| Mel Smith | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Smith in the 1980s | |
| Birth name | Melvyn Kenneth Smith |
| Born | (1952-12-03)3 December 1952 Chiswick,London, England |
| Died | 19 July 2013(2013-07-19) (aged 60) London, England |
| Medium | Film, television |
| Years active | 1979–2013 |
| Genres | Political satire and sketch comedy |
| Spouse | |
| Notable works and roles | Not the Nine O'Clock News Alas Smith and Jones |
Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and filmmaker. He worked on thesketch comedy showsNot the Nine O'Clock News andAlas Smith and Jones with his comedy partner,Griff Rhys Jones. Smith and Jones foundedTalkback, which grew to be one of the United Kingdom's largest producers of television comedy and light entertainment programming.
Smith's father, Kenneth, was born inTow Law,County Durham, and worked at a coal mine during theSecond World War; looking after thepit ponies. After the war ended, he moved toLondon and married Smith's mother, whose parents owned agreengrocers inChiswick. When the government legalised high street betting with theBetting and Gaming Act 1960, he turned the shop into the firstbetting shop in Chiswick.[1]
Smith was born and brought up inChiswick.[2] He was educated at Hogarth Primary School, Chiswick and passed his 11-Plus examinations. He was also a keen sportsman and played for two seasons in the Hogarth School football team. The first season he played under the captaincy ofGerry Francis, the future English international and England captain. He applied and went toLatymer Upper School, a nowprivate school inHammersmith. He studied Experimental Psychology atNew College, Oxford.[3][4]
Whilst at Oxford University, Smith producedThe Tempest, and performed at theEdinburgh Fringe with theOxford University Dramatic Society. One year they shared a venue with theCambridge Footlights, directed byJohn Lloyd. His extra-curricular activities while at university led to his joining theRoyal Court Theatre production team in London, and thenBristol Old Vic. He was also associate director ofSheffield'sCrucible Theatre for two years. Later, he directed a theatre production ofNot in Front of the Audience.[5]
John Lloyd later gained the opportunity to develop the idea that became thesatiricalBBCtelevision seriesNot the Nine O'Clock News. This was followed briefly bySmith and Goody (withBob Goody) and then the comedy sketch seriesAlas Smith and Jones, co-starringGriff Rhys Jones, its title being a pun on the name of the American television seriesAlias Smith and Jones.
In 1982, he starred as the lead role in ITV dramaMuck and Brasswhere he played Tom Craig, a ruthless property developer. In 1984, he appeared in theMinder episode "A Star Is Gorn" playing the character Cyril Ash, a ruthless and crooked record producer. He also guest-starred onThe Goodies episode "Animals".[6] At the end of the 1980s, he played the title role in the sitcomColin's Sandwich (1988–90), playing aBritish Rail employee with aspirations to be a writer.
In 1981, Smith andGriff Rhys Jones foundedTalkBack Productions, a company that produced many of the most significant British comedy shows of the following decades, includingSmack the Pony,Da Ali G Show,I'm Alan Partridge andBig Train. In 2000, the company was sold toPearson for £62 million.[7] Dressed asbobbies, Smith and Jones introducedQueen on stage atLive Aid in July 1985, with Smith removing his helmet before shouting into the microphone, "her majesty, Queen!"[8]
Smith co-wrote and took the lead role in the space comedyMorons from Outer Space (1985), but the film failed to make much impact. His next cinema effort was better received as director ofThe Tall Guy (1989), givingEmma Thompson a major screen role. In America, perhaps his best-known film isBrain Donors, the 1992 update of theMarx Brothers filmA Night at the Opera, starring Smith as a cheeky, opportunistic cab driver turned ballet promoter.Paramount Pictures considered this film the outstanding comedy of the year, but when the producers left Paramount for another studio, Paramount withdrew its support for the film.[9]
In 1987, Smith recorded a single withKim Wilde forComic Relief: a cover of the Christmas song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" with some additional comedy lines written by Smith and Jones.[10] The pairing of Smith and Wilde was a comic allusion to the duoMel and Kim. The song reached number three in the UK charts.[11] The same year he appeared inThe Princess Bride as the Albino.[12]
Smith and Jones were reunited in 2005 for a review/revival of their earlier television series inThe Smith And Jones Sketchbook. Smith joked: "Obviously, Griff's got more money than me so he came to work in a Rolls-Royce and I came on a bicycle. But it was great fun to do and we are firmly committed to doing something new together, because you don't chuck that sort of chemistry away. Of course, I'll have to pretend I likeRestoration."[13]
In August 2006, Smith returned to the theatre stage after some 20 years, appearing at theEdinburgh Fringe festival inAllegiance, Irish journalist and authorMary Kenny's play aboutChurchill's encounter with the Irish nationalist leaderMichael Collins in 1921.[14] The play initially caused some controversy, with Smith proposing to flout the Scottish ban on smoking in public places, but the scene was quickly adapted after gaining the required amount of publicity. The play was directed byBrian Gilbert and produced byDaniel Jewel.[15] In 2006, he also appeared inHustle as Benjamin Frasier, a pub landlord who was scammed by the Hustle team when his on-screen son Joey tried to launch a rap career.
In autumn 2006, Smith starred oppositeBelinda Lang in a tour of a new comedyAn Hour and a Half Late by French playwrightGérald Sibleyras, which was adapted by Smith. He then directed a West End revival ofCharley's Aunt starringStephen Tompkinson. From October 2007 to January 2008, he played the role of Wilbur Turnblad in the London production ofHairspray at theShaftesbury Theatre.[16]
Smith was married to Pamela (née Gay-Rees), a former model, who grew up inEasington andDurham. The couple had houses inSt John's Wood,London, and the hamlet ofGreat Haseley,Oxfordshire,[17] as well as a property inBarbados.[18]
Smith was hospitalised in 1999 withstomach ulcers, following an accidental overdose of over 50Nurofen Plus tablets in one day, after previously admitting an addiction tosleeping pills. Smith said at the time that the pressures of film work were a contributing factor, along with a desperate need to ease the pain caused bygout. Partly as a result, he agreed to sellTalkback Productions. On 31 December 2008, Smith appeared onCelebrity Mastermind whilst suffering from severepharyngitis.[19]
On the morning of 19 July 2013, theLondon Ambulance Service was called to Smith's home innorth-west London. Smith was confirmed dead by the ambulance crew, with a later post-mortem confirming death from aheart attack. He was 60 years old.[20]
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