Dodie Smith
Dodie Smith was an English author and playwright, best known for her children's classic "The Hundred and One Dalmatians," which was adapted into a beloved animated film by Walt Disney in 1961. Born Dorothy Gladys Smith in Whitefield, Lancashire, England, her early life was shaped by a passion for theater, influenced by her family's love for plays. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and initially pursued a career in acting. However, after facing the uncertainties of that profession, she transitioned to writing plays, achieving notable success with works like "Autumn Crocus" and "Call It a Day," the latter becoming a staple in both London and Broadway theaters.
Smith's literary career expanded to include five successful novels and a four-volume autobiography written later in her life. After marrying Alec Macbeth Beesley in 1939, she spent a significant period in the United States before returning to England. With a legacy that continues to resonate, Dodie Smith's contributions to children's literature and theater have made her a celebrated figure in both the UK and the US.
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Dodie Smith
Author
- Born: May 3, 1896
- Birthplace: Whitefield, Lancashire, England
- Died: November 24, 1990
Biography
Dodie Smith is remembered in the United States as the author of The Hundred and One Dalmatians, one of three children’s stories she wrote after she had made her mark as a successful playwright. The Walt Disney Studios made this story, which continues to delight young people, into a popular animated feature film in 1961.
Born in Whitefield, Lancashire, England, Dorothy Gladys Smith lost her father, Ernest Smith, when she was eighteen months old. Her mother, Ella Furber Smith, moved to Old Tratford, near Manchester, to live with her parents, William and Margaret Furber. Dorothy’s grandparents, enthusiastic theater-goers, regularly took her to plays. Her uncle, Harold Furber, acted regularly in amateur productions in Manchester, which was fast emerging as a significant theater center.
In 1914, Smith entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and soon was given small parts in London plays. She was part of a traveling company that went to France during World War I to entertain the troops. By 1923, however, she realized that life as an actress was filled with financial uncertainties, so she abandoned her acting to accept a position as a buyer for the firm of Heal and Son. She remained with the company for the next eight years.
Smith sold her play Autumn Crocus to Basil Dean, who had directed her when she studied at the Royal Academy. The play is set in Austria’s Tirol where a thirty-something spinster schoolteacher is vacationing with an amusingly officious older woman. A romance develops between the teacher and the married innkeeper. The cast is composed of a rollicking group of summer tourists whom Smith plays off against each other, using the witty dialogue that soon came to be her trademark.
After the play was produced in 1931, the reviews were sufficiently favorable for her to quit her job and devote herself to writing, which she still did under an assumed name, C. L. Anthony. Her next play, Service, staged the following year, was characterized by the same care for detail that critics had appreciated in Autumn Crocus.
The first play Smith produced under her own name was her fourth, Call It a Day, a domestic comedy that ran for 194 performances on Broadway and an astounding 509 performances in London. The play delighted audiences because it involved a typical family with typical problems. The play was translated into several languages and had fruitful runs in many European cities. Its success enabled Smith to buy The Barretts, an English cottage in Essex.
In 1939, Smith married Alec Macbeth Beesley, a friend of many years. The two lived in the United States until the early 1950’s, when they returned to The Barretts. Smith produced five highly successful novels between 1963 and 1978. She also completed a four-volume autobiography.