Tucker Smith
Encyclopedia
Tucker Smith, born Thomas William Smith (April 24 1936, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– December 22 1988, Los Angeles
, California
), was an American actor/dancer/singer best known for his role as Ice in the movie musical West Side Story
.
Tucker Smith was an American Theatre Wing
scholarship winner and he first moved to New York City
from his native Philadelphia in September 1955. Shortly afterwards, he joined the national tour of Damn Yankees
. In 1958, he joined the cast of the original Broadway production
of West Side Story
, as a replacement for the role of Big Deal, then going on to play the roles of Diesel and Snowboy.
He understudied for the character of Riff and had played that role many times. The musical went on a national tour in the US from June 14, 1959 to April 23, 1960 and Smith went along with it.
Smith was one of the several cast members from the Broadway production that were chosen to appear in the movie version
of West Side Story. He was contracted to play Ice, a role newly created for the movie. In the film, Smith was the singer and central performer of the pivotal song: “Cool
”, originally sung by the character of Riff in the Broadway musical. Besides performing “Cool”, Smith would also dub some of Russ Tamblyn
’s singing in “Jet Song”.
After the film, Smith continued his association with West Side Story. He played Riff in both the 1962 Los Angeles and 1963 Sacramento
productions of the musical, the latter with Sylvia Lewis
in the role of Anita. He reprised the role again in 1964, when West Side Story went on tour in Tokyo
, Japan
. Right before West Side Storys tour in Japan, Smith had performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair
at the DuPont
Pavilion in the musical The Wonderful World of Chemistry. That same year, Smith was in the cast for the Broadway musical Anyone Can Whistle
. After a pre-Broadway run in Philadelphia, the show closed after a week and only nine performances.
Despite his impressive screen debut on West Side Story, Smith would subsequently appear on films and television usually in small roles and walk-on parts; sometimes as a dancer (To Be or Not to Be
, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
, Hello, Dolly!, Hearts of the West
, At Long Last Love
), and often uncredited (Police Squad!
). Some of his more notable television appearances include the series Surfside Six and 87th Precinct
.
Smith went on to perform at other venues, including Las Vegas
shows, nightclubs, cabarets, stage productions both in the US and abroad. His stage work includes Parade
with Carole Cook
and Michele Lee
, Vintage '60, also with Michele Lee and Sylvia Lewis, the San Francisco production of Half a Sixpence
" with Anne Rogers
and Roger C. Carmel
, and the 1973 musical version of Gone With the Wind
, which was choreographed by Joe Layton
. Smith had toured with Carol Channing
in her 1970 revue "Carol Channing with Her 10 Stout-Hearted Men", which was also choreographed by Joe Layton. Finally, Smith had also toured internationally with his own nightclub act.
David Ehrenstein
, author of the book Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928–2000, said that Smith was openly gay and, as a result, did not pursue a Hollywood career.
In the 1970s, Smith owned and operated a bar named “Tucker’s Turf” in North Hollywood.
Tucker Smith died of complications from AIDS
on December 22, 1988 at the age of 52 at the UCLA Medical Center
in Los Angeles, California. His cancer has been attributed by various sources as to be throat, neck and/or jaw cancer, and was diagnosed in late 1986. At the time of his death, Smith was survived by three sisters. Some newspapers erroneously printed that he was survived by three daughters. After his death, Smith was laid to rest in his hometown of Philadelphia.
In her autobiography It's Always Something, written shortly before her own death from cancer, comedienne Gilda Radner
expressed her excitement at having Tucker Smith being in her cancer support group as she was a fan of his from his performance in West Side Story.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
– December 22 1988, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
), was an American actor/dancer/singer best known for his role as Ice in the movie musical West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
.
Tucker Smith was an American Theatre Wing
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
scholarship winner and he first moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from his native Philadelphia in September 1955. Shortly afterwards, he joined the national tour of Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
. In 1958, he joined the cast of the original Broadway production
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
of West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, as a replacement for the role of Big Deal, then going on to play the roles of Diesel and Snowboy.
He understudied for the character of Riff and had played that role many times. The musical went on a national tour in the US from June 14, 1959 to April 23, 1960 and Smith went along with it.
Smith was one of the several cast members from the Broadway production that were chosen to appear in the movie version
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
of West Side Story. He was contracted to play Ice, a role newly created for the movie. In the film, Smith was the singer and central performer of the pivotal song: “Cool
Cool (Leonard Bernstein song)
"Cool" is a song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics.-Context:In West Side Story, the song is sung by Riff before the Rumble meeting. The Jets are itching to fight with the Sharks, but Riff tells them to wait for the rumble.In...
”, originally sung by the character of Riff in the Broadway musical. Besides performing “Cool”, Smith would also dub some of Russ Tamblyn
Russ Tamblyn
Russell Irving "Russ" Tamblyn is an American film and television actor, who is arguably best known for his performance in the 1961 movie musical West Side Story as Riff, the leader of the Jets gang....
’s singing in “Jet Song”.
