---
name: "William Smith"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-smith"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 March 1933"
died: "5 July 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:15:20.358668+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Smith

Actor. Born 24 March 1933 in Columbia, Missouri, USA. Died 5 July 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 March 1933, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 5 July 2021
- **Also known as:** William E. Smith, Bill Smith, Big Bill Smith, William Smith II, William Emmett Smith Jr., William Emmett Smith

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, hollywoodreporter.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Rumble Fish* (1983), Fi1m 77, as Patterson the Cop — [page](https://film.one/film/rumble-fish.md)

## Also known for

- *Conan the Barbarian* (1982), Conan's Father
- *Maverick* (1994), Riverboat Poker Player
- *The Outsiders* (1983), Store Clerk
- *Knight Rider* (1982), Harold T. Turner
- *The A-Team* (1983), Jase Tataro, Dimitri Shasta Kovich
- *Red Dawn* (1984), Strelnikov
- *I Dream of Jeannie* (1965), Turk
- *Gilda* (1946), Man (uncredited)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-smith