Rex Smith

Rex Smith is an American actor and singer born on September 19, 1955, in Jacksonville, Florida. His Broadway career spanned from 1972 to 2001, encompassing productions including The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Human Comedy, The Pirates of Penzance, and Grease. In the late 1970s, Smith gained recognition as a teen idol, with regular features in publications such as 16 Magazine and Tiger Beat.

Before establishing himself on Broadway, Smith worked as a musician. In the early 1970s he served as lead singer for an Atlanta-based band called Tricks, followed by a band named Phaedra, and later sang vocals in a hard rock group called Rex. His recording career gained national attention in 1979 when "You Take My Breath Away," a single tied to the television film Sooner or Later, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, with music by Stephen J. Lawrence and lyrics by Bruce Hart, appeared on the platinum-selling album also titled Sooner or Later and became a long-running fixture on soft rock FM radio. In 1981, Smith reached the top 40 again with a duet recording of "Everlasting Love" alongside singer Rachel Sweet, which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. He performed live at the 1982 Miss Universe pageant in Lima, Peru, and that same year replaced Andy Gibb as a host on the television music variety program Solid Gold. His most recent studio album, Simply...Rex, was released in 2000 and reissued in 2006 under the title You Take My Breath Away.

Smith made his Broadway debut in 1979 in the lead role of Danny Zuko in Grease. He subsequently starred as Frederic in the New York Shakespeare Festival's Central Park production of The Pirates of Penzance, a performance that earned him the Theatre World Award in 1981. He reprised the role of Frederic in the 1983 film adaptation of Pirates of Penzance, appearing alongside Kevin Kline as the Pirate King, Linda Ronstadt as Mabel, and Tony Azito as the Police Sergeant. Additional Broadway credits include Grand Hotel and Annie Get Your Gun, as well as the database-verified productions The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Human Comedy. In 1995, Smith returned to the role of Danny Zuko in a touring production of Grease, and that same year played Joe Gillis opposite Diahann Carroll as Norma Desmond in a Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard. He starred as Fred Graham/Petruchio in the 2001–02 national tour of Kiss Me, Kate. In 2005, Smith returned to The Pirates of Penzance, this time in the role of the Pirate King. Later stage work included the role of the Captain in The Sound of Music at the Ogunquit Playhouse in 2010, non-singing appearances in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite opposite Eve Plumb at Judson Theatre Company in 2015 and Barefoot in the Park at Sharon Playhouse in 2018, and the role of Billy Mack in Love Actually Live at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in both 2018 and 2019.

On television, Smith is recognized for playing motorcycle police officer Jesse Mach in the 1985 series Street Hawk. In 1989, he portrayed Daredevil in the television film The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, making him the first actor to play that Marvel Comics character in a live-action production; the film was intended as a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series that was not produced. From 1990 through 1992, Smith was a contract player on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns, portraying the character Darryl Crawford. He also made guest appearances on programs including The Love Boat, Baywatch, Caroline in the City, and JAG.

Smith is the brother of Michael Lee Smith, the singer of the rock band Starz.