By Michael Buckley
11 Feb 2007

Lois Smith, who just finished her fourth appearance as Gracie on "ER," enjoyed her role, especially her entrance and exit. "In the first one, I got thrown out of my nursing home for growing pot, and in the last episode [for now], I was being released from the hospital — again wearing my bright jacket, my Ugg boots and my tights: my darling costume from the first episode — and I say, 'I'm not going home, I'm going on a cruise.' And there’s Timmy [Glenn Plummer], who works at the desk [of the ER], with a limousine. I say, 'Only old people go on a cruise alone.' It was a really nice exit."

Continues Smith, "I was asked to do three, and they shortly asked me to do a fourth. Since I was going out [to L.A.], I also did a 'Grey's Anatomy' guest shot. They weren’t willing to bring me out and put me up, as 'ER' was able to do. Because of the holiday schedule, I just kept going back and forth, which was great for me. I didn’t have to stay in one chunk. I came back [to New York] for Thanksgiving, for about two weeks, and came back for Christmas for about three weeks. All together, it lasted about three months."

Last season, Smith's luminous performance in the revival of Horton Foote's A Trip to Bountiful earned her sterling reviews and several honors. She received the Best Actress Award from the Outer Critics Circle, the Drama Desk, the Lucille Lortel, the Obie and the Dramatists Guild Fund’s Madge Evans and Sidney Kingsley Award. ("That one has money involved.") Had the play transferred to a Broadway house, none of which was available, Smith would probably have added a Tony to the list.

Her first film was Elia Kazan's "East of Eden" (1955), the first starring role for James Dean (who had done small roles in three previous movies). "It was very exciting. It’s a film I still admire and treasure. It's an awfully nice film.

“In 2005, for the fiftieth anniversary, they did an 'American Masters' on James Dean. It dealt with the three films [including 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Giant'] he made that year. I was in that, and there were some clips of Jimmy and me — and not only from our scene.

"In recent years, I’ve been asked to be on panels when it’s been shown. It's hard to find a good print, but they restored a print of it. I’ve also been invited to tributes for Julie Harris [Dean’s leading lady]."

Looking back, the gifted actress has some roles which have given her satisfaction. "Some things that stand out are not always the most prominent. There's a play I did at Hartford Stage — The Stick Wife — and there was Lyuba Ranevsky in The Cherry Orchard at Baltimore Center Stage. Surely Ma Joad [her Tony-nominated role] in Grapes of Wrath, directed by darling Frank Galati. It was my first time with Steppenwolf and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We had three different rehearsal periods, each one building on the one before. We traveled with it, and did it in London. It was a very special piece."

She has three films "in the can": the independent "Turn the River," "Killshot" and "A Dog Year." Comments Smith, "On a Monday, I worked [in rehearsals] with Meghan Andrews, who played the girl on the bus in Bountiful. When she was 11, she had played Ruthie in Grapes of Wrath. Now, she was a beautiful, very accomplished actress. The next day, I worked [in 'Killshot'] with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with whom I'd done a film, 'Holy Matrimony,' when he was 12. Those two things really warmed my heart. Much as there is a lack of continuation in the way we do theatre, still there is this community that exists. It was so generational and so warm and lovely. That was a real treat that happened to me last year."

Smith does a lot of play readings. "It's become a kind of industry of its own. It's a way for writers to be heard without theatres actually doing their plays. Some of them may get productions, and there’s talk of doing A Trip to Bountiful in Chicago." Brava, Lois Smith!

***

Michael Buckley also writes for TheaterMania.com.