Jack Martin Smith graduated with a degree in architecture from the
University of Southern California. He joined MGM as a sketch artist and
designer in 1938 (among others, creating drawings for the Emerald City
in Das zauberhafte Land (1939)) and
the following year was promoted to full art director. He worked for the
studio until 1954, chiefly associated with creating the lavish,
mythical backgrounds for the big budget musicals produced by the
Arthur Freed unit, foremost among them
Heimweh nach St. Louis (1944),
Broadway-Melodie 1950 (1945) and
Osterspaziergang (1948).
In 1954, Smith joined 20th Century Fox, collaborating with
Lyle R. Wheeler on creating the
sumptuous look of
Die große Liebe meines Lebens (1957)
and Glut unter der Asche (1957). He
eventually succeeded Wheeler as supervising art director, putting his
stamp on some of the most spectacular blockbusters of the era,
including Cleopatra (1963) and
Hello, Dolly! (1969). From the
early 60's, he also worked extensively in television. In addition to
his work in Hollywood, Smith was an accomplished painter of seascapes
and river scenes.
