Biography

Year
Age
Activities
1932
0
Roger Smith is born on Sunday, December 18th in South Gate, California to Dallas and Leone Smith.

1938
5
Roger is enrolled in singing, elocution (oratory/speech) and dancing lessons.

1945
12
Roger's family moves to Nogales, Arizona, a small town on the Mexican border.

1946-50
15-18
Roger appears in every theatre production at Nogales High School. He is president of the school's acting club. Roger is a star linebacker on the high school football team.

1950-54
18-21
While attending the University of Arizona, in Tuscon, on a football athletic scholarship, Roger wins several amateur-show prizes as a singer and guitarist. He and friend Travis Edmonson win the school's talent show. They appear on the the television talent show, [Amateur Hour], hosted by Ted Mack.

1954-56
22-24
During his 30 months' active service in the Naval Reserve, Roger renews his singing at various public and private functions. While stationed at Honolulu, he meets film star James Cagney, who suggested that Roger might try for a career in Hollywood. Roger marries Australian actress Victoria Shaw (real name: Jeanette Elphick). She appears in 'The Eddie Duchin Story' as Chiquita.

1956
24
Roger marries Australian actress Victoria Shaw (real name: Jeanette Elphick). Victoria, age 21, appears in 'The Eddie Duchin Story' as Chiquita.

1957
24
Signed to a Columbia Pictures contract, Roger appears in such films as 'No Time to Be Young' and 'Operation Madball', and plays a small recurring role on the television sitcom 'Father Knows Best', produced by Columbia's TV subsidiary Screen Gems. Roger makes contact again with Jimmy Cagney when Cagney recommends that Roger be hired to play Creighton Chaney (aka Lon Chaney Jr.) in the Lon Chaney biopic 'Man of 1000 Faces' (1957). Roger's first child, Tracey, is born on Wednesday, July 3.

1958
25
The Lon Chaney film led to a long-term contract with Warner Brothers, and the co-starring role of Jeff Spencer in Warners' Television detective series '77 Sunset Strip'. Roger's second child (first son), Jordan, is born on Saturday, October 4.

1959
26
Roger does another role in another Cagney film 'Never Steal Anything Small'. Roger is asked by director Morton Da Costa to portray the older Patrick Dennis in 'Auntie Mame'.

1961
25
Roger meets Ann-Margret for the first time. Roger's last child, Dallas, is born on Saturday, December 23. Dallas is named after Roger's father.

1963
30
Roger leaves '77 Sunset Strip' after doctors discovere a blood clot in his brain.

1964
31
Roger begins divorse proceedings with his wife Victoria Shaw. Roger begins to date Ann-Margret. Roger tours in the play 'Sunday in New York'. Roger does a nightclub act in Milwaukee. Roger plays a detective in the film 'For Those Who Think Young'.

1965
32
Roger recovers sufficiently to do NBC's 'Mr. Roberts' series in 1965. (It lasted one season.) However, during this period he is diagnosed with [myasthenia gravis], a muscle disorder, which forces him to retire from professional work. Roger's divorce with Victoria Shaw is finalized.

1966
33
Roger gives A-M an engagement ring (a five-karat diamond ring) on a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park, New York.

1968
35
Roger stars as Richard Rogue in the film 'Rogue's Gallery'.

1967
34
Roger marries Ann-Margret on Monday, May 8th at the Riviera in Las Vegas. For a time Roger manages her career.

1973
40
Roger obtains sole custody of his three children Tracey 14, Jordan 13, and Dallas 9.

1983
50
Roger plays the role of a tow truck driver in the film 'The Being'.

1988
55
Roger's first wife, Victoria Shaw, dies on Wednesday, August 17th from emphysema.

1998
65
Roger occasionally makes public appearances with Ann-Margret at those times when his disease is in remission. Roger and Ann-Margret are tremendously devoted to one another.

