1936-04-29 ( 88 years old ) in 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.
Movies
Well Received the Death of an Artist
2012-12-12
WW3
2001-07-12
The Caprice
2000-11-11
The Legend of Bagger Vance
2000-11-02
Inherit the Wind
1999-05-29
The Hi-Lo Country
1998-12-30
Getting Personal
1998-06-13
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy
1997-07-29
The Scout
1994-09-30
The Flight of the Dove
1994-06-10
Son in Law
1993-07-02
The Distinguished Gentleman
1992-12-04
The Mighty Ducks
1992-10-02
Duplicates
1992-03-18
My Cousin Vinny
1992-03-13
False Arrest
1991-11-03
Blind Vengeance
1990-08-22
Air America
1990-08-10
Challenger
1990-02-25
The Final Days
1989-10-29
Night Game
1989-09-15
Killer Instinct
1988-11-22
Prison
1987-12-08
Weeds
1987-10-16
A Place to Call Home
1987-02-07
Native Son
1986-12-24
Terror at London Bridge
1985-11-22
Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues
1985-10-05
Places in the Heart
1984-09-11
Red Dawn
1984-08-10
Purple Hearts
1984-03-30
Something About Amelia
1984-01-09
Special Bulletin
1983-03-20
The American Snitch
1983-01-01
The Member of the Wedding
1982-12-20
Frances
1982-12-03
Thou Shalt Not Kill
1982-04-12
Prime Suspect
1982-01-20
Dark Night of the Scarecrow
1981-10-24
Prince of the City
1981-08-19
Mark, I Love You
1980-12-10
The Georgia Peaches
1980-11-08
Resurrection
1980-09-26
Honeysuckle Rose
1980-07-18
On the Nickel
1980-05-08
Gideon's Trumpet
1980-04-30
City in Fear
1980-03-30
Disaster on the Coastliner
1979-10-28
The Solitary Man
1979-10-09
Over the Edge
1979-05-18
The Crash of Flight 401
1978-10-29
On the Yard
1978-09-16
A Death in Canaan
1978-03-01
Blue Collar
1978-02-10
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
1977-12-01
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
1977-07-08
Between the Lines
1977-04-27
The Displaced Person
1977-04-12
Network
1976-11-14
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
1976-04-22
Valley Forge
1975-12-03
Rooster Cogburn
1975-11-01
Everybody Rides the Carousel
1975-06-08
Man on a Swing
1974-02-24
The Last American Hero
1973-07-27
Maidstone
1971-03-09
Unholy Matrimony
1966-12-28
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