By Joe Puccio

It’s probably a safe assumption to make that in 1994 – at the height of Seinfeld’s popularity – 99% of working actresses would have immediately stopped what they were doing, hopped in their vehicle, and raced over to the soundstages in Studio City, California as quickly as humanly possible for the opportunity to star in a multi-episode arc on one of the greatest situation comedies of all time. Melanie Smith, however, is anything but typical. And she readily admits it.

“When I got the call, I was on the Beverly Hills side of the Santa Monica Mountains that divides Los Angeles, leaving a meeting at about five o’clock in the afternoon,” Smith recounted, during a recent conversation with Generation X Wire. “My agent said that they wanted to see me over at the lot right away. I told him there was no way I was going to drive over the canyons, during rush hour in L.A., at that time. He asked me if I was out of my mind and I replied that I was actually quite sane, which was why I was declining,” she laughed.

Although Smith admittedly wasn’t a regular viewer of the series, she still understood its unparalleled impact, and for someone who was primarily considered to be a dramatic actress at the time, the odds of landing anything again on par with a part on the revered ‘show about nothing’ were exceedingly slim. But, as was the case throughout her entire career, she stood her ground. “I went to dinner instead and he called me back and I was told that they were willing to wait for me,” she explained. “So, about thirty minutes later – when the traffic had died down – I drove over, read with Jerry (Seinfeld), and got ready to leave, but before I did, he walked over and asked me why my personal corporation was named ‘All About Grapefruits.’ I told him that Oscar Wilde once said, ‘a grapefruit is nothing but a lemon that had a chance and took it’ and that’s the story of my life.” By the time Smith got to the parking lot, her agent called and informed her that she had the job.

Before becoming Jerry Seinfeld’s onscreen girlfriend (the comedian asked his new colleague out on a date, which she declined because “he just wasn’t my type”), Smith gained prominence as a result of her five-year run as Emily Stewart on venerable CBS soap opera As the World Turns. Despite being her first acting gig, the Scranton, Pennsylvania-born entertainer secured and, perhaps more impressively, retained the coveted role – the sixth individual to play the part – due to her reliability, discipline, and of course, her undeniable talent. “When people ask me if I always wanted to be an actor, I tell them ‘no,’ but I always wanted to live in Oakdale (the fictional city in Illinois where ATWT was set),” she kidded. “It’s the truth. I grew up watching it and feel like I manifested it. I was never late. I never missed a line. And I truly enjoyed it. They used to call Scotty (Bryce), Marie (Masters), and me the ‘A-Team’ because if the day was running long, they’d have us do our scenes because we could get it done on time.”

Smith’s dedication to the long running serial, which incredibly aired from 1956 through 2010, was evident by how seriously she regarded the work. “I could have forty pages of dialogue in a day that I’d memorized only to have it changed at the last minute. But it trained me well,” she opined. “I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I was able to remember a CVS receipt worth of dialogue. One time, I did four scenes with four costume changes in an hour. We were a family and I loved the experience.”

The family atmosphere referenced by Smith was certainly indicative of her close friendship with Bryce, who memorably played Craig Montgomery on the show, and who last connected with Smith less than a year ago. Sharing the screen, occasionally as lovers, for nearly the entirety of her run, Smith has nothing but praise for the kindhearted actor who tragically passed away just over two months ago. “Scotty was one of the most lovable, gentle, and generous people I’ve ever met. He was very childlike. He was a wonderful talent. And the second we stopped taping, he had the sharpest wit,” she beamed. “He noticed and paid attention to everybody. It didn’t matter if you were the director, the janitor, or the sound technician. He knew what you did. He knew what your job was. He knew the value of your job. And you will never find even one person to ever say a bad word about him.”

In keeping true to her unconventional practices as it pertains to her livelihood, Smith retired from show business in 2009 after amassing a solid resume that also included spots on Beverly Hills, 90210, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Matlock, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Joking that she likely turned down more roles than the number she actually wound up doing when all was said and done, she set out to continue to make a living via alternative endeavors while raising her young son. “I’m a creator but I have to be happy with the things I choose to create and playing the same type of role over and over again, for me, stops the creative process,” she reasoned. “I decided to open a wellness center and became a life coach, which was successful, and that period was one of the happiest times of my life. It gave me the opportunity to use every part of myself.”

From there, the renaissance woman, a dancer in her youth, studied yoga, eventually opening her own studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania. “My parents and my aunts were the first yogis I’d ever met in my life. They believed in doing the things you love but not in excess, that you must have principles, that you must be guided by your principles, and to never break your word,” she emphasized. “It allowed me to search for meaning and I fell in love with the search. One of my teachers used to say that if you do yoga out of alignment, you’re in physical fitness, and if you do yoga in alignment, you’re changing your soul. I loved being an actor, but I became complete when I started the practice of deepening my understanding of life.”

While Smith is sufficiently content with her current rather non-Hollywood life, she still enjoys discussing the many memories that her previous occupation afforded her. Take her appearance on the season one finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, an assignment she scored despite, in true Smith fashion, nearly passing because the shoot coincided with her plans to celebrate her son’s second birthday. “I told Larry (David) and Bob (Weide, director and executive producer) that I couldn’t do it because my sister rented a tent or something for his birthday. They thought I was crazy and said to tell her to reschedule it until the following weekend,” she giggled. “I guess I wasn’t that business savvy.”

As if acting, running a yoga practice, and helping to guide people’s lives isn’t enough, Smith is also an author, having penned Unfinished Business: 8 Steps to Heal Your Trauma, Transcend Your Past, and Transform Your Life in 2023, a well-reviewed, non-fiction, self-help book with useful tips to assist with overcoming emotional trauma and grief. And then there’s her music. The multi-faceted artist released a jazz record, The Broken and the Breaker, a passion project, the following year – with a rather accomplished band by her side. “Daniel (Foose, bass), Alex (Smith, piano), and Brian (Newman, trumpet) are some of the best players in the business. They’re Lady Gaga’s band! To get to work with them was insane,” she praised. “They’re all Grammy winners. We recorded the entire album in one night. The string players are the same ones who played with Jon Batiste at Carnegie Hall. So, when you listen to it, listen to the players and just ignore me completely,” she continued, in jest. Smith, a jingle writer, even had interest from record companies when she was younger, but the notion of becoming a pop star failed to excite her. “I didn’t want to rehearse every day, and I didn’t want to, possibly, have to tour. My personality didn’t lend itself to the pop world.”

It’s difficult for even Smith to believe that so much time has passed since she lived a public life, but she has no regrets about her decision and is more content than she has ever been. “When I was in third grade, I got the role of the Lion in The Wizard of Oz,” she reflected. “After the first rehearsal, I quit because I didn’t feel the story would be told the way I felt it should be. Even at that age, I wanted to do what I believed in so that was the choice I made. It’s been an incredible journey and these days, I live a beautiful, natural, loving life. I’m blessed.”

Order Unfinished Business: 8 Steps to Heal Your Trauma, Transcend Your Past, and Transform Your Life on Amazon here.

Order Unfinished Business: 8 Steps to Heal Your Trauma, Transcend Your Past, and Transform Your Life on Barnes & Noble here.