Biography

Mabel Smaney's unique appearance and unique talents helped her craft one of the more interesting careers for a Hollywood extra. She started in early 1930s were unlike many other people, she would send out photos to casting directors where she would write her weight on the back of the photo in an effort to try to get roles that were meant for larger girls. This would go on to launch one of the most interesting careers for a female extra.

By the 1940s, Mabel realized that if she was going to have a career in Hollywood she would have to specialize even further so she started to appear in scenes where there was a square dance. She quickly earned a reputation among casting directors that she was dependable and that she was the type of female whose real life appearance enabled her to play a wide variety of characters that were meant to be seen ordinary people and not a glamour contract player. She managed to play everything from a truck drive to an opera singer. When she couldn't get acting roles, she became the stand-in for Kate Smith whenever Smith made television and movie appearances.

During the 1950s, she made headlines when she Roy Rogers when she claimed that Rogers' horse Trigger kicked her during the filming of Son of Paleface. This didn't set well with Rogers or other crew members who said that Smaney never showed any signs that she was kicked by the horse during filming. Eventually Smaney went back to the kinds of roles she knew best where she would be used as part of a gag on the main character. She frequently appeared in small roles as one of the foils for Jerry Lewis to perform some of his antics on.

By the 1960s, a lot of the types of scenes that would require Smaney's appearance were no longer being filmed as often as they were in the past. She would have an occasionally bit role that she received through her friends or because of her size but she quickly faded into the background. In 1965, she performed what may be the most watched part of her career when she was cast in Cat Ballou as a townswoman at a dance where she catches a toupee and screams when she thinks that it is a scalp. She enjoyed appearing with her daughter June Smaney in various productions but eventually decided to retire in 1972 bringing a close to one of the most unique careers in Hollywood.
- IMDb mini biography by: Phillip Arnold