alumni Class Notes
From Rynearson Stadium to Hollywood Michael Bailey Smith (BS88)—The Eastern Michigan Story
by Michael Bailey Smith
I
’m what you call a working actor. I’m not famous, but my big mug is
recognizable. I’ve been fortunate enough to work in almost 50 films and over 100 episodes of TV, and let me tell you— Hollywood is a crazy business. One day I could be riding a horse
doing a commercial, the next week I could be speeding down a mountain on a snowmobile being chased by a chimpanzee, and maybe the next month I’m in Morocco shooting a horror movie. Right now, I’m on the set shooting a new video game using a motion capture skin- tight suit. But my life wasn’t always this way. Growing up, I was picked on because
of how I looked—I was very skinny, kind of goofy and had ears that stuck out like Dumbo’s. As I grew older, football became a
big part of my life. I started out on the freshman football team at my high school in Oscoda, but I was terrible. I think I got in one game and played for about two plays. Ten, just before my junior year, my dad, who was in the Air Force, got stationed in Tehran, Iran, where I went to Tehran American High School. Te school was big enough to have three football teams, and by the time I was a senior I became a prety good football player. I loved the sport and, like any kid
growing up, I wanted to play in the NFL. I guess I made a good impression on my coach at the time because he told me I had the potential to play college ball.
40 Eastern | SPRING 2013 Photos courtesy Michael Bailey Smith
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44