Douglas Smith
Smith in 2010, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Douglas Alexander Smith
Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of Birth: June 22, 1985
Ethnicity: English and Ashkenazi Jewish, smaller amounts of Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, remote French
Douglas Smith is a Canadian actor and musician, with American citizenship. His roles include the films Hangman’s Curse, Sleepover, State’s Evidence, Citizen Duane, Remember the Daze, Antiviral, Treading Water, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Stage Fright (2014), Ouija, Miss Sloane, The Bye Bye Man, Bottom of the World, Don’t Worry Darling, and The Swearing Jar, and television’s Out There, Big Love, Vinyl, When We Rise, The Alienist, Big Little Lies, and Clarice. He has also been credited as Doug Smith.
He is the son of English-born producer Maurice Smith and American-born actress Terrea Oster. His brother is actor and filmmaker Gregory Smith. Douglas is married to Patricia Travis.
Douglas’s maternal grandfather was Ashkenazi Jewish, from a family from Germany and Hungary. Douglas’s maternal grandmother had English, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, and remote French, ancestry.
Douglas’s paternal grandfather was named George Edward Smith.
Douglas’s paternal grandmother was named Anne Joan Brown.
Douglas’s maternal grandfather was Harvey Franklin Oster (the son of Theodore David Oster and Ruth Singer). Harvey was born in New York. Theodore was a Jewish immigrant, who was born in Germany, to Maurice/Morris Oster and Barbella Lrank. Ruth was born in New York, to Jewish parents from Hungary, Ignatz Singer and Sarah or Lena Selkules/Seckules.
Douglas’s maternal grandmother was Louise Mae Merchant (the daughter of George Elmer Merchant and Mable/Mabelle/Mabel A. Hanson). Louise was born in North Dakota. George was born in North Dakota, the son of George E. Merchant and Kittie Graham, and had English, as well as more distant Dutch and German, ancestry. Mable was born in Minnesota, the daughter of Hans A. Hanson, who was Swedish, and of Grete “Gina” Jacobson, who was Norwegian.
Sources: Genealogy of Douglas Smith – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Douglas’s maternal grandparents, Theodore David Oster and Ruth Singer – https://familysearch.org
Douglas’s maternal grandfather, Harvey Franklin Oster, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Douglas’s maternal great-grandfather, Theodore David Oster, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Douglas’s maternal great-grandmother, Ruth Singer, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Douglas’s maternal grandmother, Louise Mae Merchant, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
if he’s 1/4 Jewish I don’t think he’s “mainly English and A. Jewish”.
I’m not sure, since Smith isn’t at least one quarter of anything else.
But more to the point, I’m not sure if his father, a British film producer named Maurice, is Jewish or not. Michael Caine wrote that the many people he knew who were also named Maurice were Jewish (though he did go to a Jewish school).
Interesting. We are certain Michael Caine had no Jewish ancestry on his mothers side? He was born Maurice as well and I find it strange that he went to a Jewish school and had absolutely no Jewish family.
Fully European ;)
Correction. He also has a small amount of French/Belgiun ancestry. His grandmother’s Merchant line lived in England for many years, but can be traced back to to Marchants living in Belgium in the 14 and into the 1300s.
He’s a beautiful European mix