- Attended Central High School in Rockford, Illinois. Received an athletic scholarship to the University of Oregon, where he studied drama. A football injury disqualified him from service in WWII. He began in show business as a singer with the Hollywood Victory Committee, a USO group headed by Bette Davis. He tried managing night clubs in Tijuana and Hawaii, singing in some of them, but soon returned to Hollywood and began his acting career.
- He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Walt Disney.
- One of his high school teachers nicknamed Whitfield "Smokey" because he was from Pittsburgh. Whitfield changed it to "Smoki" to make it look more distinctive.
- He was an African-American supporting and bit player who is best remembered for his recurring role, usually as "Eli", in the "Bomba" series of feature films at Monogram.
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