Paul Girard Smith

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Paul Girard Smith
Born	14 September 1894 Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Died	4 April 1968 San Diego, California, USA
Other names	Paul Gerald Smith Paul Gerard Smith
Occupation	Screenwriter
Years active	1926-1955

Paul Girard Smith (14 September 1894 – 4 April 1968) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 90 films between 1926 and 1955.

Smith started writing musical revues at the age of ten. He joined the Marines for World War I and while still in Germany wrote and directed the Sixth Marine Revue in the Rhine Occupation Area. He arrived back in the States in 1919 and started writing vaudeville acts. He became so successful that he was one of the few writers to be credited on the playbill. He scripted the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924, 1925, and 1926 and was also one of the writers of Funny Face.

Smith was brought to Hollywood by Buster Keaton to work on The General and The Battling Butler. Early film credits include In Old Arizona, Mother Knows Best, and Dressed to Kill, as well as the first talkies of Harold Lloyd, Welcome Danger and Feet First. He wrote dozens of B movies for Universal Studios, Fox Film Corporation, Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, Warner Bros., and Hal Roach Studios.

He also scripted USO shows and personal appearances for many film and radio stars entertaining overseas. After World War II he returned to film and radio scripting and also wrote and directed some early television programs on ABC, including The Gay Nineties. He returned to stage writing with Hullabaloo for the Pasadena Playhouse.

Smith was married to Mary Alice Lundgren (October 1919 - April 1968) and had four children. His son, Paul Gerard Smith II, carried on the family tradition, working in the entertainment industry after serving in the Marines during World War II.

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and died in San Diego, California.

Selected filmography

External links

Authority control	VIAF: 59292197 ISNI: 0000 0000 3898 1415 GND: 143282352 BNF: cb14137990g

Persondata
Name	Smith, Paul Girard
Alternative names
Short description	Screenwriter
Date of birth	14 September 1894
Place of birth	Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Date of death	4 April 1968
Place of death	San Diego, California, USA

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