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
Gilda
(1946)
Man (uncredited)
The Outsiders
(1983)
Store Clerk
Conan the Barbarian
(1982)
Conan's Father
Red Dawn
(1984)
Strelnikov
Maverick
(1994)
Riverboat Poker Player
Irresistible
(2020)
Hofbrau Bar Fly
American Me
(1992)
Deacon
The Ghost of Frankenstein
(1942)
Boy (uncredited)
Rumble Fish
(1983)
Patterson the Cop
Any Which Way You Can
(1980)
Jack Wilson
Maniac Cop
(1988)
Captain Ripley
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944)
Little Boy (uncredited)
Going My Way
(1944)
Choir Member (uncredited)
Uncle Sam
(1996)
Major
Never So Few
(1959)
MP Officer #1
Boss Nigger
(1975)
Jed Clayton
Full Filmography
Acting
The Ghost of Frankenstein
(1942)
Boy (uncredited)
Going My Way
(1944)
Choir Member (uncredited)
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944)
Little Boy (uncredited)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
(1945)
Boy (uncredited)
Gilda
(1946)
Man (uncredited)
The Boy with Green Hair
(1948)
Boy (uncredited)
Never So Few
(1959)
MP Officer #1
Girls Town
(1959)
Man (uncredited)
The Mating Game
(1959)
Barney
Atlantis: The Lost Continent
(1961)
Captain of the Guard
36 Hours
(1964)
Guy (uncredited)
Mail Order Bride
(1964)
Lank
Three Guns for Texas
(1968)
Texas Ranger Joe Riley
Run, Angel, Run!
(1969)
Angel
Backtrack!
(1969)
Texas Ranger Joe Riley (archive footage)
The Over the Hill Gang
(1969)
Amos (as Bill Smith)
Angels Die Hard
(1970)
Tim
C.C. and Company
(1970)
Moon
Darker Than Amber
(1970)
Terry
The Losers
(1970)
Link Thomas
Runaway, Runaway
(1971)
Frank
Chrome and Hot Leather
(1971)
T.J.
The Thing with Two Heads
(1972)
Hysterical Condemned Man
Grave of the Vampire
(1972)
James Eastman
The Man Hunter
(1972)
Clel Bocock
Piranha
(1972)
Caribe
Hammer
(1972)
Brenner
The Deadly Trackers
(1973)
Schoolboy
Invasion of the Bee Girls
(1973)
Neil Agar
The Last American Hero
(1973)
Kyle Kingman
Prologue to Wounded Knee
(1973)
Camper John Allen
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman
(1973)
Martelli
Black Samson
(1974)
Johnny Nappa
Policewomen
(1974)
Karate Instructor
The Sex Symbol
(1974)
Butch Wischnewski
The Swinging Barmaids
(1975)
Harry
Boss Nigger
(1975)
Jed Clayton
The Ultimate Warrior
(1975)
Carrot
Win, Place or Steal
(1975)
Tom
Dr. Minx
(1975)
Gus Dolan
Hollywood Man
(1976)
Rafe Stoker
Crackle of Death
(1976)
Shaman Jim Elkhorn
Scorchy
(1976)
Carl Henrich
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(1977)
Hoxey
Blackjack
(1978)
Andy Mayfield (as Bill Smith)
Blood & Guts
(1978)
Dan O'Neil
Fast Company
(1979)
Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson
The Frisco Kid
(1979)
Matt Diggs
The Rebels
(1979)
John Waverly
Seven
(1979)
Drew
Any Which Way You Can
(1980)
Jack Wilson
The Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes
(1980)
Tolar
Conan the Barbarian
(1982)
Conan's Father
Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang
(1982)
Monk Hardwick
Rumble Fish
(1983)
Patterson the Cop
The Outsiders
(1983)
Store Clerk
The Jerk, Too
(1984)
Suicide
Red Dawn
(1984)
Strelnikov
The Mean Season
(1985)
Albert O'Shaughnessy
Fever Pitch
(1985)
Panama Hat
Eye of the Tiger
(1986)
Blade
Moon in Scorpio
(1987)
Burt
The Phantom Empire
(1987)
Dr. Chambers
Hell on the Battleground
(1987)
Colonel Meredith
Commando Squad
(1987)
Morgan Denny
The Badd One
(1987)
Badd
Bulletproof
(1988)
Russian Major
Eagle's Law
(1988)
Evil Altar
(1988)
Reed Weller
Red Nights
(1988)
Phillip
Hell Comes to Frogtown
(1988)
Captain Devlin / Count Sodom
Platoon Leader
(1988)
Major Flynn
Maniac Cop
(1988)
Captain Ripley
Slow Burn
(1989)
Antonio Scarpelli
Terror In Beverly Hills
(1989)
President
Action U.S.A.
