Celebrity Biographies
william smith
Those who were viewers in the 70s will remember the sinister Anthony Falconetti, a villain from the series “Rich man, poor man” characterized by his eyepatch, who remained in the collective unconscious as one of the most hated characters on television. The actor who gave life to him, William Smith, passed away on July 5, 2021, in Los Angeles, at the age of 88. He intervened in three hundred film and television titles.
Born in Columbia (Missouri), on March 24, 1933, William Smith made his debut at the age of eight as a child actor in The Ghost of Frankenstein and later in The Song of Bernadette . Endowed with great physical aptitudes, and standing 1.88 meters tall, as a young man he excelled in various sports, such as boxing, soccer and motocross. Later, he served in the army and was sent to the Korean War. In addition, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in Russian studies from UCLA, University of Los Angeles before being hired by MGM.
Soon, William Smith became a regular on hit series such as Laredo , Kung Fu , and Gunsmoke . In 1976 they recruited him for his best-known role, Falconetti, in Rich Man, Poor Man , an adaptation of a novel by Irwin Shaw that he had swept bookstores. Obsessed with liquidating the protagonists, after a disagreement with Tom, the poor brother, he was capable of raping or killing without any scruples, his presence darkened the protagonists, Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte, and even managed to become part of the popular language, since it was said “you are a Falconetti”, with the meaning of “you are evil”, in the same way that “you are a Fitipaldi” who drives very well. “He is my favorite character of my entire career,” the actor commented. “I’m very proud of my fight scenes with Nolte.”
Divorced from Michele Smith, he married Joanne Cervelli, who accompanied him until his death. He had a son with each of them.
In cinema, William Smith shone in Darker than Amber , along with Rod Taylor , the villain in New York, 2012 , Clint Eastwood ‘s rival who fights him in The Big Fight . “At the time, it was the longest two-man fight ever shot. It was very well choreographed, and I have fond memories of working with Clint, who was very good at these types of sequences,” he noted. He was also the father of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian , while Francis Ford Coppola recruited him as a store clerk for Rebels ., and as a police officer for Rumble Law . In advertising he brought the Marlboro Man to life, before the US government banned tobacco ads.
Despite his strong appearance, William Smith had literary concerns. Great passionate about reading, he published a compilation of his poems