RIP (Belated) William Smith

[silverscreenselect]

This happened over the summer, but somehow I missed the notice and wanted to pay tribute to one of my all-time favorites. Smith was one of the greatest B-Movie villains of all time. He got his start in the biker movies of the 60s and remained active for decades. Best known roles were as Falconetti in the Rich Man, Poor Man miniseries, the Russian officer in Red Dawn, and Clint Eastwood's big fight opponent in Any Which Way You Can. His fistfight with Rod Taylor in Darker Than Amber is one of the bloodiest in film history.

Age 88.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 234979961/

[SportsFan68]

Laredo was one of my favorites in my (much) younger days. I saw part of an episode a couple months ago, and I was appalled at how bad it was. But I ate it up when I was a kid.

Smith, Peter Brown, Neville Brand, usually as the comic relief, and Philip Carey as the captain -- whenever I saw them in a movie, I immediately put them in the Laredo context. The movies were Smith in Any Which Way You can, Brown in Summer Magic, Brand in Birdman of Alcatraz, and Carey in Calamity Jane. Brand didn't fit in Birdman at all, or vice versa.