Richard Smith (silent film director)

Richard Smith
Born	(1886-09-17)September 17, 1886 Cleveland, Ohio United States
Died	1937 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California United States
Other names	Dick Smith
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, actor
Spouse(s)	Alice Howell

Richard Smith (September 17, 1886 – 1937), also known as Dick Smith, was a screenwriter, actor, and film director. Smith was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and became a comedian active in the vaudeville era. He met his wife Alice Howell in 1910 and the two performed together as Howell and Howell. After working under direction of Mack Sennett at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in New York City, Smith moved to Los Angeles, California. Smith and his wife starred in reels together produced by L-KO Kompany.

While Howell was contracted at Universal Studios, Smith directed her in films described in the book Clown Princes and Court Jesters as, "some of Universal's most memorable comedies of the twenties". With colleague Vin Moore, Smith directed actor Oliver Hardy in the 1920 film Distilled Love. Smith directed the Marx Brothers in 1921 in their first film, titled Humor Risk, which has since been lost. In 1925, Smith's directing work included films starring Bert Roach, Neely Edwards, and Charles Puffy. His contributions at Universal included a series of comedy films called "The Collegians".

Richard Smith was active in the field of comedy, and participated in the vaudeville scene. He met his wife Alice Howell when she was a member of a production by DeWolf Hopper, in 1910. The two utilized the title of a previously known vaudeville group, and performed together as Howell and Howell. The Howell and Howell duo performed together for three years. Their performances included burlesque and vaudeville.Mack Sennett directed Smith at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in New York City. Sennett offered Smith a chance to go with him when he started the company Keystone Studios, but he declined the opportunity.

...
Wikipedia