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Sid Smith (actor)

Sidney Smith (February 28, 1892 – July 4, 1928), known on-screen as Sid Smith, was an American actor and director who appeared in short comedy films. Smith entered the motion picture industry in 1911, and eventually performed in 187 releases- most of them short silent film comedies, directing six shorts in total. Smith had his own starring series, but also worked in support of such comics as Monty Banks at Warner Bros. and Billy Bevan at the Mack Sennett studio. Smith died of alcohol poisoning, attributed to his consumption of bad liquor at a Malibu beach party. Perhaps because of the Prohibition laws then in effect, one of the few trade papers covering Smith's passing gave the cause of death as “heart trouble.”

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Article summary

Sidney Smith (February 28, 1892 – July 4, 1928), known on-screen as Sid Smith, was an American actor and director who appeared in short comedy films. Smith entered the motion picture industry in 1911, and eventually performed in 187 releases- most of them short silent film comedies, directing six shorts in total. Smith had his own starring series, but also worked in support of such comics as Monty Banks at Warner Bros. and Billy Bevan at the Mack Sennett studio. Smith died of alcohol poisoning, attributed to his consumption of bad liquor at a Malibu beach party. Perhaps because of the Prohibition laws then in effect, one of the few trade papers covering Smith's passing gave the cause of death as “heart trouble.”

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  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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