William Smith

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".

William Smith (Columbia, Missouri, 24 de març de 1933 - Los Angeles, Califòrnia, 5 de juliol de 2021) va ser un actor de cinema i televisió estatunidenc. Smith va intervenir al llarg de la seva carrera en prop de tres cents produccions per a cinema i televisió. El seu primer paper el va obtenir a l'edat de vuit anys, a El fantasma de Frankenstein (1942), i va romandre actiu fins a 2009. El seu paper més conegut és el del sinistre Anthony Falconetti de la sèrie de televisió dels anys 1970 "Rich Man, Poor Man".

William Emmett Smith Jr. war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler und Stuntman. Seine Karriere erstreckte sich über fast 80 Jahre in Film und Fernsehen, oft in imposanten oder schurkischen Rollen. Smith spielte den Texas Ranger Joe Riley in der Westernserie Laredo (1965–1967) und den bedrohlichen Anthony Falconetti in den gefeierten Miniserien „Reich und arm“ (1976) und „Reich und arm - Buch 2“ (1976–1977). Er spielte prominente Rollen in Filmen wie „Mit Vollgas nach San Fernando“ (1980), „Conan, der Barbar“ (1982), „Rumble Fish (1983) und „Die rote Flut“ (1984). In den 1970er und 1990er Jahren war er außerdem Hauptdarsteller in mehreren Exploitation- und Actionfilmen.