From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Smith (actor)
William Smith (actor)
William Smith Serbo-Croatian, French and German. During the Korean
War he was a Russian Intercept Interrogator and flew se-
cret ferret missions over Russia. He had both CIA and NSA
clearance and intended to enter a classified position with
the U.S. government, but his marriage to a French actress
meant the loss of security clearance[citation needed].
One of his earliest leading roles was as Joe Riley, a
Texas Ranger on the NBC western series Laredo
(1965–1967). Smith character was good-natured; co-star
Peter Brown’s character was a ladies’ man, and Neville
Brand portrayed a relentless bumbler. In 1967, Smith
guest starred on Wayne Maunder’s short-lived ABC
military-western Custer. Smith played Jude Bohner[1] in a
In Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)
1972 two-hour episode of CBS’s Gunsmoke as the "greatest
bad-guy character actor of our time".[2] Smith was added
Born March 24, 1933 (1933-03-24) to the cast on the final season of Jack Lord’s long-running
Columbia, Missouri,
crime drama Hawaii Five-O. He also starred in one episode
United States
of Kung Fu, and as the Treybor, a ruthless warlord, in the
Other names Big Bill Smith Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Buck’s Duel to the
Occupation Film, television actor
Death". Smith has also made guest appearances in nu-
merous TV shows including the 1974 pilot for The Rock-
Years active 1942-2009 ford Files, "Backlash of the Hunter", I Dream of Jeannie, and
Spouse Michele Smith (? - ?) (divorced) 1 child two appearances - as different characters - in episodes of
Joanne Cervelli (2002 - present) The A-Team (the first season’s "Pros and Cons", and sea-
son four’s "The A-Team Is Coming, The A-Team Is Com-
William Smith (born March 24, 1933) is an American ac- ing"). In the 1976 television mini-series Rich Man, Poor
tor who has appeared in almost 300 feature films and Man, Smith portrayed Anthony Falconetti, nemesis to the
television productions. Jordache family.
Smith began his acting career at the age of 8 in 1942. On film, Smith played Clint Eastwood’s bare-knuckle
The physically imposing 6’2" actor is a lifelong body- nemesis Jack Wilson in Any Which Way You Can, as a drag
builder and has the distinction of being the final Marl- racing legend in 1979’s "Fast Company", as the barbar-
boro Man before the cigarette ads were discontinued on ian’s father in Conan the Barbarian, bad guy Matt Diggs in
TV. The Frisco Kid, as a Russian commander in Red Dawn and
Smith won the 200 pound (91 kg) arm-wrestling a vindictive sergeant in Twilight’s Last Gleaming. For fans
championship of the world multiple times and also won of John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels, Smith did
the United States Air Force weightlifting championship. a turn as chief heavy Terry Bartell in Darker Than Amber,
Smith is a record holder for reverse-curling his own opposite Rod Taylor and Theodore Bikel, in 1970. He al-
bodyweight. His trademark arms measured 18 and so played Jed Clayton in Boss Nigger (1975) a blaxploitation
1/2 inches. Smith held a 31-1 record as an amateur boxer film from the 70s which also starred Fred Williamson,
and studied martial arts with kenpo instructor Ed Parker and was seen in in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic 1983
for several years. Smith also played semi-pro football in films The Outsiders and Rumble Fish as a store clerk and a
Germany and competed in motocross and downhill ski- police officer, respectively. But, his starring roles typical-
ing events. He entered films stunt doubling for former ly had titles such as Grave of the Vampire, Invasion of the Bee
screen Tarzan Lex Barker in a French film. Girls, and The Swinging Barmaids. Smith also played in sev-
Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse and a eral biker flicks including C.C. and Co., where he starred
Master’s degree in Russian Studies from UCLA. He taught as the menacing "Moon", opposite football great Joe Na-
Russian at UCLA before abandoning his Ph.D. studies for math and Ann Margret. He also starred in Nam’s Angels,
an MGM contract. He also studied at the Sorbonne in which is briefly seen on a television in a scene in Quentin
Paris and the University of Munich while learning lan- Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction. Smith played Count Dracula
guages through the military. Smith is fluent in Russian, in ’The Erotic Rites of Countess Dracula’.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia William Smith (actor)
References Persondata
Name Smith, William
[1] A page out of "Gunsmoke" shows Smith in action
[1] Alternative names
[2] TV.com Short description
Date of birth March 24, 1933
External links Place of birth Columbia, Missouri, United States
• THE OFFICIAL WILLIAM SMITH WEBSITE Date of death
• William Smith at the Internet Movie Database Place of death
• Fan Site
• Facebook Page
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Smith_(actor)&oldid=463171262"
Categories:
• 1933 births
• Living people
• American film actors
• American military personnel of the Korean War
• American television actors
• Actors from Missouri
• People from Columbia, Missouri
• Syracuse University alumni
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni
• University of Paris alumni
• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
• United States Air Force airmen
This page was last modified on 29 November 2011 at 21:08. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
2