Everyone knows Whitney Sudler-Smith’s iconic mother, Charleston socialite Patricia Altschul, but not everyone knows about his father, investment banker Lon Hayes Smith.
Keep reading to learn more about the Southern Charm creator’s dad here…
Southern Charm
Southern Charm has been a popular reality series on Bravo since it began airing in 2014. Thanks to creator Whitney Sudler-Smith we have spent the last 9 years watching the ups and downs of elite Charlestonians like Shep Rose, Craig Conover, and Patricia Altschul.
Sudler-Smith allegedly begged his mother to be a part of the reality show knowing that she would be a draw. He promised she would only be on camera for a few minutes but it has obviously grown into icon status.
While we seem to know everything about Patricia, we don’t ever see Whitney’s dad as part of the series. Lon died on August 22, 2021 at the old age of 84. You can read his obituary here.
Lon Hayes Smith
Lon Hayes Smith was Patricia Altshul’s first husband and the only one of which she had a baby with. Whitney Sudler-Smith is both Patricia and Lon’s only child. The pair met in 1965 and had Whitney shortly after in 1969.
Yes, Sudler-Smith is 55 years old.
Smith was Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley until he retired in 2004. His MBA was from The American University. Being an investment banker was where he made the majority of his money.
After divorcing Patricia Altschul in 1979, Lon Hays Smith married Lindsley Wheeler Smith with whom he lived out the remainder of his years. They were married from 1979 until his death.
Whitney and Patricia spoke about Lon to Bravo before his death in 2019 saying that at that point, they were still in touch:
We are close. We have always talked. There was never an acrimonious word between us. We still talk. Every once in a while we still argue over who gets Whitney for Christmas. To this day, but its always pleasant. He’s a fabulous father, a lovely human being, quite successful, very smart and Whitney is very close to him.
Altschul would go on to marry two more times, though she is currently unattached.
Ashley Marie is a writer for Starcasm and the personality behind Twitter’s @RealityByAshley. You can contact Ashley via Twitter or email at realitybyashley(at)gmail.com
