Bob Smith is an American comedian and author. Smith, born in Buffalo, New York, was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and the first openly gay comedian to have his own HBO half-hour comedy special. Smith, along with fellow comedians Jaffe Cohen and Danny McWilliams, formed the comedy troupe "Funny Gay Males" in 1988.
With Funny Gay Males, Smith is the co-author of Growing Up Gay: From Left Out to Coming Out (1995). Smith is also the author of two books of biographical essays. Openly Bob (1997) received a Lambda Literary Award for best humor book. Way to Go, Smith! (1999) was nominated for a Lambda in the same category. Smith published his first novel, Selfish and Perverse, in 2007.
While taping a 2007 comedy special for Logo, Smith disclosed that he is suffering from a neurological disorder. He described his symptoms at that time as slurred speech, making him sound inebriated.