyril
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 April 1892
Place of birth	Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Date of death	5 March 1963
Place of death	London, England