WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Many people over the years have remarked that the name Smithee reminded them of a famous poem, and they often recited the most famous lines of that poem, or of a famous person associated with Hollywood... see below. Eventually, it becomes associated with the Global Village Smithee.
UNDER a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands; .........
The Famous Poem
You can find the remainder of the poem at:
http://www.bartleby.com/102/59.html The one thing you will note right away is that the "smithy" in the poem is spelled with a "y", whereas my name is spelled with two "ee's." Oh, I love those ee's. But, that's another story. See below.
The Famous Hollywood Personage
However, the Smithee name has become famous for another reason. It seems that in the inimitable wisdom of some Hollywood directors of the past, that there came to be films they worked on but subsequently did not want their names associated with the film. So, the phrase: "Directed by: Allen Smithee," was inserted anytime this happened. In the early 1990's I was contacted by a German magazine about the Smithee name. During our conversations the writer told me that there was to be a movie made about the phenomenon of Allen Smithee. A full blown movie was never made. However, in the late 90's there was a documentary on TV regarding Allen Smithee. I have a video recording of that documentary. It was admitted by a director (I suppose, Allen Smithee) "that when searching for a name to be used for not associating oneself with a film that it was felt Smith was too common, and Smithy or "ie" or "ey" were also too common. But, it was felt who in the world could have a name Smithee, with two ee's?" Well, indeed! There are only a few hundred of the Smithee's in the U.S., so, who would know? This was before the emergence of the Internet and such Googling was not possible.
The Smithee Name
Well, my part of the Smithee family take the use of our name to mean a standard of quality and excellence. Variations of the first name are Alan, Allen, and Adam. I do have uncles named Allen and Adam. You may find a more complete description of this phenomenon at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee. And, in fact my forebears likely came from Scotland. One search found that the Smithee's are related to the Carmichael Clan of Scotland. A cousin by the name of Hoagy Carmichael was also found. At least three relatives of the Smithee name fought in the Revolutionary War in the 1780's. At that time most Smithees lived in North Carolina. Soon after the war they moved toward Arkansas establishing roots there as early as 1816. A grave marker was found in Batesville, Arkansas with the name of Hamilton Smithee, deceased in 1836. He is said to have had 8 brothers. My side of the family descends from Hamilton. All of us in the family are forever thankful that the two "ee's" were added to the name. When that happened will take further research. The Smithee name is food for thought!
The Global Village Smithee Associates
So, all in all, I prefer to think of Smithee Associates as a name in the context of the global village. Here gathering people around and under the spreading Chestnut tree, or any other venue, to forge a better world, accepting nothing less that quality and excellence from our endeavors. The last two stanzas of the poem are particularly apt (with apologies to Mr. Longfellow for a small edit):
Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life they go;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friends,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!