Mel Smith
Biography
Mel Smith was an English actor, comedian and filmmaker who died in 2013. Born in Chiswick, he studied experimental psychology at Oxford, where he staged The Tempest and acted at the Edinburgh Fringe. He joined the Royal Court theater production team and Bristol Old Vic before becoming associate director at Sheffield's Crucible. On television he worked on Not the Nine O'Clock News and then Alas Smith and Jones with Griff Rhys Jones. The pair founded Talkback, a major producer of British comedy. Smith co-wrote and starred in Morons from Outer Space (1985), directed The Tall Guy (1989), and played the lead in Brain Donors (1992), an update of A Night at the Opera. He appeared as the Albino in The Princess Bride (1987) and later took stage roles in Allegiance and Hairspray, and directed Charley's Aunt in the West End.
60years old at death
- Born Chiswick
- Died London
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Melvin Kenneth Smith (birth name)Also credited as Melvyn Kenneth Smith
Movie Career
- Films
- 8
- Career span
- 16 years1980 to 1996
First and latest
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Behind the camera
Smith and Griff Rhys Jones founded TalkBack Productions in 1981, and the company went on to produce Smack the Pony, Da Ali G Show, I'm Alan Partridge and Big Train before being sold to Pearson for 62 million pounds in 2000.
Behind the camera
Smith directed The Tall Guy, his next cinema effort, in 1989. The film gave Emma Thompson a major screen role.
Beyond film
Smith and Kim Wilde teamed up in 1987 for a Comic Relief single, covering the Christmas song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" with extra comedy lines from Smith and Jones. It hit number three in the UK charts.
Early training
While studying at Oxford University, Smith staged The Tempest and appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe with the Oxford University Dramatic Society. The Cambridge Footlights, led by John Lloyd, shared a venue with them for one year.
Mel Smith movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Mel Smith shares two films with Griff Rhys Jones, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Griff Rhys Jones's page
Ben Kingsley's page
Wallace Shawn's page
Cary Elwes's page
John Turturro's page
Richard E. Grant's page
All films by Rob Reiner
All films by Amy Heckerling
Trevor NunnDirector, 1 film, 1996
All films by Trevor Nunn
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.