Filmography

Year
Film Title

Director

Role

Production Company

1957 No Time to Be Young David Lowell Rich Bob Miller Columbia Pictures

1957 Operation Mad Ball Richard Quine Cpl. Berryman Columbia Pictures

1957 Man of a Thousand Faces Joseph Pevney Creighton Cheney Universal

1958 Crash Landing Fred Sears John Smithback Columbia Pictures

1958 Auntie Mame Morton DaCosta Patrick Dennis Warner Bros.

1959 Never Steal Anything Small Charles Lederer Dan Cabot Universal

1964 For Those Who Think Young Leslie Martinson Detective MGM

1968 Rogue's Gallery Leonard Horne Richard Rogue Paramount

1983 The Being (aka:Easter Sunday) Jackie Kong Tow Truck Driver Astral Films

Discography

Year
Title

Format

Production Company

1959 Beach Romance LP-33 Warner Bros.

1959 "Beach Time" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer" 45 Warner Bros.

Television Series

Year
Television Series

Role

1957-1958 Father Knows Best Doyle Hobbs

(4/16)1958 Wagon Train Daniel Barrister

1958-1963 77 Sunset Strip Jeff Spencer

1965 Mr. Roberts Lt. Douglas Roberts

Magazine Covers

Date
Comments

Magazine

1961 This is the no.1 issue of 1961 Teen Stars Album with Elvis and many others on the cover. (Roger is in lower left corner.) Inside there are pin-ups of Sandra Dee, Fabian, Roger Smith, Annette, Rick Nelson, Carol Lynley, Sal Mineo, Clu Gulager, Tuesday Weld, Frankie Avalon, Troy Donahue, Dolores Hart, Connie Stevens, Rock Hudson, James Darren, Debbie Reynolds, Edd Byrnes, Elizabeth Taylor, Pat Boone, Dwayne Hickman, Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Doug McClure, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Conrad, Debbie Walley, Tony Curtis, Michael Landon, Dorothy Provine, Paul Anka, Janet Leigh, George Maharis, Shirley jones, Steve Reeves, Gardner McKay, Sherry Jackson, George Hamilton, Joanie Sommers,Tommy Sands,Bobby Vee, Jimmie Rodgers, Shelley Fabares, Paula Prentiss, Bobby Darin, Tony Dow, Elvis Presley and a few others. There are smaller photos of the Everly Brothers, Chubby Checker, Dion, Neil Sedaka, David Nelson, Roger Moore, Clint Walker, Van Williams, Robert Stack, Barbara Eden, Juliet Prowse, Brigitte Bardot, Rod taylor, Dick Clark, Nick Adams, Ralph Taeger, Darryl Hickman, The Lennon Sisters, Lola Albright, Elinor Donahue, Molly Bee, Kathy Nolan, Hugh O' Brien, Robert Fuller, Jack Kelly, Clint Eastwood, Ty Hardin, Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, Peter Falk, Joan Blackman, Jill Haworth, Jim Hutton, Ann-Margret, and a few others. TV Guide 1959

April 4-10, 1959 TV Guide-Features Efrem Zimbalist, and Roger Smith of 77 Sunset Strip

April 1-7, 1961 TV Guide-Features Roger Smith of 77 Sunset Strip TV Guide 1961

July 1960 Movie Life Cover features Roger Smith and Sandra Dee. Inside stories include: 'Why Sinatra Won't Let Tommy Sands Wed Nancy Now'; 'The Day Elvis Walked to The Altar - and Cried'. Movie Life 1960

July 1961 Roger Smith & Vicki Shaw on cover. "Movie Stars", July 1961, Vol. 14, No. 3, 76 pages. Articles and photos on Roger Smith, Pat Boone, Barbara Eden, Elizabeth Taylor, Van Williams, Sandra Dee, Pernell Roberts, Doug McClure & Barbara Luna, Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens. Movie Stars July 1961

Other Magazine Covers More available on the 77 Sunset Strip Page. 77 Sunset Strip

