Rex Smith: A Renaissance Man

All photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric Venturo

Rex Smith is a multi-talented performer whose natural singing ability has led him to a successful career as a singer and actor. A veteran of stage and screen, Rex started his career as a "teen idol" heartthrob with the platinum album hit 'You Take My Breath Away.' Other albums included 'Rex,' 'Where Do We Go From Here,' 'Sooner Or Later,' 'Forever,' 'Camouflage,' and most recently, 'Simply...Rex.'

Turning to Broadway at the height of his popularity, Rex made his Broadway debut as Danny Zuko in the original production of 'Grease.' He captivated both critics and audiences, and received the Theater World Award for his memorable portrayal of Frederick in 'The Pirates of Penzance' on Broadway. Other starring roles on Broadway include "Grand Hotel", 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'The Scarlet Pimpernel,' 'Annie Get Your Gun,' and 'Kiss Me Kate.'

Rex is an enthusiastic entertainer who never lacks for energy. In between Broadway shows, he expanded his career to encompass TV shows and feature films. Rex hosted 'Solid Gold,' starred in the series 'Street Hawk,' and became a household name on the popular CBS daytime drama 'As The World Turns.' Rex has guest starred on numerous prime time television and movies including 'Daredevil,' 'JAG,' 'Baywatch,' and 'Caroline In The City' just to name a few.

I actually met and worked with Rex Smith ten years ago in Dallas, Texas when he was touring with 'Annie Get Your Gun.' He was the second celebrity I ever photographed. When I ran into him again a few weeks ago we decided we had to have another photo session and here are the results. Rex is one of the nicest guys in the business, not to mention most talented. Eric Venturo was in charge of the lighting for this session. We also got to take photos of Rex and his new bride Tracy.

AM: You're one of a handful of entertainers who have done everything.

RS: That's true. I don't want to brag but I started out in Rock n' Roll touring with Ted Nugent and managed by Aerosmith's management.

AM: Your first two albums reflect this.

RS: My first two albums are very hard Rock n' Roll. Then to make that sudden transition of becoming a teen idol because of, almost on a lark, do a movie that takes me around the world. Then Broadway and let's throw in 'As The World Turns' in daytime as well as primetime shows with 'Street Hawk' and 'Solid Gold.'

AM: It all adds up to a lot!

RS: When I hosted 'Solid Gold' I was like Ryan Seacrest except I sang the Top Ten Hit every week too. I have some motion picture work too. I have worn many hats. I had a debut at Lincoln Center so I have done "legit" stage work too.

AM: It must amaze you that you've really done all this.

RS: I had dinner last night with Patrick Cassidy who is one of my dearest friends. He replaced me in 'Pirates of Penzance' in 1980. Here we are having dinner last night and having the best time. Just the wonderful golden era of being able to enjoy Broadway and Hollywood as well. This was an era when an agent was an agent and there were exciting opportunities.

AM: It's so different today. Do you miss that era?

RS: I don't look back in anger or regret. I'm proud of the journey. Also I have been able to maneuver the personal disasters and potholes that bring a lot of people in the entertainment business down too young too early. There's no school to go to that trains you from suddenly going from trying to make payments on a motorcycle to a couple of Porsche's and a house on both coasts. That's a mind blower.

AM: It's so extreme.

RS: You just can't imagine what people like Michael Jackson or even Tiger Woods have gone through. Any of us would have our minds blown to be under that pressure for one day let alone a life time. I've seen one drop of it compared to this. I have been in that rarified air. At the height of my most outrageous popularity were easily some of the most lonely times in my life.

AM: Really!?!

RS: I always had plenty of friends but on a personal level when all the doors are closed in my own space it was lonely. Anyone I met looked at me in a different way. I didn't look at the world any differently, but everyone I knew or was going to meet was looking at me through rose colored glasses.

AM: Growing up in Florida did you want to be a Rock n' Roll singer?

RS: That's it. I'm a singer. That's what I am. That has been my life.

AM: What do you like about performing on Broadway?

RS: The wonderful thing about Broadway is the swell of a 26 piece orchestra. There is a responsibility of a hundred people cast and crew coming together at 8:00 eight times a week. It's like 'Das Boat.' Take 'Sunset Boulevard' where you have an eight thousand pound set that rises 46 feet into the air effortlessly and hangs an inch above the stage. It never touched the stage because no stage can take the weight. When I put my jacket over my shoulder, that was the cue. I had to step off as the set swept away from me. That responsibility is almost like being a quarterback. It takes a discipline that is unequaled.

AM: Is Theatre your favorite?

RS: For me it's the best. To have the dramatic arch and responsibility to carry an audience for three hours and not drop the ball, for an ADD guy like me, it's the perfect fit. Used properly ADD is a great tool. The medicine I needed was eight shows a week in a sixteen million dollar show.

AM: Considering your first two albums are such hard rock, how did it feel to do a third album of softer material?

RS: A singer takes the words and music and is a communicator for so many reasons to different people. It's not like a UN translator, but it's no different for me to sing 'You Take My Breath Away' or "Where Do We Go From Here.' They are both interpretation and an art form bringing them both to life.