After the film, Smith continued his association with West Side Story. He played Riff in both the 1962 Los Angeles and 1963 Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
productions of the musical, the latter with Sylvia Lewis
Sylvia Lewis
Sylvia Lewis is an American actress, dancer and choreographer.-Career:Sylvia Lewis was born in York, Pennsylvania. She first performed as a young child in the last days of vaudeville in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her first classical training as a scholarship student at the Peabody...
in the role of Anita. He reprised the role again in 1964, when West Side Story went on tour in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Right before West Side Storys tour in Japan, Smith had performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
at the DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
Pavilion in the musical The Wonderful World of Chemistry. That same year, Smith was in the cast for the Broadway musical Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
. After a pre-Broadway run in Philadelphia, the show closed after a week and only nine performances.
Despite his impressive screen debut on West Side Story, Smith would subsequently appear on films and television usually in small roles and walk-on parts; sometimes as a dancer (To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)
To Be or Not to Be is a 1983 20th Century Fox comedy-drama film directed by Alan Johnson, produced by Mel Brooks with Howard Jeffrey as executive producer and Irene Walzer as associate producer. The screenplay was written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, based on the original story by Melchior...
, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (film)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a 1967 American musical comedy film based on the 1961 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the book written by Shepherd Mead...
, Hello, Dolly!, Hearts of the West
Hearts of the West
Hearts of the West is a 1975 comedy film directed by Howard Zieff, and starring Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Blythe Danner, and Alan Arkin. The story revolves around a wannabe 1930s writer who finds himself cast as a leading man in several B-movie westerns....
, At Long Last Love
At Long Last Love
At Long Last Love is an American motion picture musical that was released in 1975. It was written, produced and directed by Peter Bogdanovich and stars Burt Reynolds and Cybill Shepherd....
), and often uncredited (Police Squad!
Police Squad!
Police Squad! is a television comedy series first broadcast in 1982, created by Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker and starring Leslie Nielsen. A spoof of police procedurals, the series was packed with ZAZ's usual sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs...
). Some of his more notable television appearances include the series Surfside Six and 87th Precinct
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories written by Ed McBain. McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.-Setting:...
.
Smith went on to perform at other venues, including Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
shows, nightclubs, cabarets, stage productions both in the US and abroad. His stage work includes Parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
with Carole Cook
Carole Cook
Carole Cook is an American actress. She has appeared in many theatrical productions, in films and on television.Born as Mildred Frances Cook, she was a protege of Lucille Ball. Ball gave her the stage name of "Carole", after her friend Carole Lombard because, Ball reportedly told Cook, "you have...
and Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
, Vintage '60, also with Michele Lee and Sylvia Lewis, the San Francisco production of Half a Sixpence
Half a Sixpence
Half a Sixpence is a musical comedy written as a vehicle for British pop star Tommy Steele.It is based on H.G. Wells's novel Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul...
" with Anne Rogers
Anne Rogers
Anne Rogers is a retired English actress, dancer and singer.-Career:Anne Rogers began her career onstage at the age of 15. She was in the original London production of The Boy Friend, playing the female lead of Polly Browne for nearly four years...
and Roger C. Carmel
Roger C. Carmel
Roger Charles Carmel was an American actor.Of his hundreds of roles, he is best remembered for playing the flamboyant and hapless criminal Harry Mudd on the original Star Trek. Other memorable roles include the accountant Doug Wesley on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Colonel Gumm on Batman...
, and the 1973 musical version of Gone With the Wind
Scarlett (musical)
Scarlett is a musical with a score by Harold Rome. The original Japanese book is by Kazuo Kikuta. The Tokyo production was directed by American director/choreographer Joe Layton, with musical direction by Lehman Engel....
, which was choreographed by Joe Layton
Joe Layton
Joe Layton was an American director and choreographer known primarily for his work on Broadway.-Biography:Born Joseph Lichtman in Brooklyn, New York, Layton began his career as a dancer in Wonderful Town , and he appeared uncredited in the ensemble of the original live TV production of Rodgers and...
. Smith had toured with Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
in her 1970 revue "Carol Channing with Her 10 Stout-Hearted Men", which was also choreographed by Joe Layton. Finally, Smith had also toured internationally with his own nightclub act.
David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein
David Ehrenstein is an American critic who focuses primarily on issues of homosexuality in cinema.-Life and career:Ehrenstein was born in New York City. His father was a secular Jew with Polish ancestors, and his mother was of African American and Irish descent. His mother raised him in her...
, author of the book Open Secret: Gay Hollywood, 1928–2000, said that Smith was openly gay and, as a result, did not pursue a Hollywood career.
In the 1970s, Smith owned and operated a bar named “Tucker’s Turf” in North Hollywood.
Tucker Smith died of complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
on December 22, 1988 at the age of 52 at the UCLA Medical Center
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California....
in Los Angeles, California. His cancer has been attributed by various sources as to be throat, neck and/or jaw cancer, and was diagnosed in late 1986. At the time of his death, Smith was survived by three sisters. Some newspapers erroneously printed that he was survived by three daughters. After his death, Smith was laid to rest in his hometown of Philadelphia.
In her autobiography It's Always Something, written shortly before her own death from cancer, comedienne Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
expressed her excitement at having Tucker Smith being in her cancer support group as she was a fan of his from his performance in West Side Story.
External links
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://us.geocities.com/darteus/tucker.html%3F200928&date=2009-10-25+04:34:56