Roger Smith, R.I.P.

Actor, screenwriter and manager Roger Smith passed away on June 4th after years of poor health. He was 84.


Smith rose to TV stardom in the late 1950's co-starring in 77 Sunset Strip alongside Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. He would later have the lead in the short lived sitcom version of Mister Roberts.


Fifty years ago, Smith married actress Ann-Margret and put acting to the side to manage her career. It was he who persuaded her take roles in movies like Carnal Knowledge and Tommy, both of which earned her Academy Award nominations. He also co-produced the biker film C.C. & Company in which Margaret co-starred with NFL great Joe Namath. Not long ago I saw an interview Smith, Margret and Namath did to promote the film on an October 1970 episode of The Dick Cavett Show. Smith didn't seem to object to the love scenes between Margret and Namath.


Evidently, he saw no reason to worry. She nursed Smith through poor health as he had a long history with Myasthenia Gravis. Smith, in turn, saw Margret through alcoholism. There is much to envy in their half-century union. Here are Smith and Margret together in a 1987 PSA for Jerry Lewis' Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. R.I.P.