Walter Smith

Starting in the 1940s, Walter Smith's career evolved as Hollywood's mindset evolved. Like many African American actors Smith found his niche playing tribesmen from any region Hollywood could think of. It was during this period that Smith and other African Americana actors regularly worked in Tarzan and Bomba the Jungle Boy movies. By the 1950s, the demand for jungle based films had died down. Smith started to find work as porters, bell hops, dock workers, and various other depictions of low wag employees. He was constantly rewarded for his professionalism by being given silent bit roles in things like The Untouchables where they would give him character names or have him play a wait that would interact with the character but that wouldn't talk. Like many actors of his day, he made more money playing a waiter, than he would have ever done as an actual a waiter. The 1960s signified a turning point in his career because now African American's could regularly be seen as workman and as co