Phyllis Smith grew up near Lemay, just beyond Carondelet Park, where she attended Cleveland High School. In the ’70s and ’80s, she worked as a dancer and burlesque performer—until a knee injury ended her dancing career. Smith eventually moved to L.A. and became an actress and casting associate, landing the role of Phyllis Lapin-Vance on The Office.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a dancer. My mom says I used to dance in my crib. An older cousin of mine took dance, and she gave me her old tap and ballet shoes. My dad had a piece of plywood, and I would take it outside; it was like a person with a drum set who doesn’t know how to drum. I took dance lessons at Stanley Herbert’s studio [in Clayton]. My dad, who worked at Bly-Moss Furniture off Lindbergh Boulevard, used to drive to south St. Louis to pick me up and take me all the way to Clayton. He would sit in front of the studio for three hours while I danced—that had to be the last thing he wanted to do, but he never complained.
[Today], my mom lives in the same house that she lived in before she was married—it’s where I grew up… I just bought a sofa patterned after the one that we had when I was growing up. And for my birthday, my mom gave me a ceiling lamp from The Future Antiques. As you get older, it’s the little things that you remember that become important.
