Smith, Alexis

▪ 1994

      (GLADYS SMITH), U.S. actress (b. June 8, 1921, Penticton, B.C.—d. June 9, 1993, Los Angeles, Calif.), was a striking and statuesque leading lady and supporting player in Hollywood during the 1940s and '50s and made a spectacular splash on Broadway in 1971 with her performance as a cynical aging former showgirl in the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies, for which she won a Tony award (1972). In her most memorable film roles, she portrayed charming yet aloof and resourceful women, and she was especially effective as the "other woman." Smith played opposite some of Hollywood's most dashing leading men, including Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim (1942) and San Antonio (1945), Cary Grant in Night and Day (1946), and Clark Gable in Any Number Can Play (1949), before retiring in 1959 when her star began to wane. She triumphantly returned to acting in Follies and received critical acclaim, especially for her rendition of the song "Could I Leave You." Smith later appeared in such films as Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough (1975) and The Little Girl Who Lives down the Lane (1977). She was seen on television in the role of Jessica Montfort on the hit series "Dallas" as J.R. Ewing's recurrent adversary from 1984 to 1990.

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