Jack Smight

Jack Smight
Jack Smight
Born	March 9, 1925; Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Died	September 1, 2003 (aged 78); Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Theatre director, film director, film producer

John R. Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003)^[1] was an American theatre and film director.^[2]^[3]

His film credits include Harper (1966), No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), The Traveling Executioner (1970),^[4] Rabbit, Run (1970), Airport 1975 (1974),^[5] Midway (1976),^[2] Damnation Alley (1977), Loving Couples (1980), and the Columbo episode "Dead Weight".^[2]

Biography[]

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.^[6] 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 . He said a big break was working on Visit to a Small Planet with Cyril Ritchard.^[7]

In 1959, he won an Emmy 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."^[7]

Smight then signed a contract with Warners to make six films at one a year. He produced and directed The Third Day (1965) and then directed the Paul Newman starring vehicle Harper (1966), a big hit.^[8] He was meant to follow it with Kaleidescope with Warren Beatty but ended up not directing.^[7]

In 1966 he signed a three-picture deal with the Mirisch Brothers and bought the rights to the novel The Illustrated Man.^[9] 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).

Smight's last film was a US-Swiss co-production, The Favorite (1989), also known as La Nuit du serail.

Smight died of cancer in Los Angeles in 2003.^[1]

Filmography[]

Film[]

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[]

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	Frankenstein: The True Story	TV movie
1973	Legend in Granite	TV movie
1974	The Man from Independence	TV movie
1978		TV movie
1982	Remembrance of Love	TV movie

Awards & Nominations[]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1959	Primetime Emmy Awards	Directing for a Drama Series	Alcoa Theatre Episode: Eddie	Won	^[10]
1962	Primetime Emmy Awards	Directing for a Drama Series	Westinghouse Presents: Come Again to Carthage	Nominated
1970	Hugo Award	Best Dramatic Presentation	The Illustrated Man	Nominated

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Bergan, Ronald (September 19, 2003). "Jack Smight. Down-to-earth director whose stars included Bacall, Steiger and Newman". The Guardian.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Jack Smight". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008.
^ Myers, JP (March 8, 2018). "This is the story of Director Jack Smight's life in entertainment written by himself". Medium.
^ Variety Staff (December 31, 1969). "Review: 'The Traveling Executioner'". Variety.
^ Canby, Vincent (October 19, 1974). "Airport 1975 (1974) Screen:'Airport 1975' Is a Silly Sequel With a 747". The New York Times.
^ Obituary: Jack Smight ; Director specialising in the macabre: [FOREIGN Edition] Vallance, Tom. The Independent 16 Sep 2003: 16.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Hollywood Kind to TV Directors Los Angeles Times 17 May 1966: c9.
^ Smight makes best of both: Go anywhere By Kimmis Hendrick. The Christian Science Monitor 3 Aug 1965: 6.
^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Jack Smight Signs Contract Los Angeles Times 12 Dec 1966: D25.
^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0806915/awards?ref_=nm_awd

External links[]

Jack Smight at IMDb
Jack Smight at the TCM Movie Database
Jack Smight at the Internet Broadway Database
Obituary-Jack Smight The Guardian

[TG-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Bergan, Ronald (September 19, 2003). "Jack Smight. Down-to-earth director whose stars included Bacall, Steiger and Newman". The Guardian.

[NYT-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Jack Smight". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008.

[medium-3] Myers, JP (March 8, 2018). "This is the story of Director Jack Smight's life in entertainment written by himself". Medium.

[4] Variety Staff (December 31, 1969). "Review: 'The Traveling Executioner'". Variety.

[NYT2-5] Canby, Vincent (October 19, 1974). "Airport 1975 (1974) Screen:'Airport 1975' Is a Silly Sequel With a 747". The New York Times.

[6] Obituary: Jack Smight ; Director specialising in the macabre: [FOREIGN Edition] Vallance, Tom. The Independent 16 Sep 2003: 16.

[jack-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Hollywood Kind to TV Directors Los Angeles Times 17 May 1966: c9.

