A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Smith debuted on Broadway in "Grease" in 1978. He enjoyed a stint as a teen idol in the late 70s and had a gold top-10 single, "You Take My Breath Away", in 1979. He later appeared in both the stage and film versions of The Pirates of Penzance (1983), and he has also appeared on stage in "The Human Comedy", "West Side Story", "Brownstone" and "Baby". From 1982-83, he served as a co-host of the syndicated music show, Solid Gold (1980).