B. Smith

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This article is about the American
B Smith
.

B. Smith
Smith in 2016
Born
Barbara Elaine Smith

(1949-08-24)August 24, 1949
Everson, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedFebruary 22, 2020(2020-02-22) (aged 70)
Long Island, New York, U.S
EducationSouthmoreland High School
Occupations
Years active1973–2015
Known forFirst African-American model featured on Mademoiselle magazine (1976)
Spouses
Donald Anderson
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 1990)​
Dan Gasby
​
(m. 1992)​
Culinary career
Cooking styleGlobal eclectic with Southern influences
Previous restaurant(s)
Television show(s)
    • B. Smith with Style
Websitebsmith.com

Barbara Elaine Smith[2] (August 24, 1949 – February 22, 2020), professionally known as B. Smith, was an American restaurateur, model, author, businesswoman, and television host.[3][4]

Early life and education

Smith was born on August 24, 1949, in the

Future Homemakers of America club, while supposedly integrated, refused to let Smith join because of her race; she countered by starting her own homemaking club with herself as president.[9]

Career

Modeling, television, and stage

In the mid-1960s, Smith began her career in modeling, participating in the

African-American model to be featured on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine in 1976.[13]

Smith made two appearances on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, once as a model for Queen Sara's wedding dress, and once giving a tour of her restaurant, B. Smith, and making raspberry custard with Fred Rogers and her head chef, Henry. During the episode, she taught child viewers about the importance of washing hands, and shared the excitement of using huge bowls and mixers. She said her dream was to feed people, which began at an early age when she fed her dolls. Her weekly half-hour syndicated television show, B. Smith with Style, debuted in 1997 and also aired weekdays on BTN and Bounce TV. It featured home decor and cooking segments.[14]

Smith appeared as herself on "Prelude to a Kiss", a 1999 episode of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, in which Aunt Hilda summons her in order to teach a group of unruly pirates to keep house.[15][16]

Smith accepted a role in the Off Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 through May 29, 2011, run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and Minka Kelly.[17]

Restaurateur and retailer

Smith owned multiple restaurants called B. Smith. The first opened in 1986, on

Union Station in Washington, D.C.; in September 2013, it was reported that restaurant would close.[19]
In 2014, the Sag Harbor restaurant was shuttered, followed by the Manhattan location in January 2015.

Smith's interest in

serveware in 2004. In spring 2010, Smith debuted her first furniture collection with the La-Z-Boy company Clayton Marcus.[21]

Author

B. Smith authored three books concentrating on recipes and presentation: B. Smith's Entertaining and Cooking for Friends (1995), B. Smith's Rituals and Celebrations (1999), and B. Smith Cooks Southern Style (2009).

Alzheimer's.[23] The book was written with husband Dan Gasby and Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Shnayerson.[24][25]

Personal life

Smith married twice. Her first marriage was to former

Camelot Entertainment Sales Inc.[2][27][28] Smith was stepmother of Gasby's daughter, Dana.[29]

Smith lived in

Central Park South and had a second apartment she used as an office.[32][33]

Illness and death

In June 2014, Smith revealed that she had been diagnosed with Early-onset Alzheimer's disease and stating that she came out with the information to counter the stigma associated with the disease.[34] In November 2014, Smith's husband reported her missing from Southampton, New York.[35] She was found the next day in a cafe in Midtown Manhattan.[31]

On February 22, 2020, Smith died of early-onset Alzheimer's disease at age 70.[36]

