Claim OwnershipWho the F*** is Roger Smith?!?
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So, who is Roger Smith?
He testified at the Menendez trial. He got hit on by Grace Kelly. He worked with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Gerald Ford, George Soros and Beverly Sills.
He said opera needs subtitles.
And Michael Eisner was heard to say... "Who the F*&% is Roger Smith?"
Roger Smith. No, not the one married to Ann Margaret and not the one Michael Moore chased from General Motors. The OTHER one.
Writer, marketing whiz, editor, entrepreneur. This Roger Smith sat down with PBS film critic and NPR radio host Bill McCuddy who asks So, who the F _is_ Roger Smith?
"My real goal was to have an interesting life surrounded by fascinating people," says Roger Smith. "And at that I succeeded beyond my expectations."
Have a listen and we think you'll agree.
32 Episodes
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Here's a quick take on a present day conundrum. Is today's "woke" culture eliminating unflattering depictions of certain cultures and groups? Is our history in danger of being erased? Roger has his own take on it all. He remembers how some very old photographs got him in a spot of trouble way back in the 1980s.
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Roger takes us back to the days when cable TV and stations like MTV and Nickelodeon were the cutting edge of the entertainment business. Those were the days when Roger worked with and became fast friends with legendary Warner Brothers head Steve Ross. Roger tells us how Ross was not only business savvy but generous and gracious as well. Rare traits in big corporations these days. Roger also tells us his days selling encyclopedias and how it led to a friendship with Quincy Jones.
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No, Roger doesn't play the violin, but he does know a lot about the music business. Here he tells us about buying a chain of record stores back when that was how most people bought their music. It's a very colorful tale involving a mobster and such arcane terms as "rack jobbing." He also explains how something Danny DeVito said turned out to be good business advice. You'll also hear about his wise sister the talent agent and how he and his sister wound up watching Sigfried & Roy and George Burns in one night.
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Roger is no stranger to the pleasures of the grape. In this episode he tells us about some of the very interesting people he's imbibed with. Plus he tells us several pieces of advice he's received while drinking wine as well as advice about ordering wine. And then there's the time he he almost had to pay for a super expensive bottle of the vintage stuff. As they say:"In Vino Veritas."
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Once known primarily for potato farms and fishing, the area on the east part of Long Island known as "The Hamptons" is now considered one of the most exclusive areas in the country. It's the kind of real estate where if you have to ask the price you can't afford it. Roger knows it well and here he tells us what it was like there years ago and what celebrities now call it home as well as where they like to eat. He even tells about the time he was hitchhiking and was picked up by a very famous author. It's a fascinating look at a very posh zip code.
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We're taking a break from our usual format with this episode in which Roger speaks with an old pal - John Berendt. The author of the best-selling non-fiction book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" tells Roger what it's like to deal with editors and publishers, when he knew he had a hit on his hand and what it was like to travel the country doing publicity. John Berendt also acknowledges the role luck had in his success. Roger asks him about future novels and finds out what book of Berendt's only took an hour to write. It's a fascinating discussion and you'll only hear it here.
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Here Roger fills us in on actress Merisa Berenson, who he first met when she was in prep school, just before she starred in "Barry Lyndon." One of the most beautiful women of her time, Roger became her protector of sorts, keeping the likes of Ginacarlo Giananni at a respectful distance. And speaking of "Barry Lyndon," Roger explains how its famously idiosyncratic director Stanley Kubrick grew to trust his advice. No easy trick. Then it's on to another Hollywood legend - Warren Beatty. Despite Beatty's reputation as a womanizer, Roger found out he's quite the family man.
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During Roger's days at Warner Brothers there was no one more important in the company's roster of talent than Clint Eastwood. He was easy to work with and his pictures made money. Roger tells us how Warners' efforts to show its appreciation could be a little awkward at times. Then Roger tells us about his dealings with the "mad genius" Dennis Hopper. The "Easy Rider" star had his wild side to be sure, but he also had a keen eye for fine art. And wait until you hear the story about Dennis' daughter...
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Many of us have had at least one random encounter with a celebrity we'll remember forever, even if the celebrity won't. Roger's certainly had his share and here he tells us about two in particular. First there's the time Harrison Ford went out of his way to introduce Roger to the a capella group known as The Persuasions which then led to Roger meeting the group in New York. Then Roger tells us about the time Richard Gere needed some financial help while in Paris. We'll let Roger tell you the rest of the story.
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Roger told us a few episodes ago about some of his dealings with the theater and here he goes into greater detail, starting with how he became enamored of stage productions as a boy. Both his parents were active in regional theater. He remembers when shows had out-of-town tryouts before opening on Broadway and he also remembers legends such as Elaine May, Peter Flak and even Maggie Smith perform. And as head of Warner Theater Production he got to fund shows and deal with the likes of Mike Nichols, Jules Pfeiffer and Hal Prince. He even tells us of his idea to keep the theater alive and going. If only someone would take him up on it.