(1989)
Conover
Memorial Valley Massacre
(1989)
Gen. Mintz
East L.A. Warriors
(1989)
Martelli
Jungle Assault
(1989)
General Mitchell
L.A. Vice
(1989)
Capt. Joe Wilkes
Deadly Breed
(1989)
Captain
B.O.R.N.
(1989)
Dr. Farley
Instant Karma
(1990)
Pop
Empire of Ash III
(1990)
Lucas
The Final Sanction
(1990)
Maj. Galashkin
Cartel
(1990)
Mason
Forgotten Heroes
(1990)
General Gregori Zelenkov
Emperor of the Bronx
(1990)
Fitz
Cybernator
(1991)
Colonel Peck
The Roller Blade Seven
(1991)
Pharoah
Spirit of the Eagle
(1991)
Hatchett
Merchant of Evil
(1991)
Victor Fortunetti
Kiss and Be Killed
(1991)
Det. Murdoch
Feast
(1992)
Det. George Bordelli
Dark Secrets
(1992)
Robert
Shadow of the Dragon
(1992)
Eric Brunner
The Last Riders
(1992)
Hammer
American Me
(1992)
Deacon
Legend of The Roller Blade Seven
(1993)
Pharoah
GetEven
(1993)
Normad
Return of the Roller Blade Seven
(1993)
Pharoah
Manosaurus
(1994)
Sheriff Todd
Maverick
(1994)
Riverboat Poker Player
Taken Alive
(1994)
L.E.
Big Sister 2000
(1995)
The Man
Neon Signs
(1996)
Clyde
The Colony
(1996)
Theo Maxwell
Raw Energy
(1996)
Sam Stompkins
Uncle Sam
(1996)
Major
The Shooter
(1997)
Jerry Krants
Hollywood Cops
(1997)
Rinaldi
Doublecross on Costa's Island
(1997)
L. E.
Heat of Las Vegas
(1998)
Mario Verelli
Blood of His Own
(1998)
Broken Vessels
(1998)
Bo
Debbie Does Damnation
(1999)
Wasteland Justice
(1999)
Moon
Never Look Back
(2000)
Lee Clayton
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
(2000)
Conan's Father (archive footage)
The Erotic Rites of Countess Dracula
(2001)
Count Dracula
The Vampire Hunters Club
(2001)
Johnny
Deadly Memories
(2002)
Sheriff Taggart
The Rock 'n Roll Cops
(2003)
Rinaldi
God Has a Rap Sheet
(2003)
Lucifer
Zombiegeddon
(2003)
Lord Zombie
A Mission to Kill
(2003)
Killer Story
(2004)
Monty
Y.M.I.
(2004)
Cal
Vice
(2005)
Spooky Harlow
Hell to Pay
(2005)
Emil Brax
Inner Rage
(2006)
Sam
Voices from the Graves
(2006)
Lester Jiggs
Fall Guy: The John Stewart Story
(2007)
Man with Machine Gun
Rapturious
(2007)
Sheriff
The Boneyard Collection
(2008)
Bill, the First Director (segment "Her Morbid Desires")
Rock n' Roll Cops Lite
(2014)
Rinaldi (archive footage)
Doses of Horror
(2018)
Neil Agar ("A Dose of Bee Stings" segment) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Irresistible
(2020)
Hofbrau Bar Fly
Production
Writing