I must admit, as many shows and movies I've seen him in, I didn't recognize the name.

Famous actor and athlete William Smith, star of such titles as Laredo and Rich Man, Poor Man, has died at the age of 88.

Smith passed away on Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, his wife, Joanne Cervelli Smith, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

A cause of death was not revealed.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tv...astwood-Way-Can.html

He did a lot of things, but I always think of him as the fighter from “Any which way you can” with Clint Eastwood.

R.I.P. The Spetnaz Commander from the original Red Dawn. Actually fluent in Russian!

Yeah, he was an interesting guy, and he was a fixture on all those TV shows of my youth.

He performed some pretty amazing physical feats, including 5,100 sit-ups in 5 hours and winning the 200 pound world Arm Wrestling Championship twice, if his bio on IMBb is accurate.

Like Para said.... he was everywhere on TV in the 70's and 80's. He was just one of 'those' guys that popped up in every series.

quote:

Originally posted by G-Man:
He did a lot of things, but I always think of him as the fighter from “Any which way you can” with Clint Eastwood.

Yes, this and the Frisco Kid.

Indeed, a very familiar face. May Mr. Smith Rest In Peace.

He played good guys and bad guys with equal aplomb. A very fine actor. RIP, sir!

flashguy

God, I feel old.

He mad a great bad guy.

I remember seeing him in a lot of different TV shows over the years but the one that surprised me was when I was watching Conan the Barbarian a few years ago. Conan’s dad looked familiar from somewhere but I couldn’t place him. A quick check revealed William Smith.

RIP, sir.

I remember him from the promo for some late '70s or 'early '80s TV show. It was a clip of Smith standing in a street with a bomb wired to him and holding onto a switch, and he was saying to someone "Now, this here is what you call a dead man's switch!"

It was just a little 10 second clip during commercials but I remember it after 40 years. I wonder if I can figure out what show that was.

It's funny to look back now and remember what TV event was Rich Man, Poor Man in 1976, and yes, Smith was the villian, as "Falconetti" and he was great in the role, eyepatch and all. I wonder if his character was named after Rene Falconetti, the actress who played Saint Joan in Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc.

According to wife He was in “Meet Me In St Louis” at 11 yrs old. Uncredited.

A lot of interesting facts about him at this link.

Examples

Smith was the last “Marlboro Man” in commercials before cigarette advertising was discontinued.

Fluent in Russian, German, French and Serbo-Croatian, he caught the eye of the CIA and NSA, which gave him a teaching position within the agencies.

The 6-foot-2 Smith, who was a champion discus thrower at UCLA, an arm-wrestling champion and a black belt in the martial arts, had 18-inch biceps and could do 5,100 continuous sit-ups and reverse curl 163 pounds. As prolific as he was strong, he had a whopping 289 credits on IMDb, seemingly in everything from the ’60s onward.


https://www.hollywoodreporter....poor-man-1234979961/

A scene from The Rockford Files comes to mind:

Mr. Smith, playing a bad guy is on the tail of Jim Rockford, manifesting violent propensities. Jim, being aware of this & aware of his own limitations, knows he needs to gain a substantial advantage to prevail. In a bar Jim gets a roll of nickels from the barkeep & heads to the men's room. Once there he spreads liquid soap on the floor & posts up on the far side away from the door.

Momentarily, Mr. Smith takes the bait, & follows Jim into the head displaying nefarious intent. Upon Smith's arrival he slips on the soap & winds up flat on his back, whereupon Jim clocks him with the roll of nickels, putting Smith to sleep /end scene.

My favorite character he played was in Red Dawn.

I liked him fighting Arnie in Commando. "Sean, oh Sean" he said effeminately seconds before being punctured with a pipe. "He's just letting off a little steam." And I cannot forget the mesh vest.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
I liked him fighting Arnie in Commando. "Sean, oh Sean" he said effeminately seconds before being punctured with a pipe. "He's just letting off a little steam." And I cannot forget the mesh vest.

Different actor. Bennett was played by Vernon Wells.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by parabellum:
I remember him from the promo for some late '70s or 'early '80s TV show. It was a clip of Smith standing in a street with a bomb wired to him and holding onto a switch, and he was saying to someone "Now, this here is what you call a dead man's switch!"

It was just a little 10 second clip during commercials but I remember it after 40 years. I wonder if I can figure out what show that was.

It was an episode of SWAT. He had been fired by a movie studio and was planting bombs on a movie set where the team had been training.

He was a nice actor in a ton of films in my youth.
First noticed him in The Losers, back in 1970.
I was 10+YO.

0-0

He was in the old "Laredo" TV series during the late '60s also, along with Neville Brand.