Overview
- Television said he died Thursday, Feb. 5, at 77, with no cause given as colleagues noted a years-long illness.
- He was the original bassist in Angel and the Snake, which became Blondie, before replacing Richard Hell in Television in 1975.
- Smith anchored Television's CBGB-era classics, playing on Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978).
- After the band's 1978 split, he recorded with Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd and worked with the Roches, Willie Nile, Peregrins, the Revelons, and the Fleshtones.
- Jimmy Rip said they had hoped to perform Tom Verlaine's music in 2026, and tributes now recall Smith's understated, melodic style; he also co-founded the Cereghino Smith winery with his wife, Paula Cereghino.