William Smithers
Biography
William Smithers was an American actor who began on the New York stage, making his Broadway debut in 1951 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet opposite Olivia de Havilland, a performance that brought him a Theater World Award. He joined the Actors Studio in 1952 and won an Obie in 1957 for playing Treplev in Chekhov's The Seagull, with further Broadway work in plays by Jean Anouilh, Carson McCullers and Terence Rattigan. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965 for the role of David Schuster on Peyton Place and went on to appear in nearly 400 television productions, including Guiding Light and Executive Suite, as well as films such as Attack (1956), Trouble Man (1972), Scorpio (1973), Papillon (1973) and Deathsport (1978). From 1981 and again from 1984 to 1989 he played Jeremy Wendell on Dallas. He died in 2026.
98years old at death
- Born Richmond
- Died Santa Barbara
- Star sign: CancerThe sign runs June 21 to July 22
Movie Career
- Films
- 5
- Career span
- 22 years1956 to 1978
Every film, newest first
- 1978DeathsportIMDb rating 4.1
- 1973PapillonIMDb rating 8.0
- 1973ScorpioIMDb rating 6.4
- 1972Trouble ManIMDb rating 6.7
- 1956AttackIMDb rating 7.4
Genres
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Early training
In 1952, Smithers became a life member of The Actors Studio. In 1951, he had made his Broadway debut as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, a Dwight Deere Wiman production starring Olivia de Havilland.
William Smithers movies on Netflix
Worked with
William Smithers made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Burt Lancaster's page
David Carradine's page
Dustin Hoffman's page
Jack Palance's page
Lee Marvin's page
Alain Delon's page
All films by Franklin J. Schaffner
All films by Robert Aldrich
All films by Michael Winner
Awards
One award and honor.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 1951 | Theatre World Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.