Smith took up car racing and is a two-time winner of the Pacific Coast Championship. He abandoned car racing after a serious crash at Juarez, Mexico.

He began his film career working in the storage vaults at Selznick Studios. He worked at various odd jobs in the film industry before becoming an apprentice editor at Four Star Films. He moved up to editor and spent six years with David Wolper, during which time he edited many documentaries for that famous unit. Three of the documentaries were directed by William Friedkin (Bold Men, Mayhem On A Sunday Afternoon and Thin Blue Line).

After moving to New York, Smith worked with Robert Downey Sr. on Putney Swope, Pound and Greaser’s Palace.

Smith and Friedkin were reunited on The Exorcist, for which he received an Academy AwardÒ nomination for best editing, and continued their collaboration on Sorcerer, The Brink’s Job, Cruising, Deal of the Century and To Live & Die in LA.

Smith received his second Academy AwardÒ nomination for editing on the feature film Flashdance, which also garnered him an ACE Eddie Award, as well as a Billboard Magazine Award and a British Academy of Film & Television Award. In 1988, he made his directorial debut with Johnny Be Good.

Since 1990, Smith has be executive creative consultant to the motion picture group at Universal Pictures.