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Lane Smith

Lane Smith

Actor · 1936 – 2005 · Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Lane Smith (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor . He graduated from the Leelanau School, a boarding school in Glen Arbor, Michigan, and spent one year boarding at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, before going off to study at the Actors Studio in the late 1950s and early 1960s along with Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino; he was recognized in their Hall of Fame. Smith served two years in the United States Army. After graduating, Smith found steady work in New York theater before making his film debut in Maidstone in 1970. During the 1970s, he regularly made appearances in small film roles including Rooster Cogburn in 1975 and Network in 1976. In 1981, Smith appeared in the Sidney Lumet-directed film Prince of the City. He also acted on television, notably playing a United States Marine in Vietnam in the television miniseries A Rumor of War and in the 1980 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie Gideon's Trumpet starring Henry Fonda, José Ferrer and John Houseman. Smith is also credited for playing McMurphy 650 times in the 1971 Off-Broadway revival of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Smith made a major breakthrough in 1984 with significant roles in Red Dawn, Places in the Heart and the television series V. He also played on Quincy, M.E. in season 8, episode 7, "Science for Sale" as an oncologist searching for a cure to cancer. In 1989, Smith gained recognition for his portrayal of Richard Nixon in the docudrama The Final Days. Newsweek praised the performance, writing, "Smith] is such a good Nixon that his despair and sorrow at his predicament become simply overwhelming." Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. He also appeared in the original Broadway stage production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as James Lingk. He received a Drama Desk Award for his performance. In 1990, Smith appeared in Air America playing a United States Senator, a role for which he was selected based on his resemblance to then-Minority Leader Bob Dole. Two years later, he played a small-town district attorney opposite Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, followed by a role as Coach Jack Reilly in The Mighty Ducks. In 1993 Smith landed the role of Perry White in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which he played for four seasons until 1997. In 1994, he portrayed New York Yankees front officeman Ron in The Scout, alongside Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser. In 1998, Smith appeared in a major role as fictional television anchorman Emmett Seaborn in the HBO miniseries From The Earth to the Moon. His final film appearance was in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Smith was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) in April 2004. He died of the disease at his home in Northridge, California on June 13, 2005 at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife, Debbie Benedict Smith and his son Robert Smith.

Movies24

  • Movie7.5

    My Cousin Vinny

    1992 · 2K votes

  • Movie6.3

    Red Dawn

    1984 · 926 votes

  • Movie7.8

    Network

    1976 · 2.1K votes

  • Movie5.8

    Air America

    1990 · 683 votes

  • Movie6.6
  • Movie7.2

    Places in the Heart

    1984 · 203 votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Mighty Ducks

    1992 · 1K votes

  • Movie6.0

    Son in Law

    1993 · 311 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Over the Edge

    1979 · 146 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Prince of the City

    1981 · 190 votes

  • Movie6.0

    The Hi-Lo Country

    1998 · 102 votes

  • Movie6.4

    Rooster Cogburn

    1975 · 233 votes

  • Movie6.0
  • Movie6.3

    Inherit the Wind

    1999 · 43 votes

  • Movie6.5
  • Movie7.0

    The War at Home

    1996 · 29 votes

  • Movie6.9

    Frances

    1982 · 128 votes

  • Movie5.2

    The Scout

    1994 · 124 votes

  • Movie5.8

    Purple Hearts

    1984 · 14 votes

  • Movie5.7

    The Last American Hero

    1973 · 42 votes

  • Movie7.3

    Blue Collar

    1978 · 215 votes

  • Movie5.3

    Weeds

    1987 · 20 votes

  • Movie5.3
  • Movie5.9

    Man on a Swing

    1974 · 27 votes

Series24

  • TV7.6
  • TV7.7

    The Outer Limits

    1995 · 249 votes

  • TV7.4

    King of the Hill

    1997 · 702 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Practice

    1997 · 114 votes

  • TV7.5

    Murder, She Wrote

    1984 · 471 votes

  • TV6.6

    American Playhouse

    1982 · 8 votes

  • TV7.5

    Judging Amy

    1999 · 86 votes

  • TV7.6

    The Rockford Files

    1974 · 133 votes

  • TV7.6

    Hill Street Blues

    1981 · 130 votes

  • TV7.5

    Quincy, M.E.

    1976 · 123 votes

  • TV6.9
  • TV7.7

    The Twilight Zone

    1985 · 266 votes

  • TV6.9

    Hart to Hart

    1979 · 135 votes

  • TV7.0

    Walker, Texas Ranger

    1993 · 589 votes

  • TV7.4

    Lou Grant

    1977 · 32 votes

  • TV7.2
  • TV7.5

    Amazing Stories

    1985 · 237 votes

  • TV7.3

    Kojak

    1973 · 155 votes

  • TV8.1
  • TV7.1

    V

    1984 · 214 votes

  • TV6.4

    Clueless

    1996 · 44 votes

  • TV8.4

    Legacy

    1998 · 5 votes

  • TV6.8

    Bull

    2000 · 5 votes

  • TV5.0

    Hollywood Beat

    1985 · 1 votes