Smith then would become an elite discus thrower at UCLA, a martial-arts black belt and a champion arm-wrestler. William Smith took on the role of Detective James ‘Kimo’ Carew in the final season of the original ‘Hawaii Five-O’ on CBS in 19.īorn in Columbia, Smith started his acting career at the tender age of eight and played small, uncredited roles in the 1940s films that included ‘The Ghost of Frankenstein’ and ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’. He then went on to play Anthony Falconetti, the arch rival of the central family in the 1976 ABC miniseries ‘Pich Man, Poor Man’ and had also returned for its sequel.
Jack smith actor series#
The actor played Texas Ranger Joe Riley in both the seasons of NBC’s western series ‘Laredo’ from 1965 to 1967. “It has to be one of the longest two-man fights ever done on film without doubles,” Smith had said in an interview for the 2014 book ‘Tales From the Cult Film Trenches’. He played the role of bare-knuckle boxer Jack Wilson, who tussled with Clint Eastwood in an epic brawl in ‘Any Which Way You Can’, one of the highest-grossing movies of 1980. He was popular for his chiseled face, well-groomed moustache and bulging biceps.
Smith, who has 300-odd acting jobs to his credit, was a popular face in the film and television industry in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. However, she declined to reveal the cause of death. The actor’s wife, Joanne Cervelli Smith, said he died on Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles.