Biography
Gil Smith was elected to the Board of Directors of The Ricardo Montalbán Foundation in September 2006, appointed to the Executive Board as Secretary in October 2006, and named Chair in 2010 and continues as its Chair today. He is also the Executive Producer of The Montalbán Theatre on Vine Street in Hollywood.
During his tenure, over $4 million has been invested in improvements to the theatre itself and in the presentation of many notable productions, among them Jesus Christ Superstar with the original cast, The Who's Tommy, John Leguizamo's Ghetto Klown, Huading Awards 2014, Last Comic Standing Season 8, Shaping Sound & Television Academy's "An Evening with Noman Lear".
As part of its outreach mission, the theatre has hosted community meetings, charity functions, and no-charge performances of local non-profit performing groups such as Harmony Project. Under Gil's guidance, with the aim of improving the audience experience, the theatre has installed a Roof Court, a state of the art KV2 Audio System, and digital connectivity and WiFi hot spots for streaming broadcasts and audience interactivity. These innovative upgrades and expansions will attract high-quality productions and transform what has historically been a "roadhouse theatre" into a significant performing arts center.
Long before his involvement with the foundation and theatre, Gil had become an internationally recognized advertising photographer specializing in high-action automotive and sports-industry images. He is regarded as an innovator in live and simulated-action photography, evidence of which can be seen in campaigns for American, European, and Japanese auto manufacturers including GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Nissan, Jeep, Porsche, Renault, Peugeot, and Volvo. He has also helped develop memorable identities for Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Honda motorcycles, Bosche, and B.F. Goodrich, and has contributed to sports-oriented advertising programs of Pepsi, Oakley and Michelin that were aimed at sports fans.
Known for the velocity and unusual angles of his images, Gil is a member of "Explorers of Light," a prestigious group of professionals chosen and sponsored by Canon USA to push the boundaries of existing film, digital, and printing techniques. Over the course of his 28-year career he has won numerous advertising and photography awards including AdWeek's Beldings, Carnegie Mellon's Andys, Communication Arts magazine's photographic competitions, and The One Club's "The One Show."
While his work suggests immediacy and spontaneity, Gil's approach is characterized by his focus on thorough research, visual positioning, location scouting, set design, novel equipment rigging, and effective management of budgets and live-action shoots. He says: "Great action shots are 90% pre-production and 10% on-the-spot inspiration. You can't capture the moment unless you, your subject, and everything around them is absolutely set to go." He also places a premium on start-to-finish communication with clients, which he believes is essential on complex projects.
Gil grew up in both Hollywood and New York. After a six-year stint as a child actor, he studied photography at Reseda High School under H. Warren King, a nationally renowned teacher, and subsequently received a merit scholarship from Eastman Kodak and the Professional Photographers of America to study photography at the highly regarded Rochester Institute of Technology. After college, Gil was an assistant in the studios of several noted advertising professionals, including James B. Wood, Reid Miles, and David Langley.
He launched his own studio operation in 1980 after transforming a former Yellow Cab garage near downtown Los Angeles into a fully-equipped studio for automotive photography. He was involved in such notable projects as national multimedia presentations for Chrysler, the launches of New Coke and Diet Coke for Coca-Cola, and a portrait of a then little-known economist, Alan Greenspan, for Apple Computer. Other clients have ranged from John Deere tractors to Giro helmets.
In recognition of the help he received from established professionals early in his career, Gil co-founded the Advertising Photographers of America (APA) in 1981, with the goals of strengthening ties between photographers, standardizing business practices, and improving relationships with corporate clients. He was a member of the APA National Board of Directors for many years and is considered a generous mentor by colleagues and aspiring professionals alike. Gil resides in West Los Angeles with his family and a small dog, which, he says, is unlikely to outrun the average recreational bicyclist.
