Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401130008
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Louis C. Smith, who has worked with people in the entertainment field in several countries, met with members of the Pulaski Theater organization during a recent visit with college classmate Flo Stevenson, who owns the Count Pulaski bed and breakfast here.
Smith, who lives in France, studied speech, drama and related subjects in the United States, England and France while his wife, Barbara, worked at various U.S. embassies on radio and television projects.
Smith met with John Sadler, president of the Pulaski Theater group; Lydia Hickham, vice president; and Robert Henderson, in charge of promoting the project through publicity.
``There are many things you could do here in a town this size,'' Smith said after a tour of the community. ``It could support a theater.''
The goal of the Friends group is to renovate and restore the theater building for use as a fine arts and performing center. The 82-year-old building was donated to the county when it closed in 1991. The Friends group already has received a commitment from the C.E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation for $30,000 over the next three years, and will be starting public fund-raising efforts soon.
Smith has helped organize community theater groups in Europe as well as directing plays and hosting a European version of the popular television show of the time, ``What's My Line?'' The couple now lives in a centuries-old home in Chartres, France.
The recent stay in Pulaski marked the first time in 50 years that Smith and Stevenson had seen each other. They had been undergraduates at a small Presbyterian college in the Midwest before she went to Harvard and he set off for London. A couple of years ago, Stevenson went to a college reunion and got Smith's address in France from his college roommate.
They traveled to see the Smiths on their recent visit to France, driving the back roads, which gave them a fascinating view of rural France.
Smith had a similar reaction to driving from Washington, D.C., through the mountains to Pulaski.
``It's the most beautiful drive I think I've ever made,'' he said. ``Many times we said `This is like going from Germany into Switzerland'...It's European, to tell you the truth.''
Barbara and Louis Smith have both worked for German television.
Barbara Smith had the assignment of landing personalities to be interviewed on the German VIP Show. The first one she landed was Rose Kennedy when she was visiting Europe. The Smiths met many acting celebrities the same way, ranging from Laurence Olivier to John Wayne, and Orson Welles to Jane Russell.
by CNB