Biography: Biker, Bare-knuckle Brawler, Cowboy, Bee-Girl fighter, Vampire hunter... William Smith was born on March 24, 1934, in Columbia, Missouri on Rolling Acres, a Hereford cattle ranch. After losing everything to the dust bowl, the family moved to California. From 1942, when he was 8, through young adulthood, Bill appeared in many movies as an extra (uncredited). After high school, he joined the Air For ... show all Biker, Bare-knuckle Brawler, Cowboy, Bee-Girl fighter, Vampire hunter... William Smith was born on March 24, 1934, in Columbia, Missouri on Rolling Acres, a Hereford cattle ranch. After losing everything to the dust bowl, the family moved to California. From 1942, when he was 8, through young adulthood, Bill appeared in many movies as an extra (uncredited). After high school, he joined the Air Force and served during the Korean War; he received a Purple Heart. Bill studied at the University of Munich, and Syracuse University. He graduated cum laude at UCLA. Bill would go on to become one of Hollywood's best-known character actors. With over 300 TV and movie credits, here are just a few highlights... on TV he played in many Westerns (did his own horseback riding), cop and sci-fi shows. On TV he's best remembered for appearing in "Batman" (1966/II)" as, appropriately, Adonis in the last episode. He was a series regular in "Hawaii Five-O" (1968)" where he played James "Kimo" Carew (the episode with Cathy Lee Crosby, "The Kahuna," drew particularly high ratings). On the big screen, Bill is legendary for biker flicks (he does his own motorcycle riding). His first biker flick "Run, Angel, Run (1969)" was shot in 13 days for under $100,000-- and made $13 million. So this was followed by "Angels Die Hard (1970)". These were early, ground-breaking features which defined the genre, and would be imitated endlessly (but never duplicated). In the early 1970s, Bill did horror, being a vampire slayer in "Grave of the Vampire (1972)"; and science fiction, "Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)", where he fought killer insect-women wearing sunglasses. Everybody's favorite William Smith movie is "Any Which Way You Can (1980)", where as a bare-knuckle brawler he had a knock-down, drag-out fight with Clint Eastwood that wrecked about half the town. Tougher than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill played his dad in "Conan the Barbarian (1982)". And Bill was acclaimed for his role in the wildly popular youth-oriented "Red Dawn (1984)". Bill was in the epitome of low budget, campy sci-fi in "Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)". Just about everybody who has ever worked with Bill speaks highly of him. He's educated, intelligent and energetic. A true legend in the business, Bill's acting career is going on well beyond the year 2000. hide |
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