Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Emmy Award-winning director Jack Smight was born in Minneapolis, MN, on March 9, 1925, the offspring of Irish immigrants. After graduating from Cretin High School he served in the US Army Air Force during World War Two, where he flew combat missions in the Pacific Theater. After the war he attended the University of Minnesota, where he met up with an old high-school friend - Peter Graves (they had been matriculating in the theater department as drama students). After graduation they hooked up in Hollywood, where they rented a room and made the rounds, looking for work as actors while Jack worked as a carhop and Graves drove a cab, ignoring the advice of Graves' older brother, James Arness, to head straight back to Minneapolis.

Unlike his friend, Smight did not achieve success as an actor. He became a stage manager and then turned to directing. Graves later said of his friend that his acting background helped him understand actors. "He was also a very intelligent, literate man," Graves said, "who knew how to communicate with the writers." These skills made him a successful director, first in television and then in the movies. In 1959 he won an Emmy Award for Best Direction of a Single Program of a Dramatic Series - Less Than One Hour for Eddie (1958), which starred Mickey Rooney and featured an Emmy-winning script by Ken Hughes. In the 1960s he directed films featuring such A-list talent as Paul Newman and Rod Steiger before moving back to TV in the 1970s, while occasionally directing a feature film.

Jack Smight died of cancer on September 1, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. He was 78 years old.

Went to high school in Minnesota with <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0336335/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Peter Graves</a>. They shared an apartment
when they were trying to make it in Hollywood.

Father of <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0806914/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Alec Smight</a>.

Attended the University of Minnesota with <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0339889/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Mary Gregory</a>, who would become an actress in her own right, starring in various movies and TV shows.

Trivia

Jack Smight

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