Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith
LOS ANGELES--Actress Cheryl Smith, whose short, promising
career was derailed by drugs, died here October 25. MSTies
will remember her as heroine Kathy Farley in episode 706-
LASERBLAST, as well as a small role in the movie in episode
704- THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN. She was 47.
Much of her appearance in INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN was cut
for the version that appeared on MST3K--we only see her
sobbing in a police car, with a photographer taking pictures
of her. The cut scene shows Smith posing for the
photographer, then the photographer makes a grab for her and
as the two are struggling they stumble over one of the
Melting Man's victims.
Smith was born in 1955 in Los Angeles and grew up in
single-parent family. By the late 1960s, when she was a
teenager, she was spending much of her time hanging out in
Sunset Strip clubs, including the famous Rainbow Room. Music
was her first love, and she got gigs playing drums with
several groups, most notably for Joan Jett.
She then moved on to films, making her movie debut 1971,
when she was just 15. She would appear in more than 30
movies, including "Phantom of the Paradise," "The Swinging
Cheerleaders," "The Pom Pom Girls," "Massacre at Central
High" and "Slumber Party '57." In many of her films, she
used the name Rainbeaux Smith, as tribute to her early days
in the Rainbow Room.
In 1976 she had a son who, according to L.A. whispers,
was fathered by rock musician Eric Burden of Eric Burden
& the Animals. But it was also during this period that
she became a heroin user, an addiction which ultimately
ended her movie career and sent her to prison twice. She was
also reportedly a talented artist and painter, even earning
money while in prison by designing elaborate tattoos for
fellow inmates.
According to some reports, in the mid to late 1980s she
was doing soft-core exploitation movies in Australia. Toward
the end of her life she was, during some periods, reportedly
living on the streets near L.A.'s MacArthur Park. Her
addiction also led to her developing hepatitis,
complications of which led to her death.
|