Shelley Smith, who starred with Martin Short on ABC sitcom The Associates, has died. She was 70 and her death from cardiac arrest came on Aug. 8.
Smith died at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, according to her husband of 18 years, actor Michael Maguire.
“I’m sorry I have not updated everyone sooner,” Maguire said in his post. “My dear, sweet angel Shelly Smith passed peacefully yesterday at 2:20 PM. Her children, Nicky and Miranda Nathan and I were at her side and holding her hand and kissing her head and singing to her and telling her how much we loved her. Also, with us was Grant Stevens, my great great friend, who gave up himself to help us, understand the process of dying, and guided us through it with so much class and dignity! We owe him a tremendous debt!
“Shelley lived an incredible life! We are all heartbroken, but we are also so fortunate to have been touched by this beautiful, intelligent, compassionate and incredible soul. Life is so short. Make every second count and fill every second with love.”
Born on Oct. 25, 1952, in Princeton, New Jersey, Smith graduated from Connecticut College and built a thriving modeling career, appearing in such magazines as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour and Mademoiselle.
She debuted as an actress in 1979, appearing in an NBC telefilm about cosmetic surgery, Mirror, Mirror, and on The Associates. She would go on to guest star on such shows as Fantasy Island, Hotel, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Hunter, Magnum. P.I., and Simon and Simon into the early 1990s.
The Associates was created by James L. Brooks, Ed. Weinberger, Stan Daniels and Charlie Hauck, Smith played an upper-class Bostonian who worked at a Wall Street law firm.
The show lasted just 13 episodes.
After that, Smith played Capt. Carolyn Engel on the 1983 NBC military drama For Love and Honor, which also starred Keenen Ivory Wayans and Yaphet Kotto. It lasted 12 episodes.
Smith had an interesting side gig at the time. She began regularly appearing on TV game shows, including Super Password, Body Language, and the $10,000 Pyramid.
Ending her acting career, Smith obtained a master’s degree in psychology from Antioch University and became a marriage and family therapist.
In 1991, she founded The Egg Donor Program after having twins Nicky and Miranda through in vitro fertilization. She later sold the company, now known as Hatch Fertility.
No memorial plans have been revealed.
