Biography
William Smith was an American actor and stunt performer whose career spanned nearly eight decades. Born on 24 March 1933 in Columbia, Missouri, he began acting as a child in the early 1940s and went on to appear in more than 300 film and television productions, frequently in imposing or villainous character roles.
He starred as Texas Ranger Joe Riley in the NBC western series Laredo (1965–67) and played the menacing Anthony Falconetti in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) and its sequel. Among his film credits are Conan the Barbarian (1982) as Conan's father, Rumble Fish (1983) as Patterson the Cop, The Outsiders (1983) as a store clerk, and Red Dawn (1984) as Strelnikov. He also appeared in Any Which Way You Can (1980) and numerous television series including Hawaii Five-O.
Smith died on 5 July 2021 in Woodland Hills, California, aged 88.
