| Paul L. Smith | |
| Birth Name: | Paul Lawrence Smith |
| Birth Date: | 24 June 1936 |
| Birth Place: | Everett, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Ra'anana, Israel |
| Nationality: | American, Israeli |
| Othername: | Paul Smith Paul Lawrence Smith Bob Spencer Adam Eden |
| Alma Mater: | Brandeis University, Florida State University |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1960–1999 |
| Children: | 1 |
Paul Lawrence Smith (June 24, 1936 – April 25, 2012) was an American-Israeli actor and director. Burly, bearded and imposing, he appeared in feature films and occasionally on television since the 1960s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys. His most notable roles include Hamidou, the vicious prison guard in Midnight Express (1978), Bluto in Robert Altman's Popeye (1980), Gideon in the ABC miniseries Masada (1981), Glossu "Beast" Rabban in David Lynch's Dune (1984) and Falkon in Red Sonja (1985). He was most frequently credited as Paul Smith or Paul L. Smith, but was also billed as P. L. Smith and Paul Lawrence Smith.
Smith's first acting role, at age 24, was in Otto Preminger's 1960 epic Exodus, which was filmed in Israel. This was his first visit to the country. In 1967, Smith returned to Israel as a Mahal volunteer in the Six-Day War and remained for six years, appearing in locally filmed features and television productions. He received director credit on the 1970 documentary Milhemet 20 HaShanim (War of 20 Years) and the 1972 crime drama Jacko Vehayatzaniot (Jacko and the Prostitute or Tel Aviv Call Girls).
Between 1973 and 1977, Smith made a series of films with Michael Coby (pseudonym of Antonio Cantafora), a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.[1] Smith played Bud Spencer-like characters while Coby was a Terence Hill lookalike in Bud & Terence-fashion.[2] One of these films, Convoy Buddies, was selected for American release by Film Ventures International, and producer Edward L. Montoro changed Smith's name to "Bob Spencer" and Cantafora's name to "Terrence Hall". Smith sued,[3] successfully arguing that an actor's name recognition is vital to his career. The judicial system agreed and ruled against FVI, which paid Smith damages and court costs.[4]
Smith made appearances in such films as 21 Hours at Munich (1976), Midnight Express (1978), as Bluto in Popeye (1980), and as Glossu Rabban in Dune (1984). On television, he appeared in such established series as Emergency!, CHiPS, Wonder Woman, Barney Miller and Hawaii Five-O.
On April 25, 2012, Smith died in Ra'anana from undisclosed causes, at the age of 75.[5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Exodus | Jewish Prisoner Peretz Geffner | Uncredited | |
| 1963 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Sven | Episode: "The Eve of St. Elmo" | |
| 1965 | Homicide | Dudley Stark | Episode: "Dead on Two" | |
| 1970 | Alle hatten sich abgewandt | Feister | TV movie | |
| Madron | Gabe Price | Uncredited | ||
| Milhemet 20 HaShanim | Director | |||
| 1971 | Fishke Bemilu'im | Shmil | ||
| 1972 | Nahtche V'Hageneral | Also director | ||
| Jacko Vehayatzaniot | ||||
| 1973 | Koreyim Li Shmil | Shmiel | ||
| Peter | Also production manager | |||
| 1974 | Moses the Lawgiver | Rebel | TV miniseries | |
| Carambola! | Clem Rodovam | |||
| Emergency! | Security Director | Episode: "The Bash" | ||
| Alcohol: The Choice | Short film | |||
| 1975 | Len | |||
| Convoy Buddies | Butch | |||
| Conspiracy of Terror | Pound Supervisor | TV movie | ||
| We Are No Angels | Raphael McDonald | |||
| 1976 | The Diamond Peddlers | Simone / Toby | ||
| 21 Hours at Munich | Gutfreund | TV movie | ||
| 1977 | Return of the Tiger | Paul the Westerner | ||
| 1978 | CHiPs | Announcer | Episode: "Disaster Squad" | |
| Midnight Express | Hamidou | |||
| 1979 | Wonder Woman | Simon Rohan | Episode: "Spaced Out" | |
| Barney Miller | Leon Stipanich | Episode: "Graveyard Shift" | ||
| The In-Laws | Mo | |||
| The Frisco Kid | Person on Philadelphia dock | Uncredited | ||
| Hawaii Five-O | Andy Kamoku | Episode: "A Lion in the Streets" | ||
| Disaster on the Coastliner | Jim Waterman | TV movie | ||
| Going in Style | Radio Announcer | Voice | ||
| 1980 | Popeye | Bluto | ||
| The Toni Tennille Show | Self | Episode: "#1.44" | ||
| 1981 | Masada | Gideon | TV miniseries | |
| The Salamander | The Surgeon | |||
| 1982 | When I Am King | Sir Blackstone Hardtack | ||
| Pieces | Willard | |||
| 1983 | Sadat | King Farouk | TV miniseries | |
| Raiders in Action | Saul the Priest | |||
| 1984 | Jungle Warriors | Cesar Santiago | ||
| Dune | Glossu Rabban | |||
| 1985 | Crimewave | Faron Crush | ||
| The Protector | Mr. Booar | Uncredited | ||
| Red Sonja | Falkon | |||
| Sno-Line | Duval | |||
| 1986 | Haunted Honeymoon | Dr. Paul Abbot | ||
| 1987 | Gor | Surbus | ||
| Terminal Entry | Stewart | Also associate producer | ||
| 1988 | Outlaw Force | Inspector Wainright | ||
| Death Chase | Steele | |||
| 1989 | Sonny Boy | Slue | ||
| Ten Little Indians | Elmo Rodgers | |||
| You're Famous | Paul | |||
| The Hired Gun | Wounded Man | |||
| Crazy Camera | ||||
| 1990 | Crossing the Line | Joe Kapinski | ||
| Caged Fury | Head Guard | Also associate producer | ||
| 1991 | Eye of the Widow | Elko | ||
| 1992 | Desert Kickboxer | Santos | ||
| 1994 | Maverick | Archduke | ||
| 1999 | D.R.E.A.M. Team | Vladimir Corzon | TV movie | |
| 2008 | Paul Smith: The Reddest Herring | Himself | Extended interview featured on the North American DVD release of Pieces, where he discusses the film, his life, and career |