Jimmy Smits, MFA '82, left, meets with admirers and students, faculty and staff from the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, Dec. 1, including, from left, sophomore theatre major Rachel Donn; sophomore Kristina Klimovich; and junior film major Jana Wilson, in the Black Box Theatre of the Center for Theatre Arts. Jon Reis/Photolink
Actor Jimmy Smits may be fixed in the popular mind as a tall, dark, TV hunk.
But for those who met Smits, MFA '82, during his daylong reminiscence at the Center for the Theatre Arts (CTA) Dec. 1, the lasting impression will be of a dedicated actor, a gracious guest and a glitz-free personality whose sincerity was genuine, almost touching. Qualities you might look for, say, in a friend.
In fact, the actor's first return visit here grew out of a 16-yearlong friendship with his former acting teacher, Stephen Cole, associate professor of theater, film and dance at Cornell.
Cole had invited Smits to Ithaca while the former star of "NYPD Blue" was visiting family and friends in New York. With the final, much-hyped episode featuring his TV character's death behind him (the show aired Nov. 24, one week prior to Smits' visit), Smits was at liberty to visit Cole and Cornell for a low-key, nostalgia trip.
Leery of publicity, as a rule, Smits consented to a loose schedule, limited to the theater arts community, with a few exceptions: He took an impromptu tour of Ithaca's Hangar Theatre; allowed for a brief interview with some members of the local print media; availed himself of photo opportunities for students and faculty alike while on campus; and made time for an intimate roundtable discussion with about two dozen students from Cornell's Latino Studies Program.
The private dialogue with students in the program was marked for its mix of candor and restraint, criticism and self-reflection, passion and common sense -- qualities for which Smits, a co-founder of the Hispanic American Foundation for the Arts, is noted. The foundation provides support for young Latinos in the arts.
The oldest of three children born to a devout Catholic family, Smits was raised in Brooklyn. His Puerto Rico-born mother was a nurse and his father is a retired plant manager, who hails from Surinam, a Dutch colony northeast of Brazil. Smits, now the father of two, lives in California and maintains a long-term relationship with actress Wanda de Jesus.
Before an audience of about 100 theater arts students and faculty in CTA's Black Box Theatre, Smits described his graduate work at Cornell as an almost "monastic experience in a conservatory type atmosphere where I was constantly working on something. I was like a big sponge, always trying to absorb and learn as much as I could. When I left Cornell, more than anything, I felt grounded."
In a question-and-answer session that followed, Smits stressed the value of a broad based education, saying that no college course is irrelevant to an aspiring actor. He summed up his collective wisdom on an actor's life in three words: "Always be prepared."
A graduate of Brooklyn College, where he studied drama, Smits appeared in his first Cornell production as Chief in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He made his final Big Red curtain call as the lead in George Bernard Shaw's "Man and Superman" -- a four-and-a-half-hour verbal tour de force that is one of the most intimidating roles in theater. Off-campus he played major roles in such Hangar Theatre productions as "Gemini," "Loose Ends" and "Rainmaker."
Smits also described his Cornell years as a traumatic passage: He was a father, married at the time, and living in university housing with his wife and young daughter. While he had moments of self-doubt, they did not shake his confidence, he said. Smits recalled dreaded morning ballet classes when his thoughts tilted dangerously toward envy of contemporaries who were getting cast "as the thug of the week on shows like 'Hill Street Blues.'"
Smits prevailed, weathering self-doubt -- and weathering ... well, the Ithaca weather. "I remember the cold -- the snow. Snow in April!" he said.
After Cornell, Smits returned to New York. He landed roles off-Broadway and in regional theaters. There were appearances on TV shows like "Spenser for Hire," "Pee Wee's Playhouse" and "Miami Vice." But his big break came after he botched a cold reading for a talent agent casting for a TV pilot show called "L.A. Law."
"The bottom line is, I wasn't prepared," he admitted.
Depressed, he called a well-connected Hollywood friend who urged Smits to hop a red-eye flight to Los Angeles and re-audition for the "L.A. Law" producers themselves. He did. Smits nailed the audition and the part of Victor Sifuentes, Esq., his first major TV role, for which he garnered an Emmy in 1990.
In 1993, Smits became Detective Bobby Simone on "NYPD Blue," replacing David Caruso who had left over a salary dispute. The hit show was riding on high ratings when Smits chose to bow out this season.
"In my heart, I knew it was time to move on," Smits said. "It's not like I walked away from that show with a three picture deal in my pocket. I just knew it was time to try something different."
Although he hinted at an interest in comedy and possibly a directing debut, Smits was otherwise reticent about his next move.
Cole recalled Smits as "a hard working, serious student and a real mensch."
"He was an ideal student -- everything that happened to him is what we hope will happen for a student," said Cole. "The fact he is also a truly wonderful person makes it all the more inspiring."
Smits won't wait another 16 years before returning to Cornell. He said he wants to keep the connection fresh and hopes to return to the campus some time in the near future.
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