Action Movie Star William Smith Dies in Hospital at 88
Celebrity
The movie veteran, who was known for his fight scene with Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way You Can , has passed away at the age of 88 in a California Hospital. Jul 10, 2021
The
Any Which Way You Can and
Hawaii Five-O actor passed away on 5 July (21) at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, according to his wife.
Born to cattle ranchers in Missouri, Smith and his family moved to Hollywood when he was a kid and he became a child star, appearing in
The Ghost of Frankenstein ,
He played bareknuckle boxer Jack Wilson, who grappled with Clint Eastwood in an epic brawl in “Any Which Way You Can,” one of the top-grossing movies of 1980.
“It has to be one of the longest two-man fights ever done on film without doubles,” Smith said in an interview for the 2014 book “Tales From the Cult Film Trenches.”
Smith starred as Texas Ranger Joe Riley in both seasons of the NBC western series “Laredo” from 1965 to 1967.
Hey played Anthony Falconetti, the menacing nemesis of the central family in the 1976 ABC miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man,” and returned for its sequel.
And he played Detective James “Kimo” Carew in the final season of the original “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS in 1979 and 1980.
Red Dawn & Conan the Barbarian actor William Smith has died
July 9, 2021 by:
Although not everyone will recognize his name, William Smith accumulated nearly 300 credits throughout his career over the course of seven decades, meaning that chances are extremely good that you ve seen his work. It was announced today that William Smith died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills on July 5th at the age of 88.
To get the sense of how long William Smith was active in Hollywood, one only needs to look at his first credit, which show him making an appearance in
The Hawaii Five-O, Laredo, Rich Man, Poor Man action star William Smith died at 88 years old.
William was known for his minor screen roles and his fighting scenes with Clint Eastwood and Rod Taylor.
According to sources, wife Joanne Cervelli Smith had found that her husband had passed away on Monday.
The Rich Man, Poor Man star had been in Woodland Hills at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.
It was claimed that the bodybuilder-turned-Hollywood-actor had been the go-to-guy for biker roles and has a long list of films under his belt.
Smith had also been a Russian general in Red Dawn, a gang leader in The Ultimate Warrior, and a gunfighter turned Texas ranger in Laredo.