Career
Smith began his career on Broadway in 1916, appearing in, among other productions, three George Gershwin musicals: Lady Be Good (1924), Oh, Kay! (1928) and Pardon My English (1933). He also had bit parts in silent films, such as The Mysterious Mission Terry (1917), and went on to appear in talkies and musicals in the 1930s and 1940s. He began working in Hollywood in 1937, and was frequently typecast as a genteel butler or pompous English gentleman.
His film appearances included Casablanca, National Velvet, and One Hundred Men and a Girl.
Smith appeared in more than one hundred movies, often in small roles, and was not always mentioned in the credits. From 1952 to 1956 he made several television appearances.
He retired to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital late in life.