There’s so much we love about Martha Smith, not least of which is that she was born in Cleveland, Ohio!
Like many, we discovered her when she burst onto the pop culture scene as the scheming sorority girl Barbara “Babs” Jansen in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978). The movie was an instant sensation, and she quickly became the embodiment of the classic, blonde sorority girl along with fellow lovely co-star Mary Louise Weller who played Mandy Pepperidge.
Martha initially read for the Mandy but loved the idea of playing the scheming Babs, giving the character a playful Southern accent. She’s hilarious (and gorgeous) throughout the movie, and has that iconic scene at the end at the parade when her dress is accidentally ripped off, leaving her standing in her lingerie-style underwear and thigh highs in front of the entire crowd. She screams in humiliation while trying to cover herself, and then we get the post-script saying that Babs “became a tour guide at Universal Studios” (with the on-screen note “Ask for Babs”). This became a thing for years at Universal Studios where fans would get a discount if they asked for Babs.
Martha is also one of our all-time favorite Playboy Playmates. Look for her pictorial and you’ll thank us . . . she’s simply stunning! Martha was discovered by a Playboy scout while attending Michigan State University. In July 1973, at age 20, she was chosen as Playboy Playmate of the Month (Miss July 1973). This led to a successful modeling and spokesmodel career, and her modeling background helped launch her into acting.
She had a number of acting roles in movies and on TV after “Animal House,” including a prominent role as Francine Desmond, the intelligence agent and rival to Kate Jackson’s character on the CBS series “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” (1983–1987). She also had a role as Sandy Horton on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”
Interviews and Quotes
Interview with OnMilwaukee
On John Landis: “Being ‘Babs’ was a cheerleader– I like to refer to John Landis as the film’s REAL cheerleader — in that he was forever so convicted about the greatness and the success of “Animal House.” He would send these old classic movies postcards to us in the motel mailboxes that announced ‘We are making a classic movie!’ and the like. Very exaggerated, or so it seemed at the time. He turned out to be right. I was impressed with his infectious enthusiasm as a director. There was no slacking on a Landis set. It didn’t make sense — he kept the energy levels one decibel beneath frenetic all the time. The pacing that made the comedy bits bounce off the screen can largely be attributed to John’s timing and high energy levels.”
That’s Classic! Interview
In this recent interview, Martha explains that the cast didn’t do much improvisation with their roles. The script was hilarious as written, and director John Landis focused on having the cast read the lines on the page. Still, she did get some brief but very memorable lines in there. In the famous scene where she calls Bluto (John Belushi) a pig before the food fight, she added with P-I-G spelling. Also, she frantically blurted “Teddy” when Greg punched her teddy bear. Martha is a very intelligent and accomplished woman and that comes across in this excellent interview.
Animal House 10th Anniversary Reunion
Martha participated in a fantastic reunion interview with some members of the “Animal House” cast on The Late Show with Ross Shafer in 1988.