Began in show business as a radio singer. In the early 1930s he became one of the first singing screen cowboys. He starred in a series of musical westerns for Paramount, and another series for 20th Century Fox. In later years he was featured in supporting roles well into the 1950s.
Racing Lady, Western Gold, Roll Along, Cowboy, Hawaiian Buckaroo, Rawhide, Gaucho Serenade, The Man Who Walked Alone, The Mutineers, I Killed Geronimo, The Red Badge of Courage, Palm Springs, Panamint's Bad Man, Tex Granger, Rambling 'Round Radio Row 4, Gun Cargo, Drifting Along
Attended the University of Texas and got his first part-time job as a singer on a local radio station.
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Was voted #8 in the top ten Western moneymaking stars of 1938.
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According to Don Creacy in an in-depth article on Smith in "Classic Images" (April 2010), the cowboy actor retired from Hollywood and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he became a manager in the missiles division of an aircraft company.
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Besides being a popular radio singer, he recorded hundreds of records, as one of the prominent studio vocalists. His smooth, honest style of singing was featured on many important hot jazz sides of the late 1920s and early 1930s (a good example of his vocal style on a great hot jazz record is his vocal on Frank Traumbauer's version of "Happy Feet" from 1930, which is available on CD). He also had his own band for a time during the early 1930s.
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Contrary to popular opinion, Ballew did NOT dub John Wayne's singing voice in Riders of Destiny (1933), which is generally considered to be the first "singing" western. Wayne's voice was dubbed by Bill Bradbury, an actor who was the son of the film's director, Robert N. Bradbury.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Red Badge of Courage
1951
Captain (uncredited)
I Killed Geronimo
1950
Lt. Furness
Federal Man
1950
James Snow - Mining Engineer (uncredited)
Gun Cargo
1949
Singing Sailor
The Mutineers
1949
Beasly (uncredited)
Tex Granger: Midnight Rider of the Plains
1948
'Marshal' Blaze Talbot
Under Arizona Skies
1946
Band Singer
Drifting Along
1946
Band Singer Smith
The Man Who Walked Alone
1945
Alvin Bailey
Gaucho Serenade
1940
Buck Benson
Panamint's Bad Man
1938
Larry Kimball, alias John Smith
Rawhide
1938
Larry Kimball
Hawaiian Buckaroo
1938
Jeff Howard
Roll Along, Cowboy
1937
Randy Porter
Western Gold
1937
Bill Gibson
Racing Lady
1937
Steven Wendel
Palm Springs
1936
Slim
Rambling 'Round Radio Row #5
1933
Short
Smith Ballew - Singer
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Magic in the Moonlight
2014
performer: "You Call It Madness But I Call It Love"
Boardwalk Empire
2013
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Magic City
2013
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Under Arizona Skies
1946
performer: "Livin' Western Style", "Strawberry Blonde"
Drifting Along
1946
performer: "You Can Bet Your Boots and Saddles" - uncredited
Panamint's Bad Man
1938
performer: "Got Some Ridin' to Do", "Last Rose of Summer", "Auld Lang Syne"
Roll Along, Cowboy
1937
performer: "On the Sunny Side of the Rockies", "Stars Over the Desert", "Roll Along, Ride 'em Cowboy"
Western Gold
1937
performer: "Echoes of the Trail", "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" uncredited, "Gwine to Rune All Night" aka "De Camptown Races", "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair"
Palm Springs
1936
performer: "The Hills of Old Wyoming"
Rambling 'Round Radio Row #5
1933
Short performer: "Deep in Your Eyes" - uncredited
Rhythms
1929
Short performer: "If I Had You" - uncredited
Stunts
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Cariboo Trail
1950
stunt double: Randolph Scott - uncredited
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 5
1938
Documentary short
Himself
Rhythms
1929
Short
Himself. Vocalist
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
2000
TV Movie documentary
Known for movies
Rawhide (1938) as Larry Kimball
Western Gold (1937) as Bill Gibson
Roll Along, Cowboy (1937) as Randy Porter
Panamint's Bad Man (1938) as Larry Kimball, alias John Smith
$400,000
