Jack Smight Biography
Jack Smight (1925 - 2003) was a prolific director who moved easily between film and television productions with a passion for the cinema of the macabre. However, he achieved greater fame for his 1970s action films. Smight joined the Army as soon as he came of age, becoming a navigator and flying missions in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he studied acting in college in his home state of Minnesota, taking the stage with a friend, Peter Graves (later of "Mission: Impossible" fame), with whom he later moved to Hollywood. Smight worked his way into the director's chair on television shows, winning an Emmy for his direction of Mickey Rooney in "Eddie" in 1958. He directed numerous TV episodes, including several for both "The Twilight Zone" and “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” He broke into movies in 1964 with "I'd Rather Be Rich," the remake of the 1941 comedy "It Started With Eve." This led to a series of other films, including "Harper," with Paul Newman in the title role, and "The Illustrated Man," with Rod Steiger in an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's story. Smight also crafts a highly revered two-part retelling of Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein: The True Story." In his very productive period of the 1970s, he directed consecutive action hits: "Airport 1975", a sequel to the disaster film "Airport" and "Midway", the tale of the famous World War II battle.