[Updated 09/08/1998] [Home] [Biography] [Filmography] [Photography] [Discography] [Books] [Roger] [News] [Links] Please send me e-mail if you have comments. This page is hosted by

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Year	Age	Activities
1932	0	Roger Smith is born on Sunday, December 18th in South Gate, California to Dallas and Leone Smith.
1938	5	Roger is enrolled in singing, elocution (oratory/speech) and dancing lessons.
1945	12	Roger's family moves to Nogales, Arizona, a small town on the Mexican border.
1946-50	15-18	Roger appears in every theatre production at Nogales High School. He is president of the school's acting club. Roger is a star linebacker on the high school football team.
1950-54	18-21	While attending the University of Arizona, in Tuscon, on a football athletic scholarship, Roger wins several amateur-show prizes as a singer and guitarist. He and friend Travis Edmonson win the school's talent show. They appear on the the television talent show, [Amateur Hour], hosted by Ted Mack.
1954-56	22-24	During his 30 months' active service in the Naval Reserve, Roger renews his singing at various public and private functions. While stationed at Honolulu, he meets film star James Cagney, who suggested that Roger might try for a career in Hollywood. Roger marries Australian actress Victoria Shaw (real name: Jeanette Elphick). She appears in 'The Eddie Duchin Story' as Chiquita.
1956	24	Roger marries Australian actress Victoria Shaw (real name: Jeanette Elphick). Victoria, age 21, appears in 'The Eddie Duchin Story' as Chiquita.
1957	24	Signed to a Columbia Pictures contract, Roger appears in such films as 'No Time to Be Young' and 'Operation Madball', and plays a small recurring role on the television sitcom 'Father Knows Best', produced by Columbia's TV subsidiary Screen Gems. Roger makes contact again with Jimmy Cagney when Cagney recommends that Roger be hired to play Creighton Chaney (aka Lon Chaney Jr.) in the Lon Chaney biopic 'Man of 1000 Faces' (1957). Roger's first child, Tracey, is born on Wednesday, July 3.
1958	25	The Lon Chaney film led to a long-term contract with Warner Brothers, and the co-starring role of Jeff Spencer in Warners' Television detective series '77 Sunset Strip'. Roger's second child (first son), Jordan, is born on Saturday, October 4.
1959	26	Roger does another role in another Cagney film 'Never Steal Anything Small'. Roger is asked by director Morton Da Costa to portray the older Patrick Dennis in 'Auntie Mame'.
1961	25	Roger meets Ann-Margret for the first time. Roger's last child, Dallas, is born on Saturday, December 23. Dallas is named after Roger's father.
1963	30	Roger leaves '77 Sunset Strip' after doctors discovere a blood clot in his brain.
1964	31	Roger begins divorse proceedings with his wife Victoria Shaw. Roger begins to date Ann-Margret. Roger tours in the play 'Sunday in New York'. Roger does a nightclub act in Milwaukee. Roger plays a detective in the film 'For Those Who Think Young'.
1965	32	Roger recovers sufficiently to do NBC's 'Mr. Roberts' series in 1965. (It lasted one season.) However, during this period he is diagnosed with [myasthenia gravis], a muscle disorder, which forces him to retire from professional work. Roger's divorce with Victoria Shaw is finalized.
1966	33	Roger gives A-M an engagement ring (a five-karat diamond ring) on a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park, New York.
1968	35	Roger stars as Richard Rogue in the film 'Rogue's Gallery'.
1967	34	Roger marries Ann-Margret on Monday, May 8th at the Riviera in Las Vegas. For a time Roger manages her career.
1973	40	Roger obtains sole custody of his three children Tracey 14, Jordan 13, and Dallas 9.
1983	50	Roger plays the role of a tow truck driver in the film 'The Being'.
1988	55	Roger's first wife, Victoria Shaw, dies on Wednesday, August 17th from emphysema.
1998	65	Roger occasionally makes public appearances with Ann-Margret at those times when his disease is in remission. Roger and Ann-Margret are tremendously devoted to one another.

