Mildred Joanne Smith co-starred with Sidney Poitier, both debuting in ‘No Way Out’

Mildred Joanne Smith was literally and figuratively flying high when the plane carrying her and other passengers to Newark Airport crashed. She was severely injured but was one of the 34 passengers who survived; 29 others were killed. The accident happened in 1952, two years after she portrayed Sidney Poitier’s wife in his and her debut film “No Way Out.”
Smith was born on May 16, 1921, possibly in Struthers, Ohio, where she was raised. Her acting career began on Broadway during the 1940s when she performed in several Broadway shows, including “Men to the Sea,” “Mamba’s Daughters,” “Forward the Heart,” and “A Long Way from Home.” In “Beggar’s Holiday” with Alfred Drake, she played Lucy Lockit and regaled audiences with a solo performance of “Brown Penny” in the second act. This may have been her introduction to Duke Ellington, who wrote the music for production. Later, she would often perform as a singer with his orchestra.
In the playbill, there is additional biographical information about her, noting that she earned a master’s degree in psychology from Western Reserve University. She also studied drama at the college with a minor in physical education. For recreation, she acted in the Cleveland Playhouse and it was from these performances that she received the praise that brought her to Broadway for a role in “Men to the Sea.” There was a steady succession of roles, including “Blue Holiday,” and then the revival of “Beggar’s Holiday” that reunited her with Perry Watkins, the pioneering African American set designer.
She was Rose in the 1948 production of “Set My People Free,” and according to the trade publication Billboard, was excellent. Two years later, she landed her most significant role as Cora Brooks, co-starring with Sidney Poitier as his wife. 

Despite favorable reviews, Smith wasn’t offered any more film roles. Film critic and historian Donald Bogle, in his book “Blacks in American Films and Television” (Garland Publishing, 1988), discusses how Smith navigated post-war racial hostilities. 
Smith survived the plane crash, although she suffered a broken back and ribs, and burns to her legs. She was featured in a Jet magazine issue, gracing the cover in a story with a less than flattering title  “The Magnificent Failure: She Won Fame but never quite could attain stardom.” Even so, her performing continued, mainly as a vocalist, most notably with Ellington and his partner Billy Strayhorn in a London Production of “Cockles and Champagne.” Once again, she was praised for her remarkable performance.
After giving up the stage, Smith became the women’s editor of Our World, a popular magazine that at one time rivaled Ebony in the 1950s. By the 1960s, she was in the classroom teaching English at Eastview Junior High School in White Plains, NY.
On July 19, 2015, Smith died at the age of 94. She left two children, a stepdaughter, and six grandchildren. Her husband, David A. Hepburn, a journalist and former vice president of WNEW-TV, died in 1985.