Roger LaVerne Smith

 Roger LaVerne Smith (December 18, 1932 – June 4, 2017)

He starred in the television detective series 77 Sunset Strip and in the comedy series Mister Roberts. Smith went on to manage the career of Ann-Margret, his wife of 50 years. His greatest film exposure was the role of the adult Patrick Dennis in Auntie Mame, with Rosalind Russell. His signature TV role was private detective Jeff Spencer in 77 Sunset Strip, with Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Edd Byrnes and Richard Long. His health declined and in 1980, he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease, according to wife Ann-Margret. His condition went into remission in 1985. Following his retirement from performing, he managed his wife's career and produced her popular Las Vegas stage shows. In an interview with the New York Post, Ann-Margret said that he had Parkinson's disease. Smith died of complications from Parkinson's disease at the Sherman Oaks Hospital in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles on June 4, 2017 at the age of 84. He is interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills.