William Smith
Acting
- Born:
- 1933-03-24
- Died:
- 2021-07-05
- Place of birth:
- Columbia, Missouri, USA
Biography
William Smith was an American film and television actor who appeared in more than 300 feature films and television productions, best known for playing Anthony Falconetti on the TV mini series "Rich Man, Poor Man". He held a BA from Syracuse and an MA in Russian Studies from UCLA. Born in Columbia, Missouri, Smith began his acting career at the age of eight in 1942; he entered films as a child actor in such films as The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Song of Bernadette and Meet Me in St. Louis. He was a regular on the 1961 ABC television series The Asphalt Jungle, portraying police Sergeant Danny Keller. One of his earliest leading roles was as Joe Riley, a Texas Ranger on the NBC western series Laredo. In 1967, Smith guest starred as Jude Bonner on James Arness's long-lived western Gunsmoke. Smith was cast as John Richard Parker, brother of Cynthia Ann Parker, both taken hostage in Texas by the Comanche, in the 1969 episode "The Understanding" of the syndicated television series Death Valley Days, which was hosted by Robert Taylor. In the story line, Parker contracts the plague, is left for dead by his fellow Comanche warriors, and is rescued by his future Mexican wife, Yolanda (Emily Banks). He played outlaw turned temporary sheriff Hendry Brown in the 1969 episode "The Restless Man". In that story line, Brown takes the job of sheriff to tame a lawless town, begins to court a young woman (again played by Emily Banks), but soon returns to his deadly outlaw ways in search of bigger thrills. On Gunsmoke, Smith appeared in a 1972 episode, "Hostage!"; his character beats and rapes Amanda Blake's character Miss Kitty Russell and shoots her twice in the back. Smith has been described as the "greatest bad-guy character actor of our time".
Known For
Filmography
Irresistible
Doses of Horror
Rock n' Roll Cops Lite
The Boneyard Collection
Rapturious
Fall Guy: The John Stewart Story
Voices from the Graves
Inner Rage
Hell to Pay
Killer Story
Y.M.I.
The Rock 'n Roll Cops
A Mission to Kill
Zombiegeddon
God Has a Rap Sheet
Deadly Memories
Justice League
The Erotic Rites of Countess Dracula
The Vampire Hunters Club
Vice
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
Never Look Back
Debbie Does Damnation
Wasteland Justice
Blood of His Own
Broken Vessels
Heat of Las Vegas
The Shooter
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Hollywood Cops
Doublecross on Costa's Island
Uncle Sam
The Colony
Nash Bridges
Neon Signs
Raw Energy
Big Sister 2000
Manosaurus
Due South
Maverick
Taken Alive
GetEven
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven
Walker, Texas Ranger
Return of the Roller Blade Seven
Vinnie & Bobby
American Me
The Last Riders
Feast
Shadow of the Dragon
Dark Secrets
The Roller Blade Seven
Cybernator
Hard Time Romance
Spirit of the Eagle
Kiss and Be Killed
Merchant of Evil
The Final Sanction
Shades of L.A.
Empire of Ash III
Cartel
Emperor of the Bronx
Instant Karma
Forgotten Heroes
Slow Burn
B.O.R.N.
Jungle Assault
East L.A. Warriors
L.A. Vice
Terror in Beverly Hills
Deadly Breed
Action U.S.A.
Memorial Valley Massacre
Evil Altar
Platoon Leader
Maniac Cop
Red Nights
Bulletproof
Supercarrier
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Eagle's Law
Moon in Scorpio
The Phantom Empire
Commando Squad
Hell on the Battleground
The Badd One
Eye of the Tiger
Fever Pitch
The Twilight Zone
Wildside
The Mean Season
Murder, She Wrote
Highway to Heaven
Hunter
Red Dawn
Airwolf
The Master
The Jerk, Too
Masquerade
Rumble Fish
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
The Yellow Rose
Hardcastle and McCormick
The Outsiders
The A-Team
Knight Rider
Matt Houston
Conan the Barbarian
T. J. Hooker
Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang
Simon & Simon
The Fall Guy
Code Red
Any Which Way You Can
The Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes
Trapper John, M.D.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Benson
Seven
The Frisco Kid
The Rebels
Fast Company
B. J. and the Bear
Blackjack
Vega$
Blood & Guts
Fantasy Island
The Oregon Trail
Logan's Run
CHiPs
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Scorchy
Hollywood Man
Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II
Crackle of Death
City of Angels
Rich Man, Poor Man
Dr. Minx
The Ultimate Warrior
Boss Nigger
The Swinging Barmaids
Death Among Friends
Bronk
Win, Place or Steal
The Sex Symbol
Planet of the Apes
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Police Woman
Movin' On
Black Samson
The Rockford Files: Backlash of the Hunter
Policewomen
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Deadly Trackers
The Last American Hero
Invasion of the Bee Girls
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman
Prologue to Wounded Knee
Police Story
A Taste of Hell
Piranha
Kung Fu
The Streets of San Francisco
Search
Grave of the Vampire
The Thing with Two Heads
Hammer
The Man Hunter
Chrome and Hot Leather
Columbo
Alias Smith and Jones
Crowhaven Farm
C.C. and Company
Darker Than Amber
Angels Die Hard
The Losers
The Over the Hill Gang
Hawaii Five-O
Backtrack!
Run, Angel, Run!
Three Guns for Texas
Here Come the Brides
The Mod Squad
Julia
The Guns of Will Sonnett
Custer
The Second Hundred Years
Ironside
Mission: Impossible
Felony Squad
Batman
I Dream of Jeannie
Laredo
36 Hours
Daniel Boone
Mail Order Bride
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Zero One
Combat!
Stoney Burke
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Virginian
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
The Asphalt Jungle
The Gazebo
Never So Few
Mr. Lucky
Girls Town
Ask Any Girl
The Mating Game
The Ed Wynn Show
Perry Mason
Wagon Train
Gunsmoke
The Wonderful World of Disney
Lassie
Death Valley Days
The Boy with Green Hair
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
Gilda
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Meet Me in St. Louis
Going My Way
The Ghost of Frankenstein