Queenie Smith (September , â€" August , ) was an American stage,
television, and film actress.Smith was born in Texas. Her family moved
from Texas to New York shortly before Smith began studying at the
Mertropolitan Opera's ballet school. She got an early start, being
trained in ballet and dance and spent her teen years performing as a
dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company in operas such as Aida, La
Traviata, and Faust.[citation needed] By the s she was appearing on
Broadway in shows such as Helen of Troy, New York (), Sitting Pretty
(), and The Street Singer (), and by the mid-s had made her way into
films.[citation needed] She also appeared on Broadway in Tip-Toes ().
She costarred in the Universal Pictures film version of Jerome Kern's
Show Boat, playing Ellie May Chipley. Smith replaced stage actress Eva
Puck who had starred as Chipley in the premiere and revival of Show
Boat.In she appeared in the film The Long Night and then played other
character roles on film, and later, television. She was seen as Jimmy
Durante's wife in The Great Rupert, and in guest shots in many
television shows, including The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries,
A.E.S. Hudson Street, Rhoda, Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway,
Barney Miller, Mother, Jugs & Speed, Chico and the Man, McMillan &
Wife, Love American Style, The Waltons, Here's Lucy, The Funny Side,
Hawaii Five-O, The Monkees, The Odd Couple, The Love Boat, Maude and
Little House on the Prairie (in a recurring role as Mrs.
Whipple).Smith was a teacher and mentor to many a young actor. She
taught at the Hollywood Professional School and was the director for
the training program at Melodyland Theater in Anaheim, California,
during the s.
television, and film actress.Smith was born in Texas. Her family moved
from Texas to New York shortly before Smith began studying at the
Mertropolitan Opera's ballet school. She got an early start, being
trained in ballet and dance and spent her teen years performing as a
dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company in operas such as Aida, La
Traviata, and Faust.[citation needed] By the s she was appearing on
Broadway in shows such as Helen of Troy, New York (), Sitting Pretty
(), and The Street Singer (), and by the mid-s had made her way into
films.[citation needed] She also appeared on Broadway in Tip-Toes ().
She costarred in the Universal Pictures film version of Jerome Kern's
Show Boat, playing Ellie May Chipley. Smith replaced stage actress Eva
Puck who had starred as Chipley in the premiere and revival of Show
Boat.In she appeared in the film The Long Night and then played other
character roles on film, and later, television. She was seen as Jimmy
Durante's wife in The Great Rupert, and in guest shots in many
television shows, including The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries,
A.E.S. Hudson Street, Rhoda, Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway,
Barney Miller, Mother, Jugs & Speed, Chico and the Man, McMillan &
Wife, Love American Style, The Waltons, Here's Lucy, The Funny Side,
Hawaii Five-O, The Monkees, The Odd Couple, The Love Boat, Maude and
Little House on the Prairie (in a recurring role as Mrs.
Whipple).Smith was a teacher and mentor to many a young actor. She
taught at the Hollywood Professional School and was the director for
the training program at Melodyland Theater in Anaheim, California,
during the s.
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