During their lengthy American sojourn, Smith and her husband were close friends of the novelist Christopher Isherwood, who caused them a great deal of worry, as they felt he didn't look after himself properly, was prone to self-destructive behavior (notably drinking too much) and hypochondria and never seemed to have much money. It was at their house that another guest, the successful playwright John Van Druten, was jokingly challenged by them to make a play out of Isherwood's famous stories of pre-war Berlin. Van Druten took the challenge seriously and called Isherwood the following day to say he'd worked out a method whereby the stories could be made into a play, and could he have permission to continue? Isherwood assented, and the ensuing play, "I Am A Camera", was a huge hit on Broadway and in London, was filmed in 1955 and later was the basis for the even more popular musical "Cabaret" - all of which added greatly to Isherwood's income. He later claimed that Smith and her husband had raised the topic of a play quite deliberately as a covert way of helping him out.