References

  1. ^ "Washington DC". B. Smith official website. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Weddings; Barbara Smith and Dan Gasby". The New York Times. December 27, 1992. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Barbara Elaine Smith, the owner of B. Smith's Restaurant in New York, was married on Wednesday to Daniel Gasby, the senior vice president of marketing at Camelot Entertainment Sales, Inc., a syndicator of television programs in New York.
  3. ^ Reed, Julia (August 22, 1999). "Can B. Smith Be Martha?". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  4. ISBN 978-0-7645-5469-8
    . Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  5. ISBN 978-0-313-33110-7
    .
  6. Sun-Sentinel. Reprinted from The New York Times. Archived from the original
    on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Like Smith's, his mother was a maid, but his father was a bookie.
  7. ^ Sodergren, Rebecca (February 4, 2010). "B. Smith's career takes another turn – cookbook author". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Growing up in Scottdale, Westmoreland County, B. Smith was denied membership in the Future Homemakers of America.
  8. ^ Zajac, Frances Borsodi (July 15, 2012). "B. Smith does everything with style". Herald Standard. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  9. ISBN 978-1324004493
    .
  10. ^ "Former Ebony Fashion Fair Models Host Reunion in Atlanta August 22". Cascade, GA Patch. July 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Hadley, Ebony (September 3, 2019). "Ebony Fashion Fair: Defining African-Americans in Fashion". EBONY. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Williams, Lena (January 2, 1989). "B. Smith's Restaurant Has Marriage on Menu". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  13. ^ Chideya, Farai (January 2, 2007). "B. Smith Becomes Face of Betty Crocker Cornbread". NPR. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "B. Smith with Style Episodes". Food Network. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  15. ^ "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Prelude to a Kiss | TVmaze" – via www.tvmaze.com.
  16. ^ "Prelude To A Kiss". January 31, 2008.
  17. ^ Gans, Andrew (April 14, 2011). "Minka Kelly, Susan Sullivan Set for Love, Loss... Off-Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  18. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  19. ^ O'Connell, Jonathan (September 13, 2013). "B. Smith's restaurant in Union Station to close after almost 20 years in business". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  20. ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (June 15, 2011). "B. Smith, a Renaissance Woman, Returns to the Stage: Up Close". The New York Times.
  21. ^ Evans, Gary (December 25, 2006). "B. Smith picks fabrics for new Clayton Marcus line". Furniture Today. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  22. ^ "Cookbooks". B. Smith official website. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  23. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's". Publishers Weekly. November 23, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  24. ^ Jevens, Darel (February 23, 2020). "B. Smith dead: Style expert dies of Alzheimer's Disease". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  25. ^ Szokan, Nancy (January 22, 2016). "B. Smith on life with Alzheimer's". Newsday. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Stein, Jeannine (February 3, 2000). "Poised for Everything". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  27. King World Entertainment, as an Account Executive in the National Barter Syndication division, where he sold Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! and The Oprah Winfrey Show
    , the three most successful shows in the history of TV syndication.
  28. ^ Stein, Jeannine (February 3, 2000). "Poised for Everything". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2014. His background in television production and ad sales and marketing for TV companies King World and Petry Inc. made it easy for him to segue to becoming publisher of B. Smith with Style magazine (he sold 60 pages of ads in the premier issue); partner in her three B. Smith's restaurants in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Sag Harbor in New York's tony Hamptons; and creator of the show.
  29. ^ Hamilton, William L. (April 22, 2004). "At Home With: B. Smith; A Move Up (Martha Who?)". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  30. Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original
    on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2014. Now at 50, she had a big Manhattan apartment near her Times Square restaurant and a house in an exclusive black section of Sag Harbor, where she lived with Gasby and his daughter, Dana.
  31. ^ a b Ramanathan, Lavanya (January 28, 2019). "Lifestyle guru B. Smith has Alzheimer's. Her husband has a mistress. Her fans aren't having it". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2019. She made the newspapers in 2014 when, on her way to Sag Harbor from the city, she hopped off her bus and somehow ended up back in New York alone. She walked to Harlem and ferried to Staten Island and bused back to Manhattan before finally being recognized in a cafe in Midtown the next day, Dan Gasby revealed on Facebook later
  32. ^ Harris, Elizabeth (April 11, 2010). "B. Smith Closes a Chapter". The New York Times.
  33. ^ Pomorski, Chris (April 8, 2014). "Bed, Bath and Way Beyond: Décor Maven Drops Central Park Co-op for $5.6 M." The New York Observer. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  34. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (June 6, 2014). "B. Smith reveals she has Alzheimer's". USA Today. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  35. ^ "Former model and restaurateur B. Smith missing". WNYW. November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  36. ^ Langer, Emily (February 23, 2020). "B. Smith, model turned restaurateur and lifestyle maven, dies at 70". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.

External links

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