Year	Film Title	Director	Role	Production Company
1957	No Time to Be Young	David Lowell Rich	Bob Miller	Columbia Pictures
1957	Operation Mad Ball	Richard Quine	Cpl. Berryman	Columbia Pictures
1957	Man of a Thousand Faces	Joseph Pevney	Creighton Cheney	Universal
1958	Crash Landing	Fred Sears	John Smithback	Columbia Pictures
1958	Auntie Mame	Morton DaCosta	Patrick Dennis	Warner Bros.
1959	Never Steal Anything Small	Charles Lederer	Dan Cabot	Universal
1964	For Those Who Think Young	Leslie Martinson	Detective	MGM
1968	Rogue's Gallery	Leonard Horne	Richard Rogue	Paramount
1983	The Being (aka:Easter Sunday)	Jackie Kong	Tow Truck Driver	Astral Films

Year	Title	Format	Production Company
1959	Beach Romance	LP-33	Warner Bros.
1959	"Beach Time" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer"	45	Warner Bros.

Date	Comments	Magazine
1961	This is the no.1 issue of 1961 Teen Stars Album with Elvis and many others on the cover. (Roger is in lower left corner.) Inside there are pin-ups of Sandra Dee, Fabian, Roger Smith, Annette, Rick Nelson, Carol Lynley, Sal Mineo, Clu Gulager, Tuesday Weld, Frankie Avalon, Troy Donahue, Dolores Hart, Connie Stevens, Rock Hudson, James Darren, Debbie Reynolds, Edd Byrnes, Elizabeth Taylor, Pat Boone, Dwayne Hickman, Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Doug McClure, Yvette Mimieux, Robert Conrad, Debbie Walley, Tony Curtis, Michael Landon, Dorothy Provine, Paul Anka, Janet Leigh, George Maharis, Shirley jones, Steve Reeves, Gardner McKay, Sherry Jackson, George Hamilton, Joanie Sommers,Tommy Sands,Bobby Vee, Jimmie Rodgers, Shelley Fabares, Paula Prentiss, Bobby Darin, Tony Dow, Elvis Presley and a few others. There are smaller photos of the Everly Brothers, Chubby Checker, Dion, Neil Sedaka, David Nelson, Roger Moore, Clint Walker, Van Williams, Robert Stack, Barbara Eden, Juliet Prowse, Brigitte Bardot, Rod taylor, Dick Clark, Nick Adams, Ralph Taeger, Darryl Hickman, The Lennon Sisters, Lola Albright, Elinor Donahue, Molly Bee, Kathy Nolan, Hugh O' Brien, Robert Fuller, Jack Kelly, Clint Eastwood, Ty Hardin, Will Hutchins, Peter Brown, Peter Falk, Joan Blackman, Jill Haworth, Jim Hutton, Ann-Margret, and a few others.
April 4-10, 1959	TV Guide-Features Efrem Zimbalist, and Roger Smith of 77 Sunset Strip
April 1-7, 1961	TV Guide-Features Roger Smith of 77 Sunset Strip
July 1960	Movie Life Cover features Roger Smith and Sandra Dee. Inside stories include: 'Why Sinatra Won't Let Tommy Sands Wed Nancy Now'; 'The Day Elvis Walked to The Altar - and Cried'.
July 1961	Roger Smith & Vicki Shaw on cover. "Movie Stars", July 1961, Vol. 14, No. 3, 76 pages. Articles and photos on Roger Smith, Pat Boone, Barbara Eden, Elizabeth Taylor, Van Williams, Sandra Dee, Pernell Roberts, Doug McClure & Barbara Luna, Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens.
Other Magazine Covers	More available on the 77 Sunset Strip Page.	77 Sunset Strip