The power of longevity.

I have great partiality for the Smiths who are performers—as well as those who achieve longevity in show business.  So, today, we recognize Alexis Smith.

Madam Smith—so-called, by me, at least, because she toured for a year as the Madam in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas—Madam Smith began as a Warner Bros. contract player in the forties.    She appeared alongside many of the biggest male stars of the day.

In the fifties, it seems she began to make the transition to stage doing a number of touring productions throughout the sixties—including one of my favorites, a big hit at the time, although little known now—Mary, Mary by Jean Kerr.

In the seventies, she made it to Broadway and won a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies.

She continued to work in film and television, with a recurring role on Dallas in the eighties and an Emmy nomination for a guest spot on Cheers in the nineties.

She passed away from brain cancer in 1993, still married to her husband of 49 years.

Personal and professional endurance.  I admire it.

Here’s a clip, not the best quality video, of one of her numbers from Follies.