Born in New York City. The son of a brewery cooper, he dropped out of school at 13 to begin a low-paying career as a stenographer-typist. He made his first contact with show business in 1912 as a secretary of a vaudeville players' union and later as a reviewer for Billboard magazine. He then began a successful stint as a press agent and eventually wound up with MGM as publicity director and head of the advertising department. In 1931 he began producing and narrating shorts for the studio, which soon became popular with audiences for their folksy and inventive style. They comprised a wide variety of subjects, from sports wrap-ups to entertaining educational shorts. Some were in color and others, presented as Audioscopics, utilized a 3-D technique. In 1936, Smith began producing his most celebrated series of shorts, the "Pete Smith Specialties," which enjoyed a great popular success. "A Smith named Pete," as he introduced himself, produced and narrated some 300 shorts in all. Two of these, PENNY WISDOM (about cooking, 1937) and QUICKER'N A WINK (in ultra-slow motion, 1940) won Academy Awards. In 1954, the year of his retirement, Smith was presented with a special Academy Award at the ceremonies for 1953. At age 86, despondent over his deteriorating health, Smith jumped to his death from the roof of a Los Angeles convalescent hospital.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Novelty) 1932-33: MENU - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Novelty) 1934: STRIKES AND SPARES - Producer (uncredited)  Short Subjects (Novelty) 1935: AUDIOSCOPIKS - Producer (uncredited)  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1936: WANTED, A MASTER - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1937: ROMANCE OF RADIUM - Producer  Short Subjects (Color) 1937: PENNY WISDOM - Producer  Short Subjects (One-reel) 1940: QUICKER 'N A WINK - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1941: ARMY CHAMPIONS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1942: MARINES IN THE MAKING - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1943: SEEING HANDS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1944: MOVIE PESTS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1946: SURE CURES - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1947: NOW YOU SEE IT - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1948: YOU CAN'T WIN - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1949: WATER TRIX - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (One-reel) 1950: WRONG WAY BUTCH - Producer  Honorary Award 1953: "For his witty and pungent observations on the American scene in his series of Pete Smith Specialties." Winner presented a Statuette. 16 nominations, 3 Awards, 1 Honorary Award