Actor · Acting

William Smith

Born 1933-03-24

Died 2021-07-05

📍 Columbia, Missouri, USA

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".

Filmography 240

as Hofbrau Bar Fly

Doses of Horror

as Neil Agar ("A Dose of Bee Stings" segment) (archive footage) (uncredited)

Rock n' Roll Cops Lite

as Rinaldi (archive footage)

The Boneyard Collection

as Bill, the First Director (segment "Her Morbid Desires")

The Rock 'n Roll Cops

A Mission to Kill

God Has a Rap Sheet

Deadly Memories

as Sheriff Taggart

as Draaga (voice)

The Erotic Rites of Countess Dracula

as Count Dracula

as Spooky Harlow

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'

as Conan's Father (archive footage)

Never Look Back

Debbie Does Damnation

Wasteland Justice

Blood of His Own

Heat of Las Vegas

as Mario Verelli

as Jerry Krants

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

as Wes Tronker (segment "Devil's Tattoo")

Doublecross on Costa's Island

as Theo Maxwell

as Boris Zarkov

as Sam Stompkins

Big Sister 2000

as Sheriff Todd

as Harold Geiger

as Riverboat Poker Player

Legend of The Roller Blade Seven

Walker, Texas Ranger

Return of the Roller Blade Seven

The Last Riders

as Det. George Bordelli

Shadow of the Dragon

as Eric Brunner

The Roller Blade Seven

as Colonel Peck

Spirit of the Eagle

Kiss and Be Killed

as Det. Murdoch

The Final Sanction

as Maj. Galashkin

Empire of Ash III

Emperor of the Bronx

Forgotten Heroes

as General Gregori Zelenkov

as Antonio Scarpelli

as General Mitchell

East L.A. Warriors

as Capt. Joe Wilkes

Terror in Beverly Hills

Memorial Valley Massacre

as Captain Ripley

as Russian Major

Hell Comes to Frogtown

as Captain Devlin / Count Sodom

Moon in Scorpio

The Phantom Empire

as Dr. Chambers

as Morgan Denny

Hell on the Battleground

as Colonel Meredith

Eye of the Tiger

The Twilight Zone

as (segment "Shadow Play")

The Mean Season

as Albert O'Shaughnessy

Murder, She Wrote

as Clyde Thorson

Highway to Heaven

as Sgt. Neville Sigerson

as Sgt. Sal Drasso

as Patterson the Cop

Scarecrow and Mrs. King

The Yellow Rose

Hardcastle and McCormick

as Dimitri Shasta Kovich

as Harold T. Turner

Conan the Barbarian

as Conan's Father

as R.K. 'Blood' Henderson

Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang

as Monk Hardwick

Any Which Way You Can

The Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes

Trapper John, M.D.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

as John Waverly

as Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson

B. J. and the Bear

as Andy Mayfield (as Bill Smith)

The Oregon Trail

as Patron / Modok

Twilight's Last Gleaming

as Carl Henrich

Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II

Crackle of Death

as Shaman Jim Elkhorn

Rich Man, Poor Man

The Ultimate Warrior

The Swinging Barmaids

Death Among Friends

as Sheldon Casey

Win, Place or Steal

as Butch Wischnewski

Planet of the Apes

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

as Johnny Nappa

The Rockford Files: Backlash of the Hunter

as Jerry Grimes

as Karate Instructor

The Six Million Dollar Man

as Cmdr. Maxwell

The Deadly Trackers

The Last American Hero

as Kyle Kingman

Invasion of the Bee Girls

Sweet Jesus, Preacherman

Prologue to Wounded Knee

as Camper John Allen

as (uncredited)

A Taste of Hell

as Capt. Luther Staggers

The Streets of San Francisco

Grave of the Vampire

as James Eastman

The Thing with Two Heads

as Hysterical Condemned Man

Chrome and Hot Leather

Runaway, Runaway

Alias Smith and Jones

as Patrolman Hayes

C.C. and Company

Darker Than Amber

Angels Die Hard

The Over the Hill Gang

as Amos (as Bill Smith)

as Texas Ranger Joe Riley (archive footage)

Run, Angel, Run!

Three Guns for Texas

as Texas Ranger Joe Riley

Here Come the Brides

as Det. James 'Kimo' Carew

The Guns of Will Sonnett

The Guns of Will Sonnett

as Deputy Leroy

The Guns of Will Sonnett

The Second Hundred Years

Mission: Impossible

as Vincent Sandler

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible

I Dream of Jeannie

as Guy (uncredited)

as Amos (uncredited)

Mail Order Bride

Kraft Suspense Theatre

as Deputy Raynor

as Jimmy Delaney

as German Sergeant

as Lieutenant Joe Cardiff

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

Atlantis: The Lost Continent

as Captain of the Guard

The Asphalt Jungle

as Sgt. Danny Keller

as Actor Who Trips Over Camera (uncredited)

as MP Officer #1

as Man (uncredited)

as Young Man (uncredited)

The Mating Game

The Ed Wynn Show

as Thomas Lance

The Wonderful World of Disney

as Monk Hardwick

Death Valley Days

as Marshall Hendry Brown

Death Valley Days

The Boy with Green Hair

as Boy (uncredited)

The Boy with Green Hair

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now

as Young Boy (uncredited)

as Man (uncredited)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

as Boy (uncredited)

Meet Me in St. Louis

as Little Boy (uncredited)

as Choir Member (uncredited)

The Ghost of Frankenstein

as Boy (uncredited)