Peter Schmidt (September 4, 1892 – January 12, 1979[1]), Americanized to Pete Smith, was a film producer based in Hollywood, California.

He is best known for the Pete Smith Specialties, a long-running series of general-interest short films, ranging from human-interest stories to sports subjects.

Best remembered are the comedies, exaggerating common pet peeves and household problems, with Smith offering pointed commentary in his distinctive, nasal tenor.

[2] He became interested in the theatrical business, working behind the scenes as an aide for a vaudeville performers union, an editor and critic for a trade magazine, and a press agent.

Beginning in 1933 MGM offered Goofy Movies, a series of short comedies based on antique silent films.

The diverse subject matter Smith featured in these shorts were Emily Post-style household hints, insect life seen through a microscope, military training and hardware (during World War II), and dancing lessons.

There were even several "series-within-the-series", such as general-knowledge quizzes, professional-football news, and features concerning different kinds of animals (Donkey Baseball and Social Sea Lions).

The hapless O'Brien would personify everyday nuisances: demonstrating pet peeves, tackling hazardous home-improvement projects, and having other problems with which the audience could identify.

The MGM unit that produced the Pete Smith Specialties was terminated the next year, a casualty of short movies' decreasing popularity at the time.