Tim Smith (1955-) was one of five children born to Lendon Howard Smith (1921-2001), a nationally recognized pediatrician, author, and television personality known as “The Children’s Doctor,” and to Julie Starheim, who had worked as a nurse. Smith and his siblings grew up in Portland, Oregon.

Smith became interested in filmmaking in 1967 and began making films seriously in 1968. Most of Smith’s short films were filmed using a hand spring wound Bolex H16 paired with an assortment of lenses. Smith’s films typically satirize a type of film, commercial, or joke. The majority of his works were filmed in Portland, Oregon, and they frequently feature several of his family members, including his father. Matt Groening was an occasional collaborator with Smith and acted in one of the films.

In 1981, Smith's film "Infernal Voyage," which he considers to be his best film, placed sixth at the 1981 Ann Arbor Film Festival and in the top 10 at the Sinking Creek Independent Film Festival.