R.I.P. William Smith, TV and Movie Tough Guy 1933-2021. (1 Viewer)

[Flashgear]

Long time TV and Movie tough guy character actor William Smith passed away on July 5 at age 88. Offscreen, he was also a poet, intellectual and fluent in 7 languages!

William Smith, Action Star Known for His Onscreen Brawls, Dies at 88 (Published 2021)

In addition to his Hollywood legacy, the Missouri native was also a bodybuilder, a champion discus thrower and a published poet.

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William Smith

William Smith, Los Angeles, California. 13,649 likes · 470 talking about this. The official William Smith Facebook page.

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He was memorable in so many roles over his lengthy career. For me, two roles that easily come to mind are Laredo (NBC 1965-67) and The Rockford Files pilot episode...but there are so many others, both on the tube and big screen...

 

[RBailey]

Smith's fight scene with Rod Taylor in DARKER THAN AMBER (1970) is epic. Would love to see this get a Blu-ray release.

 

[Matt Hough]

I really admired that he could play these tougher than tough guys and yet he'd occasionally land a more sensitive role, and he was so appealing doing that. R.I.P.