Smith was one of several cast members from the Broadway production that were chosen to appear in the movie version of West Side Story.

In the film, Smith was the singer and central performer of the pivotal song "Cool‚" originally sung by the character of Riff in the Broadway musical.

He played Riff in both the 1962 Los Angeles[5] and 1963 Sacramento productions of the musical, the latter with Sylvia Lewis in the role of Anita.

Smith performed at other venues, including Las Vegas shows, nightclubs, cabarets, and stage productions both in the U.S. and abroad.

His stage work includes Parade with Carole Cook and Michele Lee, Vintage '60, also with Michele Lee and Sylvia Lewis, the San Francisco production of Half a Sixpence with Anne Rogers and Roger C. Carmel,[8] and the 1973 musical version of Gone With the Wind, choreographed by Joe Layton.

Tucker Smith died of cancer on December 22, 1988, at the age of 52 at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.