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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
April 29, 1936
Died
June 13, 2005
Place of Birth
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Also Known As
- Лейн Смит
Lane Smith
0.8 Popularity
Biography
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.
Known For
Credits
🎬
Well Received the Death of an Artist
2012
0.0
Out of Order
as Frank
2003
4.9
WW3
as John Sullivan
2001
5.3
DAG
as Agent Baxter
2000
7.0
🎬
The Caprice
2000
0.0
The Legend of Bagger Vance
as Grantland Rice
2000
6.6
Bull
2000
6.8
Judging Amy
as Mr. Radford
1999
7.5
Inherit the Wind
as Reverend Jeremiah Brown
1999
6.1
The Hi-Lo Country
as Steve Shaw
1998
6.1
Getting Personal
as Dr. Maddie
1998
2.0
From the Earth to the Moon
as Emmett Seaborn
1998
8.1
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
as Senator Silverthorne
1997
5.5
The Practice
as Judge H. Finkel
1997
7.6
King of the Hill
as Charlie Fortner (voice)
1997
7.4
King of the Hill
as Nate Hashaway (voice)
1997
7.4
Clueless
1996
6.1
The Outer Limits
as Dr. Malcolm Boussard
1995
7.7
The Scout
as Ron Wilson
1994
5.2
The Spy Within
as Stephen Hahn
1994
4.6
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
as Perry White
1993
6.9
Son in Law
as Walter Warner
1993
6.0
Walker, Texas Ranger
as Reverend Thornton Powers
1993
6.9
The Distinguished Gentleman
as Dick Dodge
1992
6.0
The Mighty Ducks
as Jack Reilly
1992
6.6
Duplicates
as Mr. Fryman
1992
5.9
My Cousin Vinny
as Jim Trotter III
1992
7.5
False Arrest
as Martin Busey
1991
5.1
Good Sports
as R.J. Rappaport
1991
6.0
Blind Vengeance
as Col. Blanchard
1990
1.0
Air America
as Senator Davenport
1990
5.8
Challenger
as Larry Mulloy
1990
6.2
The Final Days
as Richard Nixon
1989
6.8
Night Game
as Whitty
1989
4.4
Killer Instinct
as Dr. Butler
1988
6.0
Prison
as Warden Eaton Sharpe
1987
5.7
Weeds
as Claude
1987
5.1
🎬
A Place to Call Home
as Sam
1987
7.0
Native Son
as Britton
1986
5.0
🎬
Kay O'Brien
1986
5.0
Dress Gray
as Col. King
1986
4.7
If Tomorrow Comes
as Warden Brannigan
1986
7.2
Terror at London Bridge
as Anson Whitfield
1985
5.1
Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues
as Captain Max Rosenberg
1985
5.1
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Robert Warren
1985
7.2
Amazing Stories
as Dr. Caruso
1985
7.4
The Twilight Zone
as (segment "Profile in Silver")
1985
7.8
Hollywood Beat
as Cp. Milton Treadwell
1985
5.0
MacGruder and Loud
as Richard
1985
4.5
V
as Nathan Bates
1984
7.0
Murder, She Wrote
as Pol. Chief Miles Underwood
1984
7.5
Places in the Heart
as Albert Denby
1984
7.2
Red Dawn
as Mayor Bates
1984
6.3
Purple Hearts
as Cmdr. Markel
1984
5.6
Something About Amelia
as Officer Dealy
1984
5.5
Chiefs
as Hoss Spence
1983
8.0
Special Bulletin
as Morton Sanders
1983
7.0
🎬
The American Snitch
as Chuck Maxwell
1983
6.0
The Member of the Wedding
as Mr. Addams
1982
5.0
Frances
as Dr. Symington
1982
6.9
Thou Shalt Not Kill
as Clarence Blake
1982
6.5
Prime Suspect
as Tom Keating
1982
6.6
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
as Harless Hocker
1981
6.5
Prince of the City
as Tug Barnes
1981
7.0
Hill Street Blues
as Mike
1981
7.6
Mark, I Love You
as Don Payer
1980
0.0
The Georgia Peaches
as Randolph Dukane
1980
5.6
Resurrection
as Don
1980
6.4
A Rumor of War
as Sgt. Willliam Holgren
1980
6.0
Honeysuckle Rose
as Brag
1980
5.2
On the Nickel
as Preacher
1980
6.0
Gideon's Trumpet
as Fred Turner
1980
6.0
City in Fear
as Brian
1980
5.1
Disaster on the Coastliner
as John Carlson
1979
5.3
The Solitary Man
as Jack Collins
1979
7.0
Hart to Hart
1979
6.9
Over the Edge
as Sloan
1979
7.1
The Crash of Flight 401
1978
7.5
On the Yard
as Blake
1978
5.8
A Death in Canaan
as Bob Hartman
1978
5.3
Blue Collar
as Clarence Hill
1978
7.3
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
1977
2.0
Lou Grant
as Dr. Lawrence
1977
7.3
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
as Officer Mackie
1977
5.7
Between the Lines
as Roy Walsh
1977
5.1
The Displaced Person
as Mr. Shortley
1977
6.0
Network
as Robert McDonough
1976
7.8
Quincy, M.E.
as Dr. Paul Flynn
1976
7.5
Everybody Rides the Carousel
as Stage 1 (voice)
1976
5.8
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
as Tyler
1976
6.0
Valley Forge
1975
0.0
Rooster Cogburn
as Leroy
1975
6.4
The Rockford Files
as CIA Agent Donnegan
1974
7.6
The Rockford Files
as Willett
1974
7.6
Man on a Swing
as Ted Ronan
1974
5.8
Kojak
as Clyde Regan
1973
7.0
The Last American Hero
as Rick Penny
1973
5.6
Maidstone
1971
3.9
Unholy Matrimony
as Partygoer
1966
3.3
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Spad
1951
8.6
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Fred Turner
1951
8.6