In 1977, he was a member of a team of investigative reporters who participated in a newspaper-directed undercover purchase of a Chicago dive bar.
The Los Angeles Times once referred to Smith as "our favorite Chicago columnist since Mike Royko.
One frequent contributor topic is punned variations on current headlines or movie titles; the best (or worst) are rewarded with the admonition "Stop it.
Before starting the QT column, Smith worked as an investigative reporter on stories ranging from laetrile smuggling to religious cults, as a foreign correspondent on such stories as the pilgrimages of Pope John Paul II to Poland and as a writer of major features.
He played a key role in the 1978 Mirage Tavern investigation, in which undercover reporters operated a bar on Chicago's Near North Side while hidden photographers took pictures of city officials accepting bribes.