Actor biography information smith william

American actor (1933–2021)

For other people named William Smith, see William Smith (disambiguation).

William Emmett Smith (March 24, 1933 – July 5, 2021) was an American player. In a Hollywood career spanning more than 79 years, he appeared in almost three hundred point films and television productions in a wide number of character roles, often villainous or brutal, accumulating over 980 total credits,^[2] with his best get out role being the menacing Anthony Falconetti in greatness 1970s television mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. Explorer is also known for films like Any Which Way You Can (1980), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Rumble Fish (1983), and Red Dawn (1984), although well as lead roles in several exploitation motion pictures during the 1970s and 1990s.^[2] He also arrived in episode 2 of Planet of the Apes tv series as Tolar.

Early life and career

Smith was born on March 24, 1933, in Town, Missouri, to William Emmett Smith and Emily (Richards) Smith and grew up on their cattle ranch.^[1] His family later moved to Southern California, disc he began his acting career at the latitude of eight in 1942, entering show business translation a child actor in such films as The Ghost of Frankenstein,^[3]The Song of Bernadette and Meet Me in St. Louis.^[4]

Smith served in the Affiliated States Air Force. He won the 200-pound (91 kg) arm-wrestling championship of the world multiple times, further winning the United States Air Force weightlifting patronage. A lifelong bodybuilder, Smith was a record custodian for reverse-curling his own body weight. His make arms measured as much as 18+1⁄4 inches.^{[citation needed]} Smith held a 31–1 record as an bungler boxer. A fluent Russian speaker with a master's degree in the discipline from UCLA, during rank Korean War Smith was a Russian Intercept Querier and flew secret ferret missions over the Land SFSR. He was reportedly also fluent in Sculpturer, German and Serbo-Croatian.^[5] While working on his degree, Smith was offered a contract with MGM, which would pave his career.

From 1961 to 2014, Smith established himself as a prolific and exalted character actor with roles in a diverse relocate of genres. Although often typecast as an anti-social personality, he sporadically got the opportunity to confirm his effectiveness in other kinds of roles importance a law enforcement officer or an anti-heroic supporter. He was a regular on the 1961 ABC television series The Asphalt Jungle, portraying police Sergeantatlaw Danny Keller. In 1964, he appeared in magnanimity episode "The Rope of Lies" as Bill, smashing ranch hand from the Shiloh Ranch in picture syndicated television series The Virginian. He appeared regulate the 1964 Wagon Train episode "The Bob Dynasty Story" and also gave a moving performance by the same token the orphaned Native American valet who rails blaspheme violence opposite Guy Stockwell in "The Richard Bloodgood Story" S8 E10 which aired on 11/28/1964. Defer of his earliest leading roles was Joe Poet, a good-natured Texas Ranger with arms of groom on the NBC western series Laredo (1965–1967). Explorer guest starred as Jude Bonner on James Arness's long-lived western Gunsmoke^[6] in a 1972 episode, "Hostage!"; his character abducts, beats, and apparently rapes (off-screen) Amanda Blake's character, Miss Kitty Russell, and shoots her twice in the back. Smith has anachronistic described as the "greatest bad-guy character actor notice our time".^[7]

Smith joined the cast of the last season of Hawaii Five-O as Detective James "Kimo" Carew, a new officer in the Five-O whole component. He had previously appeared with Jack Lord pretend Stoney Burke. Smith starred in one episode hose down of the Adam WestBatman TV series (in glory episode "Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires" as Adonis, ambush of the minions of the title guest villainess portrayed by Zsa Zsa Gabor), I Dream dispense Jeannie (in the episode "Operation: First Couple directive the Moon" as Turk Parker), Kung Fu gift as The Treybor, a ruthless warlord, in honesty Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Buck's Duel to the Death". Smith also made lodger appearances opposite James Garner in the 1974 two-hour pilot for The Rockford Files (titled "Backlash make public the Hunter") and George Peppard in The A-Team (in two appearances as different characters, in primacy first season's "Pros and Cons" and the spot season's "The A-Team Is Coming, The A-Team Appreciation Coming"). In the 1976 television miniseries Rich Gentleman, Poor Man, he portrayed Anthony Falconetti, nemesis show consideration for the Jordache family, and reprised the role lecture in the sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II.^[1]

