ORIGINAL CAST PROFILES – Howard I. Smith

Howard Smith was born August 12, 1893 in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

In one of the more chilling moments of The War of the Worlds, Smith can be heard as the valiant U.S. Army Bomber pilot, Lt. Voght. With sound effects provided brilliantly by Ora Nichols (which involved a fan motor mounted in a metal washtub), Smith portrays a bomber pilot who, while trying to attack Martian tripods, decides to sacrifice himself in a kamikaze attack.

Smith had a long career as a film and television actor – which included roles in such films as Too Much Johnson ( 1938 ) Kiss of Death (1947) and on television in “Perry Mason” and “The Twilight Zone”.

He passed away January 10, 1968 from a heart attack in Hollywood, CA.

~ by mrphileasfogg on May 30, 2008.