AM: Can you tell us about your biggest hit, 'You Take My Breath Away' which is still played all over the world?

RS: As far as 'You Take My Breath Away' goes, it was part of a TV movie (Sooner or Later) and the first day of filming I went to the studio with Charlie Calello who produced that album. He did all the arrangements for the Four Seasons. You can see it in 'Jersey Boys.' This man had an unbelievable career working with Frank Sinatra and Engelbert Humperdink and others.

AM: You're in good company there!

RS: He had the songs ready and I went into the studio after the first day of filming. I did it in two takes. The first take was to get the sound levels right. In those days it wasn't digital so you had tapes to rewind. As the tape is rewinding he comes up to the cue and told me he wanted to show me something. He said, "I didn't know what you were going to be like in the studio." He played the tape with background vocals in case I was a dud he could cover me up. He said, "We don't need that!"

AM: That must have felt good.

RS: As I was listening to the song, about half way through, I excused myself to go to the bathroom where I locked the door. I started crying because I knew that was a hit. That's what the moment is like. I didn't know it would pick me up and carry me around the world like it did.

AM: What a great memory that is.

RS: There are moments from my past that play back now and they are just wonderful. I look at them in a wonderful way.

AM: Can you give me an example?

RS: I was in a jeep in the mountains of Hawaii and the song came on the radio, I was so excited I just pulled the brake and I am spinning that jeep around 360 degrees. At that time there were only three channels, the radio and newspapers so the impact of that hit was so much more. Now things are splintered. Even 'American Idol' doesn't have the same impact today. The personal attention was explosive.

AM: I can see why it stands out so strong for you.

RS: We are talking about past events but that movie was a pivotal point in my life. They did a screening of it in New York in a thousand seat theater. I'll never forget I went in with a bunch of other people and the place was full. My life was completely different when the lights came up. 999 people who had just sat down to watch a movie focused and stared at me.

AM: Why do you think it was a hit?

RS: There was a truth in the music and the movie. Bruce Hart who wrote it also wrote the Theme from Sesame Street. He was able to take the human experience of love and bring it down to one line 'You Take My Breath Away.' It's amazing to have an event like that in one's life. You know I got that movie because I played the last Lynard Skynard concert at Madison Square Garden.

AM: What I think is interesting is you seem to be authentic with all these styles of music. You don't come off as an actor being told what to sing.

RS: Experimenting with so many different styles makes me like the man in the iron mask. I am the guy who has done so many things it's kind of hard to peg who he really is. You don't do Broadway for 25 years and not learn some skills along the way.

AM: Most people don't get all you got.

RS: The other thing was I always felt like the teen idol thing was not a great fit. I always felt I was more on the company of people like Elvis and Frank Sinatra. I've always been working creatively.

AM: What would you like to do now?

RS: I'd love a little seven table restaurant. I'm not really sure. Getting back to the quarterback thing, for so long I've been so accustomed to walking into a rehearsal space with a director and five weeks of rehearsal and you are opening for the New York Times.

AM: Do you prefer that to straight dramatic acting?

RS: That's how I've been engineered so I kind of bounce around with ideas. I enjoy coming up with five different ways to make an entrance and having the director tell me you found the right way and that's the one we're going to use. I never really fit into the life of an actor who hangs around the craft services table and waits around to film a two second shot. I just wasn't built for that. The theater thing is more me. You know you're going to do something great every day. It's the only business that everybody on every level tries to do a better job today than they did yesterday.

AM: Would you go to New York now if you got a call?

RS: Yes, but I am not enamored to do a juke box show. I don't look at it piously, it's a competitive market and everyone is doing what they feel they need to do to succeed. I do think and hope there will be artists who create something new so that an audience can walk in and go on a fresh journey instead of just a rehash of what's been around.

AM: Your personal life has been fortunate as well right?

RS: I am still here. I'm having a nice afternoon with you. A lot of artists live to work. I always worked to live. The life experience of following my heart spiritually was always more important. When doing the final act of any show and the curtain came down, I was done. I never did it for another curtain call. I didn't live for that. I don't have that 'Norma Desmond' type of personality. I don't pine for the adoration of the applause. I earned it at each show but I could have just as easily gone out the stage door and be done when the curtain came down. That has been a great thing in my life, that I don't long for that kind of spotlight. I enjoyed, and I am proud of, being on a stage.

AM: Would you like to direct a show?

RS: Sure I enjoy working with performers of all kinds. I have directed a version of 'Pirates of Penzance.' I worked with all local actors. After a performance once an actor came up and said, "This is the most wonderful night." I asked him why and he said, "Nobody ever asked me to think before. I was always just told what to do."
I told them all to think about what they would do. If you're a pirate there is a whole range of things you can be, like a drunk. Take your pick of any kind of erratic personality you may want to play and add that into the mix. I felt happy that I was able to allow somebody to discover something for themselves. I found out a stage is a stage no matter where you are. It's all relative.

To learn more about Rex Smith visit his web site http://www.rexsmith.com/