[8] Smight makes best of both: Go anywhere By Kimmis Hendrick. The Christian Science Monitor 3 Aug 1965: 6.

[9] MOVIE CALL SHEET: Jack Smight Signs Contract Los Angeles Times 12 Dec 1966: D25.

[10] ttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm0806915/awards?ref_=nm_awd

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show v t Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
1950s	Jack Smight for "Eddie" (1959)
1960s	Robert Mulligan for The Moon and Sixpence (1960) George Schaefer for Macbeth (1961) Franklin J. Schaffner for The Defenders (1962) Stuart Rosenberg for "The Madman" (1963) Tom Gries for "Who Do You Kill?" (1964) Paul Bogart for "The 700 Year Old Gang" (1965) Sydney Pollack for "The Game" (1966) Alex Segal for Death of a Salesman (1967) Paul Bogart for "Dear Friends" (1968) David Greene for "The People Next Door" (1969)
1970s	Paul Bogart for "Shadow Game" (1970) Daryl Duke for "The Day the Lion Died" (1971) Alexander Singer for "The Invasion of Kevin Ireland" (1972) Jerry Thorpe for "An Eye for an Eye" (1973) Robert Butler for "Part III" (1974) Bill Bain for "A Sudden Storm" (1975) David Greene for "Part I: Chapters 1 & 2" (Rich Man, Poor Man) (1976) David Greene for "Part 1" (Roots) (1977) Marvin J. Chomsky for Holocaust (1978) Jackie Cooper for "Pilot" (The White Shadow) (1979)
1980s	Roger Young for "Cop" (1980) Robert Butler for "Hill Street Station"(1981) Harry Harris for "To Soar and Never Falter" (1982) Jeff Bleckner for "Life in the Minors" (1983) Corey Allen for "Goodbye, Mr. Scripps" (1984) Karen Arthur for "Heat" (1985) Georg Stanford Brown for "Parting Shots" (1986) Gregory Hoblit for "Pilot" (L.A. Law) (1987) Mark Tinker for "Weigh In, Way Out" (1988) Robert Altman for "The Boiler Room" (1989)
1990s	Thomas Carter for "Promises to Keep" / Scott Winant for "The Go-Between" (1990) Thomas Carter for "In Confidence" (1991) Eric Laneuville for "All God's Children" (1992) Barry Levinson for "Gone for Goode" (1993) Daniel Sackheim for "Tempest in a C-Cup" (1994) Mimi Leder for "Love's Labor Lost" (1995) Jeremy Kagan for "Leave of Absence" (1996) Mark Tinker for "Where's 'Swaldo?" (1997) Mark Tinker for "Pilot" (Brooklyn South) / Paris Barclay for "Brain Salad Surgery" (1998) Paris Barclay for "Hearts and Souls" (1999)
2000s	Thomas Schlamme for "Pilot" (The West Wing) (2000) Thomas Schlamme for "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part I" & "Part II" (2001) Alan Ball for "Pilot" (Six Feet Under) (2002) Christopher Misiano for "Twenty Five" (2003) Walter Hill for "Deadwood" (2004) J. J. Abrams for "Pilot" (Lost) (2005) Jon Cassar for "Day 5: 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m." (2006) Alan Taylor for "Kennedy and Heidi" (2007) Greg Yaitanes for "House's Head" (2008) Rod Holcomb for "And in the End..." (2009)
2010s	Steve Shill for "The Getaway" (2010) Martin Scorsese for "Boardwalk Empire" (2011) Tim Van Patten for "To the Lost" (2012) David Fincher for "Chapter 1" (2013) Cary Joji Fukunaga for "Who Goes There" (2014) David Nutter for "Mother's Mercy" (2015) Miguel Sapochnik for "Battle of the Bastards" (2016) Reed Morano for "Offred" (2017) Stephen Daldry for "Paterfamilias" (2018) Jason Bateman for "Reparations" (2019)
2020s	Andrij Parekh for "Hunting" (2020)

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Jack Smight
Born	(1925-03-09)March 9, 1925^[1] Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Died	September 1, 2003(2003-09-01) (aged 78)^[1] Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Theatre director, film director, film producer