Exploitation movie jack-of-all-trades Charles Davis Smith was born on
June 18, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a tour of duty
in the US Air Force, Smith began his cinematic career in the industrial
film business in the 1950s. He went on to shoot, edit, direct, write,
and even act in numerous low-budget softcore sexploitation features
made throughout the 1960s.
After a stint working in mainstream television, Smith returned to his
trash film roots and shot a handful of hardcore porn movies made in and
around New York City in the 1970s. He is perhaps best known for his
work as a cinematographer on a string of films for legendary
Do-It-Yourself maverick schlock cinema auteur
Doris Wishman, among them
Ich will dich ohne... (1965),
Another Day, Another Man (1966),
Teuflische Brüste (1974),
Ein superheißes Ding (1974),
Satan Was a Lady (1975) and
A Night to Dismember (1983).
In addition, he also shot movies for such directors as
Victor Milt,
Cecil Howard, and
Zebedy Colt. Moreover, Smith edited
music videos for The Manhattans,
Stevie Ray Vaughan and
Run-D.M.C.. He provided lively,
entertaining, and illuminating commentaries on DVD reissues of assorted
enjoyably down'n'dirty grindhouse features that he worked on in various
capacities during his colorful and impressive East Coast underground
cinema career. Smith died at age 87 on September 21, 2017.