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Roger takes us behind the scenes at a Hollywood poker game where he meets and strikes up a long lasting friendship with filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr. You may be more familiar with his son, Robert Downey Jr, star of "Iron Man" and soon to be seen in "Oppenheimer." But Robert Downey Sr. is best known for writing and directing "Putney Swope" - a satire of the New York advertising world, as well as other underground films of the 1960s. Roger remembers when Robert Downey Jr. held a party for his father's 75th birthday and Roger sat next to another director he admires - Paul Thomas Anderson. It's another fascinating look at Hollywood's movers and shakers.
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It seems Roger has wanted to be a philanthropist since he was in school and found out what the word means. And the best part was that he got to give away somebody's else's money. It happened during his days at Warners when the company was flush with cash from its Atari video game division and eager to do good. If you know what happened to Atari then you know that the money didn't last long. But Roger managed to help out the likes of the Kennedy Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But it wasn't all about money - there were fancy parties filled with celebrities and artists and plenty of glamour to go around.
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One of the perks of Roger's days at Warners was the company was so diverse he got to not only interact with filmmakers but also people involved in Broadway musicals. In the first part of this special double episode Roger remembers working with the legenday Broadway producer David Merrick.who was trying to put together the musical 42nd Street.But first he had to secure the song rights from an old Warner Brothers movie. And things got even more complex for Merrick when the show's director and choreographer died at a very inconvenient time. And in part 2 Roger remembers his days in Harvard's legendary Hasty Pudding club and how its members thought they were punking stage legend Ethel Merman, only to have her get one up on them.
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During his days at the Criterion Collection Roger helped pioneer the director's comments now so common on DVDs. But these were on laser discs, way before DVDs came along. Roger tells what it was like to get a famous auteur like Orson Welles to help publicize the laser disc version of "Citizen Kane." Needless to say an offer of food was involved and Roger found out that his hero had feet of clay. He also tells us what it was like to deal with Barbra Streisand on the laser disc version of "Prince of Tides" and why you make want to think twice before doing any business with "Babs." Plus we'll hear about the other Roger Smiths, yes there are others, but they're nowhere near as interesting as ours.
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Here Roger explains how he wound up on the red carpet at the Oscars with a Playboy model as his date! He didn't even own a tux at the time but that didn't matter. Roger then tells us of his Army days in Germany during JFK's historical visit there and how the Germans' opinion of the president differed sharply with those of some of his fellow soldiers - a difference that resulted in fisticuffs. Roger also remembers when JFK visited during his days at Harvard and there's also a story about Roger meeting Jackie at a party and how she was "saved" by Norman Mailer of all people.
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Roger takes us back to his days at Carolco Pictures, the "little" movie studio behind the Rambo and Terminator movies. He also has tales of a Stallone power grab, how Schwarzegger got his own airplane and the company's founders Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. Roger also vividly describes movie studio accounting and why you should beware of it, plus dealing with tax lawyers and the likes of Richard Donner and William Peter Blatty. Once you listen you'll feel like a Hollywood insider yourself.
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Roger begins this episode by explaining what led to the downfall of former HBO honcho Michael Fuchs. You'd think the guy who brought such hits to HBO as "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos" couldn't be fired, but then, this is Hollywood after all. Roger then fills us in on the man he worked closely with at Warner Brothers - Steve Ross. Roger has insight into what made Ross successful as well as one of his ideas that went belly-up even though it involved Steven Spielberg's hit "E.T." and the then successful video game company Atari. It's a behind the scenes account you can't get anywhere else.
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In this episode Roger gives us a behind the scenes look at the money side of the movie business and explains why it's the one business where getting fired may be a step up. Plus Barbra Streisand's not so great movie idea and what he thinks of young up and comer Jason Blum. But that's not all - Roger tells about the times he went out with Diane Keaton. It's strange how she's now an AARP cover girl because Roger says she's "eternally young." But did all his time with her lead to anything? You'll have to listen to find out.
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This episode first takes us to a dinner party where Roger not only has dinner cooked by Danny Kaye, he also gets into a discussion about the true meaning of the word "amateur" with dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov. Roger then tells us about Robert Redford and how the Sundance Film Festival grew from an outgrowth of the Sundance Institute to a place where studios now go to make deals worth millions. Roger also tells us what Redford would think of the festival now.
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Roger finds himself and other high-flying Warner execs in glamorous Monaco - for business reasons of course. There are not one but two princesses - Caroline and Grace. Small talk leads to a possible return to filmmaking after a 25-year absence for Princess Grace in a remake of William Wyler's brilliant 1936 film Dodsworth and maybe even a rendezvous in Paris. But fate intervenes.
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