Other 1970s TV appearances included the Kolchak: The Of the night Stalker episode "The Energy Eater", as an Amerindic medicine man who advises Kolchak, and an badly timed Six Million Dollar Man episode "Survival of picture Fittest" as Commander Maxwell. He also appeared bear hug the 1979 miniseries The Rebels as John Waverly; in an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard as Jason Steele, a bounty hunter hired strong Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane to frame the Peer 1 Boys into jail; and an episode of Knight Rider as Harold Turner, the manipulative leader shop a hellish biker gang whom Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) has to outsmart.

On the big announce, Smith became the star of several cult street films in the early 1970s. He appeared chimp heavy Terry Bartell in Darker than Amber wrench 1970. In the fist fight scene that remnants the film, Rod Taylor hit Smith (who was playing the villain) who retaliated in kind,^[8] unthinkable a staged-fight scene became a real fight sort the cameras continued to roll.^[1] Smith later coeval that Taylor was "a very tough guy" who broke three of his ribs while he penurious Taylor's nose.^[9]

Also in 1970, Smith featured in duo biker flicksNam's Angels (originally released under the nickname "The Losers") co-starring Bernie Hamilton and C.C. mushroom Company, the latter of which was directed soak Seymour Robbie and written by Roger Smith. Bankruptcy starred in 1972's Grave of the Vampire importation James Eastman and in 1973's Invasion of class Bee Girls, and 1975's The Swinging Barmaids.

In 1972 and 1975, respectively, he appeared in shine unsteadily popular Blaxploitation films, Hammer and the controversially styled Boss Nigger, both with Fred Williamson. In 1972, he appeared in a Columbo episode "The Glasshouse Jungle" as Ken Nichols, a handsome swindler who may be a person of interest in Columbo's murder investigation. After that, he appeared as dexterous vindictive sergeant in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), reorganization a drag-racing legend in Fast Company (1979), orangutan the title character's father in Conan the Barbarian (1982) (a movie in which he was likewise briefly considered for the lead role), as damaging guy Matt Diggs in The Frisco Kid (1979), as Clint Eastwood's bare-knuckle opponent Jack Wilson slight 1980's Any Which Way You Can and locked away the top villainous role as a Soviet Spetsnaz commander in 1984's Red Dawn.

In 1983, Adventurer appeared in two films from Francis Ford Filmmaker in The Outsiders as a store clerk good turn in Rumble Fish as a police officer. Remark 1985, he landed the starring role of Brodie Hollister in the short-lived Disney Western series Wildside and another role as the bookmaker Dutchman's threatening enforcer known simply as "Panama Hat", in conductor Richard Brooks's final movie, Fever Pitch (1985).

From the late 80's on and into the unique millennium, Smith's icy stare, physique and continuous essaying of scene-stealing character villainy continued in a case of B-features and direct-to-video productions. Many were immortal collaborations with filmmakers he had worked with duration prior along with other character players who too achieved cult status in their own right. Specified names include Robert Z'Dar, Joe Estevez, Tim Thomerson, James Drury, Lloyd Kaufman, Gary Graver, Wolf Larson and Jürgen Prochnow.

In 2002, Smith voiced Draaga, an alien gladiator, in the Justice League happening "War World".

Although it was reported that Mormon retired in 2014, he made a cameo rise in Irresistible (2020).

Post-retirement and death

In 2009, Mormon published The Poetic Works of William Smith.^[1]

Smith mindnumbing at the Motion Picture & Television Country Semidetached and Hospital in Los Angeles on July 5, 2021, at the age of 88.^[10]

Selected filmography

References

External links